Logo of the month #5
The logo design above, for Eight, is by Stylo Design, a creative agency based in Covent Garden, London. I was reminded of the above design when looking through this years’ Eulda (European Logo Design Annual) winners. One of the Eulda entries is shown below, for Eight, a business lounge bar, and it’s based upon the same idea, but with much less effect in my opinion.
The lounge bar logo design is by Shift Design, a Portugese design agency.
Here are a few other logo designs from the Eulda 2007 series. The one on the right was the overall Eulda winner, and while the idea is good, it wouldn’t have been my personal choice. I prefer less detail.
Have your say
Would you have chosen the umbrella idea as the winner in this year’s Eulda best of Europe?
What about the two ‘Eight’ logos; which one do you think is more appealing? I’d love to know your thoughts.
Off-topic, if you’ve recently sent and email, or left a comment, and I have yet to reply, please bear with me, as I’ve been busier than ever these past few weeks.
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44 spot-on reader comments to “Logo of the month #5”
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I like the second ei8ht. When I first looked at it, I noticed the 8 and then read the word. The first one, to me, looks like a foreign language but I am American not European.
As far as the other 3 go, I’d say I like the B. I think it stands out and looks more professional. The “shop” sign stands out too but looks more novelty based in my opinion (which isn’t worth much;) The umbrella is ok but a bit boring for my taste.
I like the entry from Luxembourg but I feel like I have seen it before.
I do love the logo by Stylo, but it is somewhat hard to read. I mean you see the 8’s right off the bat, but it takes a bit for the letters to sink in. Of course, once they do it is unlikely you will forget it and probable you will tell someone else about it. Which of course would be a good thing.
I don’t really like the first “Eight” logo - it’s too hard to read.
But I do really like the second Eight logo.
But I do not like the “Shop” logo. If you want to get someone to shop, you don’t put an image of a stop sign in their head. You want people to go. :-/
The “B” is pretty cool…
And I do like the umbrella/bar code. However, it doesn’t tell me much about the service (as well as the “B”)
Brian: I think the B makes sense… It’s for “Brightlines Translation” and the quotes in the B are pretty clever.
While I think the first eight logo is a totally cool idea, it’s not a very useful logo because it’s difficult to read. If I didn’t know that said “eight” I don’t think I could read it.
First let me say, I’m not a designer. I’m a consumer.
I figured out the 1st 8, but highly prefer the 2nd 8 logo. It is readable and clean yet still cool.
With the explanation, the B makes sense and look pretty good.
I agree with Brian on the SHOP logo. What is it communicating?
I don’t understand the umbrella but I don’t dislike it.
The first “8″ logo looks really nice, but…it’s too stylish.
Once the Swiss_Mouse viewed the second version, he deemed that far more appealing. (Not that the first one couldn’t be used in some capacity.)
The umbrella? While clever, no. Yuck.
Does no one use Cheese in logos anymore?!?
What I love about both Eight logos is that the designers pushed the envelope past the expected “8″ as a logo. Incorporating the numeral into the roman letters is cool. I have to say I admire the first one more, but I think the t is pushing the limits of legibility.
I really liked the first “eight” logo. I love art of any kind that has a little surprise in it. By that, I mean it makes you think. The B with quotes is kind of neat too, and I had a good giggle about the Shop one. Psychologically, it is very funny. I am with you on the umbrella one…not interesting enough for me.
The first eight one is clever but too clever
The umbrella one… I do not like it. Maybe it’s my monitor but it looks amateurish personally…
I prefer the second eight logo. The first one seems … overdone.
I don’t care for any of the others - they don’t look profesional.
Mmmm they all seem a little amateurish imo
I LOVE the first “8″ logo. I think it is a stroke of genius and is so extremely different that it works.
I wouldn’t have chosen the umbrella to be honest, like you say, good idea, but too much for my liking. I prefer the far left blue logo, with the apostrophe’s. SImply yet worth taking a second look. The umbrella is a one look logo which is boring after the first look.
Both Eight logos are very nice, but I like the second one better. Much more elegant IMO; however, the “i” in the logotype is bothering me.
Eulda is a great sight. I check it out every now and then as well. As for this year’s winning logo, I like it. I may be in the minority with this one, but I think I would’ve picked it as well. The combination of the two different elements is clever and it fits the idea they’re trying to convey.
