Logos with Hidden Images

Designing a logo is a very difficult and important part of branding.  Your logo will become synonymous with your company.  The ideal is to get to the point where people can see your image and immediately think of your company, even if the logo does not have your company name in it (such as Shell's picture of a yellow shell).

One thing I love in logos is hidden images or messages.  They give the logo a unique look, and can communicate many ideas without using any words.  Here are a few of my favorites for you to consider:

Nintendo Game Cube's logo looks like a 3D cube, which is also what the system itself looks like.  The cube logo is made of up a large purple capital letter "G" (for "game") that ends in a smaller cube in the middle, and a "C" (for "cube") in the negative black space. 

This was the first hidden image I ever found in a logo.  Note the arrow pointing to the right made up of the negative between the "E" and "x" of "Ex."  This represents FedEx always being on the move, making express deliveries.

Amazon's logo has so much happening.  Note the yellow arrow underneath "amazon."  It is pointing from the letter "a" to the letter "z," because amazon is known for providing, and helping you, with everything from a to z.  In addition to pointing from "a" to "z," the arrow forms a smiling face that reassures customers they will have a happy experience.

There is no telling if the subliminal message approach of FedEx's arrow makes a significant contribution in terms of advertising, but there is no doubt that the creative Game Cube and amazon.com logos tell a story while looking really cool.  When you're designing your own logo, think about the balance between creative and informative, and how you can use both of those aspects to make a fun and effective logo.

Check back for the next post: after you design your logo, how can you use it to effectively to market yourself?