The star has always been a foundation stone of logo design, rife with symbology that varies from jingoistic federalism to quality and celestial guidance. No less important today, the star has literally taken on a life of its own as it starts to shed its strict geometry for arms and legs and wings. The shape has had a transfusion of personality and imperfection, so that it now rivals any human. This generation is much more approachable, while maintaining the same symbolic pedigree of its ancestors.
amalgams | | Wolff Olins/Miles Newlyn, Unilever | Chermayeff & Geismar, Inc., Tennessee Aquarium | | | Insight Design, Richard Lynn’s Shoe Market | MetaDesign, The Ocean Conservancy |
These assemblies of diverse elements may credit their throwback to Pierre Bernard's logo for the Parcs Nationaux de France (French National Parks), a seminal mark based on a Fibonacci spiral crafted from the silhouettes of every piece of flora and fauna in the parks. Miles Newlyn, working with Wolff Olins, has managed to build an equally enchanting logo for Unilever. This trend bucks the notion of assembling everything known about an organization and boiling it down to a single image. Instead, the designer displays those ingredients so that every element is preserved and displayed in an arrangement that takes on an additional layer of meaning more replete than any individual component alone. The detail of these logos can become as addictive as a good puzzle or flavorful pasta sauce.
blow out | | FutureBrand Australia, Brand Australia | Gardner Design, Viziworx Enhanced Television | | | Cato Purnell Partners, Terry White Chemists | Creative Development Association, Third World Mission Association | |