There are many reasons for this, but a lot of it has to do with the constraints which logo designers have to put themselves under. It’s a strange thing in a creative industry to have to chain yourself to certain limits, and bar yourself from doing something out of the ordinary.

In fact, it’s counterintuitive.

But you have to, because logos are not like ordinary graphic designs. They have to be instantly recognisable, and usable on enormous highway billboards and tiny business cards. They have to function as well in full, professionally printed color as black and white output from a broken down photocopy machine that’s seen better days.

So one of the best and smartest ways to make a logo design look a little special is through negative space, and the judicious use of it. Here are twenty great designs that smartly use negative space to its fullest potential, adding detail in cramped and confined spaces.

OneFund

The Bermuda Aquarium

Boot Stop

Child of the King

International Innovations Inc.

Kolner Zoo

LocKey

Martini House

Rocket Golf

Grace Hospice

Atack

Locks

8Fish

Cafe Melody, Croatia

The Girl Scouts Association of America

Hartford Whalers

Microsoft Mouse

NBC

Ogden Plumbing

Lighthouse

How do you use negative space in your logos? Do you find that the client is appreciative of the effort you’ve gone to to conceal an added extra in the logo design? Let us know in the comments below.

Railways have always played an important role in the history of the United States. By looking through the logos displayed below, it’s possible to pick out some of the key characteristics of the industry (something that every logo designer should do before starting work on a project: make the logo fit the client, not the client fit the logo).

Railways are dependable, strong, and conservative. There is also in some (for example the first of our designs below) a sense of a new dawn. The iron horse shrunk the country: people could travel long distances in a jiffy.

19th century: bold and firm (with one exception)

1886: Chicago Northwestern Railway

1888: Canadian Pacific Railway

1890: Union Pacific railroad

1893: New York-New Haven-Hartford Railway

1895: Detroit Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway

1930s-40s: the future is here

1937: Monon railroad

1938: Florida East Coast Railway

1944 Jersey Central Lines

1950s: bolder designs come to the fore

1954: Great Western Railway

1960s-70s: sleek, bold lines that now look dated

1960: Canadian National railway

1968: Penn Central

1971: Amtrak

1976: Conrail

1980s-90s: Early modern technology impacts on the design world

1986: CSX Transportation

1990: Norfolk Southern Railway

2000s: modern design – but where will it lead?

2000: Amtrak

People can quickly figure out the gist of a basic logo, and they get bored of it. You need something which is going to encourage people to take another look at the logo – something deeper than just the surface meaning. This could be taking advantage of negative space, or simply playing with text to create images.

A hidden message in a logo is the best way to do that. Here are 20 great examples.

Unilever

Unilever are an enormous company, with several subdivisions focusing on various elements of their business. Their logo redesign tried to take this into consideration, incorporating symbolic doodles of everything they do into their large “U” branding. It’s smart, and has won plaudits.

Presbyterian Church

Okay, so you see the cross here. But do you see the rest? There’s a bible on a pulpit; a clerical robe; fish on either side; a dove; and flames. This works on lots of levels.

Yoga Australia

So far, so boring. But the negative space in the yoga woman’s leg is the map of Australia.

Northwest Airlines

This logo should never have been scrapped. You can see all the different components.

Carrefour

Those who don’t know their French ought to be told that “carrefour” means crossroads. You get the arrows, plus the “C” in the negative space.

Piano Forest

Trees, right? Well the monochromatic logo also shows a hint of a piano keyboard.

The Guild of Food Writers

You think you’ve got this one licked, right? A pen – that’s the writing bit. But look inside the nib of the pen. There’s a spoon.

Museum of London

London’s an ever-growing city, as demonstrated by the ever increasing blotches in the background of this. It works on many levels.

Schizophrenic

Schizophrenia is a bipolar personality disorder. This logo represents both the happy and sad times.

Big 10 Conference

The Big 10 conference has 11 members. Problem? No. Check out the negative space.

Toblerone

Delicious European candy. What’s the deal with the logo, though? There’s the mountain, which represents where the chocolate was originally made. Then spot the bear inside it – which were plentiful in the area!