Lori,
What I like about the first ‘eight’ logo is how it stands out much more than the second, but I can appreciate that it may not be as easy to read (which is of course very important when you create a type-based logo.
Maybe it’s because I’ve seen it on a few previous occasions that it appears so legible.
Kelly,
I really like the idea behind Luxembourg’s entry, although in my opinion, it’s sooo detailed that it doesn’t work well at small sizes. Regarding the ‘B’ logo, I also thought it was a clever integration of the speech marks.
Justin,
Exactly what I thought, about how once you read the letters, you’re unlikely to forget. There’s a whole typeface created using the number 8, which I found pretty unique.
Brian,
Great point about the ’shop’ logo. Everything says ’stop’, which, as you say, isn’t what you want shoppers to do! As for the logos not telling you about the service, I don’t think it’s important. Take Nike, Apple, Mercedes etc. Those logos don’t tell you anything about the service. We associate them with the service through successful branding, so what’s important is that the mark is simple, and easy to remember.
Randa,
It would’ve been interesting if I just posted the logo on its own, without any explanation, and asked everyone what they thought it was. Like I said, perhaps it’s because I already knew that it read ‘eight’ that I found it easy to read. Thanks for stopping by.
Ad Tracker (sorry, couldn’t find your name on your blog),
Thanks for your thoughts, and I agree with you on the ’shop’ front.
Swiss Mouse,
I was thinking exactly the same thing, every one of these logo designs could do with some cheese added. A little boursin, or some parmesan. I hear you.
Leslie,
The ‘t’ in the first example is definitely the character that’s least legible. I took a look at your portfolio, and there’s a great range of work in there! I should take a leaf out of your book and add more to mine. So many things to do.
Carol,
Thanks for stopping in, and yes, there’s something about the umbrella logo that looks a little plain, almost dated. Maybe it’s just me, or perhaps it’s because we’re so used to seeing barcodes that we don’t place much value on them? Maybe I’m just rambling.
Mat,
I kind of agree about the umbrella one. I like the use of negative space in it, although it wouldn’t have won ahead of the others if I were judge.
Walter, Jermayn,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. There’s certainly a good mix of opinion here.
Nic,
Your thoughts are very similar to mine with these. The first ‘eight’ logo is my favourite, and the blue ‘B’ is another that I enjoy.
PG,
Interesting that it’s the ‘i’ that bothers you. Although thinking about it, does it resemble a ‘j’ too much? Eulda is indeed a nice site to take a look through. It’d be great to read more explanations behind each design though.
When I saw the first eight, my initial instinct was to look for an ambigram…
p.s. For some reason the first eight logo reminds me of fonts from the movie “The Fifth Element”.
The second ‘eight’ suits the product perfectly.
The umbrella is clever, but doesn’t say to me what the awards site says it should - it looks more like it’s raining barcodes, than offering protection.
I like the Monopol Records (German) logo best, very distinctive & really stands out. I’d recognise it again in a second.
The second logo is the best, for me it’s more powerful and unique!
I typed my name as I did above to make a point. While merely inserting CAPS in the “wrong” places makes it difficult to read, I don’t think the first 8 example suffers from this.
While I like both examples, the first one reminds me of the drawings that show two different objects at the same time, like the hag and the young woman. You can either attend to the numerals or the word spelled with numbers.
Besides, isn’t the whole point of a logo to have visual impact, be imbed in viewers memory and thereby create branding? The first example accomplishes this best.
I personally like the first eight, but it would be much better and readable if they display it in 0 degree angle.
I definitely would have chosen the first 8 logo. That may be the most creative logo that I’ve ever seen. The designer definitely gets an A in my book for it.
I wouldn’t have chosen the umbrella logo, but with that said, I’m not sure which one I would have chosen.
This is what I call logo design. It’s got it all: impact, originality, creativity, stickiness. A very good choice of the month, probably the best so far.
As far as the Eulda annuals is concerned I think the ‘Urban Chic’ logo of Luxembourg stands equal to the Best of Europe winning logo ‘Consumer Society and Citizen Networks’. It’s simple, ‘urban’ and ‘chic’.
And out of the two ‘eight’ logos I’d go for the second one. First one is indeed attention grabbing but loses on the readability count.
