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I guess that’s why they call it the blues – blues are really popular in logo design
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
7 April 2009
The most popular colour in logo design is blue. When our logo designers begin a new project, we work on six bespoke logos, we work hard to see all the possible ways we can approach a particular business. Once a client has chosen a favourite design, we then develop it further taking their comments and keeping an open mind on ways to improve the logo further. Around this stage of the project we start experimenting with different fonts and colour combinations on the chosen logo design. We know from all our years in the business that when we offer different colour-ways, eight out of ten clients will choose the blues option.
Blue logo designs you may be familiar with are:
Ford, white script on blue oval, designed in 1928, it has changed little over the years. In 2003, to celebrate 100 years, Ford released a logo that they named Centennial Blue Oval, which is a graduated fill from dark blue up to light blue.
BARCLYS they used to have a logo with white text and an eagle reversed out of a blue, solid and dependable. Since 2008 they have a new identity, a hollowed out globe designed by Brand Union, for an eye watering 600 thousand pounds!
More contemporary logo design is the GAP logo, white text reversed out of a blue square. The name comes from the phrase ‘generation gap’.
Also bmi airline uses lowercase letters in blue. British Midland Airways launched its new identity in 2001.
The COOP supermarket also use either blue letters on white or white on blue, redesign in 1993, the ‘cloverleaf’ brand conveys the Co-op’s origins where several independent companies came together to form one organisation with shared principles.
AOL have blue capital letters with a triangle and circular icon in blue. AOL have the dubious honour or being rated the worst and the best internet providers by Watchdog, a BBC programme reporting on consumer affairs in the UK. At it’s most popular this internet service provider had 30 million members, so the AOL brand must be one of the best know brands in the world.
DELL, famous for computers use turquoise blue capital letters with the E placed at an angle, as logo designers we are always looking for the meanings behind the image, but what is that? A plug, a computer tower, E as in E commerce…
The IBM logo, capital letters in blue with horizontal white lines through them. This logo is iconic, it is like the grandfather of modern logo design, by logo designer Paul Rand in 1972.
Blue is a universally appealing colour. Perhaps it is the association with blue sky and sea. In logo design it may feel like the safe option but not without good reason. Blue is not just about being conservative, blue has a grounded feel about it, a dignity and assurance that makes people respond positively to a logo design, a brand, a business.
If you can think of any noteworthy logo designs that are blue, do let us know and we will add them to our article. If you would like to comment on this article just fill in the box provided, otherwise email us via our contact us page.