Three Great Logos I saw in London
I thought it was about time I visited the Capital. I live 280 miles away, but I had previously only travelled through the great City. Ironically though, I had visited Washington DC and New York on several occasions, but never the City on my door-step. I had a great time―and managed to see the last UK show of Buddy, the Buddy Holly story―which was fantastic.
Here’s a self-taken photo of me on the London Eye. I have about 20 layers of clothes on, but it was February and very cold, but quite sunny too!
Okay―enough news of my exploits, here are three great logo designs I saw whilst walking through the streets of London. Before my visit, I had never set eyes on any of the logos below, so my descriptions are my very first impressions:
Blacks logo
I saw this on a shop sign whilst strolling along near London Bridge. I don’t think that it’s a great logo because of its form or colour, but I liked it because I knew what the shop sold even before I looked through the window. If I wanted a new pair of hiking boots to aid my 18-hour trawl around the sights of London, this would be a great place to start looking. Logos are all about communication―and the ‘Blacks’ design did its job well.
Eat. The Real Food Company
I first saw this logo from afar―and needless to say, I knew exactly what to expect when I reached one of their eateries. Great, contemporary, simple design and in-your-face brilliant. What’s so great about the ‘Eat.’ name, is the whole branding structure that is maintained on all the packaging for their various soups and sandwiches.
Geox Logo
I saw this logo on a shop sign and I admired it because of the treatment of the typography used―especially the ‘x’. Admitantly, I didn’t know what the shop sold, although I suspected it was a clothing store…and it was. But all-credit to the designer of the Geox logotype, as it looked great―and gained my attention.
I featured the following list of related articles in my Three Great Logos I saw on the Motorway post, but they are still relevant to this latest article, so here they are again―and worth a read…
A Binary life: A day in brands
Designers Who Blog: Branding before Breakfast
PhilsBlogging: Where we encounter brands
Aaron Russell: 13 Logos without moving a Muscle
Mike Vogel: Brand Timeline Portrait
The Happy Corp: What Time is your Brand
Rafie: 10 Logos as you open my door
Dehog: My day in brands and logos
The Marketing Student: Day in a life of Gen Y
LogoDesignLove: 33 logos in 33 Minutes
Brand Awareness: 14 Logos in 14 Minutes
Vivian: Brainwashed in 8 minutes
“Logos are all about communication―and the ‘Blacks’ design did its job well.” I am so glad you said that! So many times we get caught up and forget that our job is to communicate.. graphically.
Also, I think geox is an athletic shoe..
Hi Andrew,
I agree about the EAT branding. The consistency across their signage and packaging is great. Your London Eye photo takes me back to when I did the round trip. I was in London for a Saint Germain gig at the Royal Albert Hall. Great times.
David Aireys last blog post..Logo Design Love book deal
I’m delighted you had a good time down here, Andrew. Did you make it to Tate Modern? And, every time I pop by it seems you’ve had a re-decoration. I love this cleaner look of your blog. Best yet!
Rob Cubbons last blog post..Exciting business card design
Hi Rob,
The Tate Modern is a superb building. I’ve been there a couple of times, and would definitely go back.
David Aireys last blog post..Logo Design Love book deal
Thanks for the link back 🙂
Shahzad Khans last blog post..Energizing myself !
Thanks everyone for your comments:
@ Carolyn
Yeah, I looked into it, and Geox is an athletic shoe as you said. I think they also sell clothing too. I’ve found their main site to be very confusing to navigate around, as a side-note.
@ David
The London Eye was well worth it. My friend managed to book in advance, so we only queued for 10 minutes, which was great. The Royal Albert Hall would be a great place to visit, maybe next time―along with The Tate Modern.
I saw the building, but didn’t get chance to visit. It was 4:30pm, and we decided to go to the Tower of London…but when we got there, it was closing!
@ Rob
I plan to visit again in about 3 month and I’ll go to the Tate then, me thinks. I’ll probably write an article about it.
I have re-designed the header, as I didn’t like like the way my blog looked at thumbnail-size, believe it or not 🙂 I have now gone for a more standard, but more professional feel. I hope I have achieved my goal.
@ Shahzad
You’re welcome…
I’ve seen the EAT logo somewhere recently, can’t recall where exactly. I think it was in one of the magazines I read. But I too liked its powerful simplicity.
I like this new purple masthead of yours, and how you mixed purple and green throughout your blog, and the smooth transition from purple to blue on the top graphics. Your purple & green are very different shades from purple & green on Inspiration Bit, and they look great together.
inspirationbits last blog post..Striking Web Sites with Font Stacks that Inspire
Geox sells shoes as far as I know. Now they also have a clothing line.
Their slogan is: Shoes that breathe. Loosely translated from German.
Phils last blog post..Long Live PSA Contest ‘09
@ Vivian
Thanks for the compliment. I just revisited your blog, and I see you have changed your left-side image. I can always remember your site, with the right-aligned articles. Strange, but memorable!
I think all us designers are a fan of purple. I don’t know what it is about it 🙂
@ Phil
You’re right. Being German, I bet they last a lifetime 😉
it’s been awhile since I last updated my left-side image on iBit and posted something. Hopefully I’ll get back to blogging soon.
Re: purple. I guess, it’s our ego, we like to feel royal 😉
Seriously though, I think it’s because purple has a magnetism and enigma that no other colours possess.
inspirationbits last blog post..Striking Web Sites with Font Stacks that Inspire
Also, maybe is way Purple is “The Royal Color”??
Eat is a wonderful example of how a simple message can be put across. You can eat here! Brilliant. Its refined, classic and I love the tag line. A definite plus in the ongoing branding of this lively and fun city.
Chewdesigns last blog post..+Logo Design for Tartine, Distillers Arms, Bushmills
I wonder what other cities the EAT. chain is in. Just London?
Ooo I remember the first time I saw EAT.
I was utterly spellbound by the simplicity of it – one of the best bits of branding/nameing I’ve ever seen I think.
It’s just perfect.
It’s one of those great logos that grabs your eyes and turns them towards it. Yeah, I don’t see how it could be any better; “perfect”…
Thanks for your comment Amanda.
The EAT. logo and branding is great, I just popped over the to their website to see how it all came together, and the site’s got some great elements but it’s lacking something.
The packaging really stands out. I take my hat off to the designer/s as they’ve done a great job. Packaging can be neglected but really stands out when done well.
I miss London but when I spoke to my brother last night he said it’s absolutely freezing, so I’m content to be by the beach!
The EAT poster is pretty genius, very simple, yet effective. Keeping the brand identity together on all products with one identifiable logo makes a lot of sense.
The little blacks mountain logo is pretty cool as well, very clever. It reminds me of the Fedex logo with the arrow in the middle, also very smart.
.-= Moonbadger´s last blog ..This summer take a flight to the UK…. =-.
I agree on the GEOX logo. Love the font, Where as the Blacks logo has an uninspiring font but a nice image of the mountain top.