I’ve seen a couple people say they like the Urban Chic logo (Luxembourg) but I’d have to say while a unique design, it doesn’t hold as a logo because it will not shrink down much smaller than what it’s displayed at currently on the website. It loses integrity at smaller sizes and that’s not good for a logo.
I thought the best of Italy was cute and the Greek design reminded me of Dr. Seuss! The Switzerland one is fun, too. But I think your StressWELL logo tops them all, David :D I just love that one so much!
I get the first 8 design, but I am not a fan at all. It’s readability is lost on me.
The second 8 logo looks much more elegant suave and marketable, IMO.
As far as the other designs, I liked the Ireland castle L.
That first Eight logo is genius. I love it. I’ve seen lots of 8s as g’s before, but never seen the whole word rendered in that way.
The first definitely seems a lot more creative, but perhaps a little too creative? If Eight is a business lounge then I imagine they’re looking for an air of professionalism. I think the elegance of the 2nd logo captures that better than the modern styles of the first.
(Great link though. I’d never come across Eulda before!)
I love the first Eight, I didn’t find it hard to read, but I guess if you saw the 8s and then the letters took a while it sort of lets you in on the stroke of genious creating it. The second one is nice, but obvious. It seems easy in terms of thinking of an idea to incorporate one number than to make all the letters out of numbers. Not that logo design is easy, but comparitively the first one seems to be thinking out of the box.
@Michael - maybe a business lounge bar is somehwere to unwind after work rather than a place where you have to remain stiff and business like?
The Barcode Umbrella would work better with some single word above or below or to both sides drawing you into the design but having a message too. Just my uneducated opinion.
Having actually looked at the Eulda page now, I wouldn’t have picked the umbrella as the overall winner, but I think it does get the message right - when I saw the barcode I thought of consumer type things.
I think the difference between this year and last year its interesting - it seems that last year the logos were a fair bit more colourful and slightly more complicated (overall). There’s a lot more black/grey/monotone ones this year, with simpler lines.
I’m not a professional designer at all, but to me a logo must have some sort of impact, which I think the first ‘eight’ does brilliantly and I find it difficult to understand how people may find it illegible, but then everyone is different.
I also really liked the Denmark one. I’m not sure what it is, but it has the impact that I’m talking about.
David,
Oh I was talkin about the “i” in the second Eight logo. It seems like it’s missing the dot. Without it you can almost mistake it for a lowercase “L”.
My two cents…. I like the second eight because it is simpler and elegant. The first one seems busy. The umbrella with the bar-code is creative, but without knowing what the logo is for, can’t say if it is an excellent fit. I think the Shop (Stop!) is very simple and creative too!
i like the first logo but maybe its slightly overdone, the 2nd logo gives a clearer 1st impression imo
I like the first 8. On the first look, you may find it difficult to read but after then you will realize how beautiful the logo was. The design matters a lot and the design says it all. Well done!
I don’t look at logo from aesthetic appeal alone. I would see if it relates to the client’s business and corporate persona. The 2nd “8″ logo is for a business lounge and the stylish and timeless look will make it look chic and classic when time past. It won’t be affected by trends and fads that much.
The meaning behind the “Stop here to Shop” logo is very distinct, but too literal and boring. Also, I don’t have a feel of the company behind.
The entry from Switzerland reminds me of the SuSE Linux logo.
I could read the first eight right away. Thought it was great. Then I looked at it closer and really saw it, and liked it even more.
I wish I had the kind of brain that worked that way!
I found the first year of EULDA in general so much better. I was extremely disapointed with their choices this year.
I also wonder on what the ratio of buying a logo review / having it in the book is.
Yeah, shift is a great studio here in Portugal (it’s said Portugese by the way), and they have been working very very nice.
That logo simply rocks in every aspect and something I really enjoy in most of well done logos is that they are subtile.
Don’t you love when you look at a logo and go like:
Hm. Nice typo, okay, it’s clean and interesting but doesn’t have “that” sparkle… and all of a sudden - WAIT! Is that?! UAU! - And they got that sparkle after all.
But well, we need more well done logos, I have to agree with Dache, 1st year of Eula was something…
The sparkle…
Regards,
Sete 7
I actually like the first one, it looks more original and innovative…. which may has a fast impatct and catch attention.
Thanks for correcting my typo, and sorry for my lack of Portugese knowledge. Cheers for dropping in.
Vuelos,
Glad you like it too.