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Artist Reveals What Fonts Were Used To Design Famous Logos (30 Pics)
Interview With ArtistThere is no doubt that a logotype is the face of the company; that‘s why each element of some of the most iconic and well-recognizable logos is carefully thought out, even though they might seem simple. Often, simplicity is the key. Selecting the right typeface and font for a logo is crucial and combined with size, color, and graphic elements can help you stand out in a competitive environment. Each font can communicate a specific personality and tone—this is why it‘s particularly important to go with something that perfectly represents the brand‘s identity. Some brands use well-known and time-approved fonts such as Helvetica, Arial, and Gotham, while others create their custom designs often based on or inspired by classic fonts.
The Italian graphic designer, or logo guru, as one might say, Emanuele Abrate, runs an Instagram account all about logotypes. Last time we featured the artist on Bored Panda, he fixed the "World’s Worst Logos" (disclaimer: some of them are pretty ambiguous) by redesigning them in a more appropriate and sleek way. This time, he shows what fonts some of the most popular brands chose to represent them by replacing names in logos with logo fonts.
More info: Instagram | behance.net | Facebook | emanueleabrate.com
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Always wondered why Adidas had the chimneys of the sinking Titanic as their logo.
This personal project called “Logofonts” is a simple and fun way to learn about some of the world’s best logos. In fact, there is no such thing as a good or bad font—it always depends on the story you want to tell and the voice you want to use for this purpose. And graphic designers exist to masterfully balance all the elements of the logo to achieve the best result.
Bored Panda reached out to Emanuele to find out about the idea and the process behind this project.
“The idea came spontaneously by observing the most frequent questions of graphic designers. I noticed that the most common question when looking at a logo is: ‘which font was used?’ So I decided to create a project that would answer this question in a simple and immediate way,” said the artist.
Ha! What an appropriate font name! (Pico in Spanish means "beak", among other stuff. If you ask a Chilean you may have a faaar different translation, haha!)
“Most famous logos use a custom typography (designed from scratch, or from a font to customize it). My goal is to find out which font is used at the start and then modify it to get the final result. For this, I do a search by consulting the brand manuals and then visually comparing the original font with the logo. I also often use tools like 'whatthefont.' I always try to be as precise as possible.”
And is this the same font that was used on the cover of Needful Things as well?
The main goal of “Logofonts,” which has 45.1K followers on Instagram, is to show how a typographic choice can be extremely identifying when designing a logo.
“The font is very important because typographic forms are able to generate emotional sensations in the observer and can represent a highly distinctive element in a logo: think of the Coca-Cola logo or the Instagram logo.”
For everyone who might think that using only a font in your logo is cheating and doesn’t require much knowledge, the artist says that the subject is not as easy as it may seem.
There are some basic tips on how to choose the perfect font to represent the tone of your company. In one of his Instagram posts, the graphic designer explores the importance of colors and typography in logos that, even without the use of images, can convey messages and feelings.
“Do you want to express luxury? Then better a serif font or an elegant script. Do you want to express innovation? Then a sans serif and neutral typography may be the right choice.”
Abrate says that the biggest mistake a brand can make when selecting the right font for a logo is to rely exclusively on their own taste or following the customer’s taste: “I love Futura, but when I design, I put my personal tastes aside in favor of the concept I want to enhance.”
This designer is wrong... It looks like Knockout HTF-49 Lightweight. Look at the weight on the lowercase e and o...
My current favorite font. I think the Obama presidential campaign used this font. It symbolizes modernity, clarity.
Google created product Sans, so does that really count? Also it was based off Futura with a few minor tweaks.
The kerning is made so all the letters are the same width apart. but how much incline?
Not exactly. Klavika a top curves downward, k shows daylight between strokes.
Um... no its not. I feel like FedEx is pointed to as one of the best examples of Helvetica in logo usage.
No, it's not. The GoT logo has heavier serifs, with serifs at the top of the M and N.
I think a lot of people saying "not even close" or "close but not quite" need to understand that graphic designers rarely use a font as-is when it comes to title and logo design. At a minimum, the kerning and leading will be adjusted - usually to avoid awkward white space- but then come effects like drop shadows, beveling, custom serifs, and whatnot. As you can see by the reveals, the fonts on their own read just like what they are: FONTS. They're not intended to be logo-ready, and a lot of design is actually pretty necessary to avoid the type looking flat or lifeless. Heck, even non-logo type gets designed like crazy for body-type heavy entities like books and magazine. I personally have spent years studying design and typography, and have even done my own book design and editorial pieces. Type is truly an art form and you can't take this post so literally.
I was gonna say this. They're rarely ever just left alone. So small tweaks (or even large ones!) can be explained by the designer of the logo messing with the typeface to make it more interesting. I've done it several times to make a letter more striking within the logo. Also this is accomplished by having the type rendered out as vector shapes. Lets you completely mess with it. :3 (There I go, giving away secrets!)
Load More Replies...Hi! Graphic Designer here. I DO enjoy this piece. I wish I was still teaching college, this would be perfect for the intro to design kids.
Load More Replies...Wow. A lot of work. The ones that are not perfect have been customized. How anyone could criticize is beyond me. Have worked with fonts. You have a lot of patience to do all this research. Thanks. Very interesting.
"how anyone could criticize"? 🤣 Look where we are! But I agree with you -- good research and interesting.
Load More Replies...I think a lot of people saying "not even close" or "close but not quite" need to understand that graphic designers rarely use a font as-is when it comes to title and logo design. At a minimum, the kerning and leading will be adjusted - usually to avoid awkward white space- but then come effects like drop shadows, beveling, custom serifs, and whatnot. As you can see by the reveals, the fonts on their own read just like what they are: FONTS. They're not intended to be logo-ready, and a lot of design is actually pretty necessary to avoid the type looking flat or lifeless. Heck, even non-logo type gets designed like crazy for body-type heavy entities like books and magazine. I personally have spent years studying design and typography, and have even done my own book design and editorial pieces. Type is truly an art form and you can't take this post so literally.
I was gonna say this. They're rarely ever just left alone. So small tweaks (or even large ones!) can be explained by the designer of the logo messing with the typeface to make it more interesting. I've done it several times to make a letter more striking within the logo. Also this is accomplished by having the type rendered out as vector shapes. Lets you completely mess with it. :3 (There I go, giving away secrets!)
Load More Replies...Hi! Graphic Designer here. I DO enjoy this piece. I wish I was still teaching college, this would be perfect for the intro to design kids.
Load More Replies...Wow. A lot of work. The ones that are not perfect have been customized. How anyone could criticize is beyond me. Have worked with fonts. You have a lot of patience to do all this research. Thanks. Very interesting.
"how anyone could criticize"? 🤣 Look where we are! But I agree with you -- good research and interesting.
Load More Replies...