Milwaukee Brewers

It’s a simple logo, right? The baseball mit – that’s it. Well, that’s wrong. You can spy the “M” and “B” in the mit, if you look a little closer.

Elle Hive Tractors

Again, playing with letters, this logo shows the “E” and the “H”, but also demonstrates a lo-fi tractor.

Sun Microsystems

This is one of the most famous examples of the genre. You can read “Sun” whichever way you look at it.

FedEx

But if you thought Sun’s was famous, FedEx is the example everyone cites when talking about hidden message logos. The arrow represents the speed and directness of their deliveries.

Amazon

Amazon stock everything, from A to Z, and do it with a smile. Thus the hidden messages in their logo.

AG Low Construction

Construction companies rely on floor plans. But look a little closer. That spindly outline spells out the name of the company.

Baskin Robbins

Baskin Robbins pride themselves on their 31 flavors of ice cream, which is what you can see in the pink text.

Formula 1

Formula 1 is speedy motor racing, which hasn’t caught on in the US that much. But their logo is universally recognised, and for good reason. The red flares demonstrate the speed – but take a look in the negative space. There’s the “1″ to go alongside the “F”.

Egg & Spoon

I’ll admit this took me a lot of work to understand. You see, I thought this was a boring, basic logo at first. It’s just a lower case E, isn’t it? But then you look closer – and the white space (again) looks like an egg in a spoon.

When desgining logos for big companies, it’s likely that you’ll be asked to place a trademark sign on some logos. However, it’s worth noting that sometimes, it can be a breach of copyright to do that – so you should always check with the client to make sure they actually own the trademark. Otherwise it can cause problems for them – and you – in the future.

There is a lot of confusion around the area, simply because it’s a legal speciality. On trademarking a logo or brand you are able claim rights to it and can use the “TM” (trademark) or “SM” (service mark) designation toshow that. You may do so whether you have filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

But the famous “®” is a little different. Only once the USPTO have okayed your application and granted you the right, can you use that.

If you own a domain name, that doesn’t mean you have the trademark on it. You need to file with the USPTO (or your client needs to). Similarly, incorporated businesses or LLCs don’t necessarily own the trademark to their name. They’re separate processes.

If you’re in doubt, you should ask your client whether they have the rights to use the mark. They won’t think the less of you for it – in fact, they’ll probably find it conscientious. And what’s more, it’ll save you headaches in the future.

That doesn’t mean you like their comics, but it still means that you must’ve made a connection with their logo.

As with many logos, and all sorts of designs in general, what was presented throughout the years sort of matched the era in which they were based. The top logo, from 1949, was quite staid and plain – the sort of thing you’d expect from an era which was still lurching out of war.

Basic and with a two-tone color scheme, the DC-National Comics logo started off a trend which DC would keep of circular logos, but also allowed for each individual comic (in red) to change the logo slightly.

The 1974 version is largely the same, though the typically 40s font for the “DC” text has changed to a more collegiate one, the kind seen on 1970s screenprinted t-shirts. The dots became stars, representing a patriotism. The colors are washed out, as many are from tha era.

1976′s reimagining by legend in the field Milton Glaser was a keeper. The circle became a shield, the sort you can imagine Captain America brandishing. Heavy on the ink, this would make a good impression. It lasted for nigh on 30 years, until 2005′s quasi-3D, bevelled and gradient-heavy reimagining came along. Unpopular with fans and designers alike, it was always on life support.

With the new year came a new rethink – and it’s one which has divided the logo design community. Many think that it’s too commercial, polished and professional for a comic book company. However to me, the peeling back of the “D” represents the excitement that you get when unwrapping the latest comic, seeing the full bleed glory of the comic in its riotous and colorful glory. In my mind, it’s not as good as the old 1976 classic, but it’s a fine representation of where DC stands today.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

When is a logo not a logo? If you’re looking from a 2012 viewpoint, then it may well be 2016, because the newly unveiled 2016 Rio Paralympic Games introduces a whole new element to what logo designers traditionally think of when coming up with their design: the third dimension.

