Celebrating iconic logos and their stories - Part 3

J, K, and L in my A-Z of inspirational and authentic logos, and the meanings behind them…

J: Juventus Football Club

The 2017 conversion from ‘badge’ to logo by Interbrand’s Milan office is a fine example of logo design. Casting aside the symbolism of previous badges (a Turin bull, a zebra(?), back to a bull, a horse or perhaps another zebra, and a bull again) was met with some criticism due to its disassociation from Turin. It was explained as “a visual manifestation of a growth strategy that sees the club moving beyond football... into becoming an entertainment or lifestyle brand.”

The logo retained the black and white stripes, by now more ‘owned’ by Juventus than Notts County Football Club (former English Juventus player John Savage had helped them obtain shirts through his connections with Notts County in 1903). And it satisfyingly merges stripes into a J and a shield.

K: Keep Britain Tidy

You want an iconic logo? Look no further than the "Tidyman" logo for Keep Britain Tidy. It was originally designed by Royston Cooper for a poster produced for the Central Office of Information and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in 1962. This came after The National Federation of Women’s Institutes passed a resolution to “Keep Britain Tidy” in 1954 and registered as a charity in 1960.

The Tidyman logo started appearing on bins and packaging and helped raise awareness of new £100 littering fines introduced by the Dangerous Litter Act in 1971. A merger of charities in 2011 led to a rounded, quite frankly horrible version until sense prevailed with a rebrand by Conran Design Group in 2017, returning the familiar triangular Tidyman.

L: Live Aid

This was the first time I remember thinking “that’s clever” – I was 6 when Live Aid’s Africa-shaped electric guitar adorned posters for the benefit concerts held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. The 16-hour extravaganza broadcast in 100 countries to approximately 2 billion people to raise awareness and funds for the shocking plight of starving people in Africa.

The logo was designed by Steve Maher, best known for his sci-fi and rock art from the 70s and 80s for bands like Status Quo and Iron Maiden. Irish singer-songwriter Bob Geldof organized the concerts after Michael Buerk's BBC News reports on the 1984 Ethiopian famine. Shocked, angry, and saddened by the tragedy that had already cost hundreds of thousands of lives, he conceived the idea of a "Global Jukebox" to try and make a difference.

All three logos represent very different entities: a football club (sorry, lifestyle brand), a charitable movement, and a global cause for good. They each portray a core message distilled into a simple and easily recognised graphic.

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