Simply put, a good logo design is simple, memorable, timeless, versatile(to go across mediums and applications) and appropriate.
However, I can’t resist some of the interesting logos when found in doing research, especially those with hidden symbolism.
Logo for London Symphony Orchestra. Do you see the “LSO” letters or an orchestra conductor?
Sun Microsystems, can you see the word “SUN” spelled in the logo in four different directions?
On either side of the tree, the faces of a gorilla and lion appear in white, two fishes jumping out at the bottom. It’s all about negative space.
Here is my pick, LUSH cosmetics.
Another look with black background.
On product:
Brands can be recognized by many things: the swoosh of a logo, a color, even a company’s founder. With Lush cosmetics, it is the smell – the honeyed, cloying odor reaching out of the company’s shopfronts like a wraith to grab unsuspecting passers by. Lush is a company that’s known for beautifully handcrafted bath bombs and melts, you almost don’t want to use them at all.
Lush uses fruit and vegetables, essential oils, synthetic ingredients, honey and beeswax in their products. No animal-fat and no animal-testing in their product.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the company opened its first store in Poole in 1995. This is not the first time that the husband and wife team behind the business, Mark and Mo Constantine, have tasted success. They used to be the largest suppliers to the Body Shop. Lush adopted its current name on 10 April 1995, and now produces and sells a variety of handmade products, including soaps, shower gels, shampoos and hair conditioners, bath bombs, bubble bars, face masks, and hand and body lotions for a variety of skin types. There are now 830 stores in 51 countries.
The look of a Lush store was partly inspired by the London cheese shop Neal’s Yard. Soap is sold in wedges that do indeed look like cheese, priced by weight and wrapped in greaseproof paper. “Bath bombs” are piled up like fruit; butter cream looks more like a mouth-watering cake than shower soap.
“The reason it smells so strong is that if you are going to take all the packaging off cosmetics, you can smell it, so I didn’t think, lets make it really smelly and that’ll advertise it. If you take all the packaging off it really is smelly. Even the money smells of it. We go home and everything smells of it.” Mark explained.
Details about the logo: “LUSH” in Verdana/Ariel, enlarging from left to right. “Fresh Handmade Cosmetics” in Original Katie, which is now available by the name Lush Font, which is custom made for Lush for visual identity.
I love Lush logo because:
1) I love the brand, product and I always love the experience in the store. It looks like a farmer’s market in there, bath bombs in wooden barrel, soap looks like chocolate bars, all sorts of facial mud/mask in gelato tins.
2) I love the composition of color, whether with a black or white header, it gives a vibrant, energetic vibe, and because the core of the brand is organic oriented, it goes well with the brand identity.
When I think of ITP, this is a place filled with people from all walks of life, and each of us is one of the building bricks to this diverse community. As the core of the ITP is focused on the experimentation and the design of new media, I conduct my own experiment by playing with different color blocks on each letter.