The 2016 Rio de Janiero Paralympic Games logo

3D is everywhere these days. We’ve got 3D movies breaking blockbuster records on cinema screens, and 3D printing is a new computing trend which we’re going to look at in a subsequent post here on LMW. It seems like logo design might have to begin thinking beyond its 2D boundaries and into the third dimension within the next four years.

If not, logo designers that stick to traditional two dimensional looks could well be left behind. Will the copies of Adobe Illustrator be swapped out for Blender, a 3D modelling program, by the time we get to 2016? And more importantly, will this change what we view as a logo?

Traditionally, a logo has been something confined to business cards and letter heads. But now computers can have 3D monitors, it seems like we could well be seeing the addition of a new dimension as a permanent addition.

Who’s to say that a statue of a logo is any better (or worse) than a two dimensional format? One thing that is certain is that like the Paralympic Games itself, this new logo is inclusive, rather than exclusive, and easily accessible for all (which is something all designers could learn from). From the press release:

The 2016 Paralympic Games held in Rio, Brazil debuts its multi-sensory logo created by Tátil, a Brazilian design agency. The innovative logo is designed in full 3D, offering accessibility to everyone, regardless of a disability. Referencing the traditional olympic brand, the team devised an off-balance human heart formed from an infinity sign.

What do you think? Are logos likely to go 3D in the next four years? Would you be happy to make the switch? These are some questions to ponder over. If you want to discuss, feel free to do so in the comments below.

Founded in 1906, the Xerox company initially wasn’t actually called Xerox. It was the Haloid Corporation, which then merged with the Xerox company, a close competitor.

Before the merger in 1957, Xerox – then going it alone in the industry – had this strong, tablet shaped black and yellow logo pictured here.

The same tablet element, which gave a strong silhouette, was retained when the two companies merged. The Haloid Xerox company then stayed under that name for four years. Eventually, Xerox won out, and the general consensus was that the logo was due a rethink.

The 1960s were a time of rapid change in all areas, including logo design. The bold, masculine block logo was switched out for a simple, thin text alternative designed by Lippincott.

When you have a company like Xerox, one of the large draws is the name. After all, it’s quite difficult to consider what a copy company could use as a shortcut for their logo. Putting a monochrome copier machine wouldn’t give such a great brand impression. The name, though, is unusual, especially for it’s repetition of one of the rarest letters in the English language: X.

By 1994, Xerox had enough brand recognition to cut things down somewhat. The X was their main trading point, so they simply used that. The slight pixelation echoed the sort of graphical OSs that were being used at the time in home computing.

In 2002, the company threw back to their 1961 logo in their modern day color. It was seen as a step back by many, but worse was to come.

Designed by Interbrand, the 2007 rethink is widely considered a failure. People think it looks like a beach ball or a piece of candy. Regardless, it plays down the most important and recognisable bit of the Xerox name – the X.

You want to make sure that they’re well designed and likely to triumph over a strong field of competitors, so I’m sure that you likely spend a decent amount of time considering the needs of the client, brainstorming ideas, maybe sketching a few rough ideas before settling down in front of Illustrator to do some work.

How about cramming it like a midterm exam back in college?

No? Well that’s how one logo that 350 million users by the last count see every day was designed.

Google tend to not plan many things: they’re a go with the flow kind of company. And nowhere is this more true than in logo design. Former Googler Kevin Fox (who was a designer from 2003-2008 for the company) explained in a recent Quora post the not so salubrious history of the Gmail logo:

Dennis Hwang designed the Gmail logo. At the time, Dennis designed virtually all of the Google doodles and he did a lot of the new logo work as well.

The logo was designed literally the night before the product launched. We were up very late and Sergey and I went down to his cube to watch him make it.

The initial version used the same font as the Google logo (Catull), but Catull has a very awkward ‘a’, so Dennis decided to use Catull for the ‘G’ to tie the brand to Google, then cast the others in a cleaner sans-serif (Myriad Pro, if I recall correctly).

Google’s logos have never been cutting edge (in fact, some would say that they’re a bit homespun, with the simply, childish looking fonts and the toybox colors) but even we think this is cutting it a bit fine.

