Celebrating iconic logos and their stories - Part 2

Check out logos F–I in my continuing A-Z compilation of inspirational and authentic logos, and the meanings behind them…

F: Fenchurch
A personal favourite this, even if the UK-based clothing brand struggled with increased cotton prices and had to be rescued by JD Sports in 2011, I’ve always loved the logo’s form. Named after Fenchurch Street station in London (a popular haunt for local skaters), the logo features mirrored Fs to represent both the train tracks of the station, and the architectural shapes found in churches. Bravo Slingshot Design for this.

G: Ghostbusters
From its use in the first 1984 film and countless items of merchandise since, the No-Ghost logo is firmly embedded in popular culture. It was developed by Michael C Gross, a graphic designer and one of the film’s associate producers, with additional input from Brent Boates, an artist working on visual concepts for the movie. Whether the diagonal runs top-right to bottom-left as it was originally designed, or the opposite direction to match The International Organisation for Standardisation ‘no’ symbol – mostly used in Europe (an unnecessary flip IMO), it’s a testament to how simple ideas, rendered expertly, can stand the test of time.

H: HSBC
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened in 1865, to help finance trade between Asia and the rest of the world. Branches across Asia, Europe and North America would fly a flag above its buildings as a simple form of advertising. The design was composed of a white rectangle, divided diagonally, to produce a red hourglass shape and likely inspired by the Scottish flag, in honour of HSBC’s founder Thomas Sutherland, who was born in Aberdeen in 1834. The flag became the corporation’s main logo in 1982 following numerous acquisitions and the need for a cohesive brand that could connect with customers around the world.

I: Instagram
The original Instagram logo was designed by its founder Kevin Systrom and launched on Apple's iOS in 2010. As a photo-sharing app leading with an openly vintage look – the Polaroid instant camera made sense. It looked like a camera icon, but it had a retro 80s feel. Early Instagram logos were detailed to match other popular app icons of the time. Since then, the logo has been redesigned and refined into the iconic version used today.

The most successful logos can always be displayed in one colour without losing recognition. Such designs allows for consistency and legibility across multiple channels and platforms. These simple forms can then be embellished and colourised as required.

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