The thing is though, did you notice? Does anyone notice? I’ve personally used Gmail daily almost since it was launched in April 2004, which makes it nearly 8 years. I’ve thought that the logo’s not great, but I’ve not thought that it looked like a rush job.

Additionally, I never properly noticed that the G is in a different font to the “ail” (though I did notice the “M” making an envelope). Am I the only one? How would you improve the logo? It’s been eight years, after all: maybe it’s time for a redesign?

I’m sure you all remember the furore behind the allegedly epilepsy-inducing 2012 London Olympics logo. If you don’t, you’re likely to see a hell of a lot more of it in the coming months as the Games themselves approach. However, we’ve found another Olympics logo design fail which might even top the London failure!

The logo for the 2020 Madrid Olympics was released this week, and…well, it says 20020. Which isn’t really a year – at least not for a long time. There were problems with the 2012 London logo and the date – including a hilarious attempt from Iran to claim that the logo was a pro-Jewish plot, because if you squint you can read the word ‘zion’ (sort of) – but at least their date wasn’t typed wrong.

The Spanish press – and public – have been quick to mock the logo. They point out that the colors of the finger-shaped blocks behind the writing (which the official press release claims represent the Olympic rings melded with the arches of the Puerta de Alcala (a famous monument in Madrid)) are in the wrong colors, because there’s not a pink Olympic ring.

Spain’s biggest newspaper polled the public, and 80% of them came back and said they didn’t like the logo “at all.”

That’s a shame, because there was a pretty suitable logo for the Games which got warped through design-by-committee.

See, 22-year old Luis Peiret (above, looking relatively unhappy at the commitee-altered logo – he’d later say “This is not my design”) won a nationwide contest to design the Olympics logo. He got €6,000 for his winning design, which actually was pretty smart.

Peiret's original logo

It has the same sort of elements that the final logo has, but crucially you can see all of the text – and it becomes clear that it’s meant to read “M20″ (Madrid ’20).

It seems like this tweak was bungled, and what could’ve been a promising design element was wrecked.

What do you think about the logo? Which do you prefer? The original or the new one? And more importantly, can you do better?

But do you ever stop to think about the design of the logo sitting on the computer, iPad or iPhone that you use day in, day out? It’s an interesting story – and an indication that even the bleedingly-hip company with the beautiful designs can sometimes get it wrong too…

Much as it pains me to say it, this monstrosity was the original Apple logo.

It’s not a fake introduced later on in the company’s history to make fun of the fact that they produce beautiful, graceful and minimalist design. This was real.

Though it might look, with its woodcut style and ruffling banner, like it belongs on the 18th century printing presses, this thing was actually designed in 1976 by Ronald Wayne, sometimes thought of as the third co-founder of Apple (we presume he gets overlooked nowadays because his logo is a source of shame for the company that prides itself on being at the cutting edge of everything.

That’s Isaac Newton sitting under the tree with a gleaming apple above his head, and around the frame of the picture is written ‘Newton… A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought … Alone.’

It’s not what you want from a company that is supposed to be building the future. Luckily, Steve Jobs realised that this sort of thing wasn’t even good enough for a local town newspaper and canned it quickly.

Rob Janoff was brought in, and produced one of the world’s most recognisable logomarks.

Say hello to the rainbow.

According to Janoff, the bite in the Apple logo was originally implemented so that people would know that it represented an apple, and not a tomato. We reckon that the name of the company should have been a clue to that, but we’re not complaining.

The color was added at Steve Jobs’ insistence so that the whole thing was given a human touch. The reason the green is at the top is – obviously, once you think about it – because an apple has a green leaf, and not a blue or orange or red one.

Weirdly, given Jobs’ insistence on a splash of color, the next design, implemented in 1998 would be a strange step backwards. However, it’s the logo that has remained in use to this very day.

Though this version has a nice bevel, Apple’s designers have been free to play around with the logo.

Take a look at the back of your iPad, if you have one. Right in the center of that cool metal backing is a deep jet black, two dimensional Apple logo.

It looks beautiful, and it’s instantly recognizable. It’s sleek, cunning and cute – and more than a bit stylish. In terms of brand design meeting brand ethos, this is a winner.