Bad company logos. The most unfortunate logos Satellite TV Mont-sat

Incredible facts

Memorable logo is an important part of brand awareness.

Unfortunately, not all companies understand how to do it right.

Here are some of the worst logos ever created.


Company logos

1. Department of State Trade


This branch of the Treasury Department was forced to remove its logo after someone noticed what the logo looked like when rotated 90 degrees.

2. Institute for Oriental Studies, University of Santa Catarina


It was assumed that this is a pagoda, located in front of the rising sun.

3. Arlington Pediatric Clinic


It may not be the most popular pediatric clinic in town.

4. Archbishop's Commission on Youth Affairs of the Catholic Church


This logo was designed in 1973.

Logos (photo)

5. Satellite TV Mont-sat


This Polish companion looks very pleased with himself.

6. Jazz dance classes for children


You may not see it right away, but focus on the negative space.

7. Vermont Pure Maple Syrup


It is unlikely that you want to pour this syrup on pancakes.

Logo creation

8. Olympic Games in London 2012


Some thought the London 2012 Olympics logo looked like a broken swastika. Iran even threatened to boycott the Olympics because they saw the word "Zion".

A logo is the personification of your company, which largely determines its corporate identity. Many entrepreneurs (especially beginners) start creating their business with a logo, and this approach is taking place. Only you should always first study the area with which you are dealing for the first time. In this article, we will talk with you about how you do not need to create your own label, and we will analyze examples of unsuccessful design decisions. The contradictory method works best, so you can knowingly save yourself the mistakes that are most common in people who start their own business.

Logo errors are numerous, and a book volume would not be enough to list them. First, let's figure out why the quality of the logo is so important:

  • Associations arise with him target audience... We looked at the logo - they remembered your brand. And it is very bad if the association evokes negative or mocking emotions.
  • The company's symbol appears almost everywhere: souvenirs, decoration of work premises, documentation, advertising strategies. It is constantly in sight, so it is very important to make sure that the logo does not distract attention and does not irritate the eyes.
  • The logo should not conflict with your brand. The image of a toothbrush representing a car repair shop looks at least inappropriate. Thinking over symbolism must be given a huge amount of attention, and all work should be carried out with the support of a specialist designer.

The above points are just a small part of all the reasons why your heraldry should be of high quality, ideal in all characteristics. Now let's turn our attention to the top of the most unfortunate logos that have become popular solely because of their absurdity, inappropriateness and unprofessional artists.

Logo mistake # 1: missing matching elements

Errors in the 2012 Olympics logo

Let's look at several options that were received with hostility due to certain compositional moments. The first thing I want to talk about is the symbolism that personifies the 2012 Olympic Games. Such a concept as unacceptable logos is fully justified by the design of the symbols that infuriated every connoisseur of sports games and competitions. Professional designers know firsthand that it is better not to play with classics, and the Olympiad is one of the most classic events, which has a long-established logo in the form of 5 rings.

Why did people dislike the 2012 version so much? First, excessive expression. The combination of hardly matching colors, incomprehensible forms, which many perceived as a broken swastika symbol - all this caused 80 percent of the lowest ratings. Critics said the logo looked childish and was not worthy of representing the London Olympics.

Logo mistake # 2: lack of well-developed fonts

Animal Planet rebranding

Bad logos are sometimes replaced by very good ones, as happened in the case of the popular Animal Planet TV channel. Previously, their logo featured a planet and an elephant pictured below. It immediately became clear that this channel corresponds to the topic related to our world, nature and the inhabitants of the planet as a whole. But then the brand's management decided to rebrand, that is, to move to a new stage of its existence. The result, of course, amazed, but not in a positive sense.

Now the logo is the name of the channel in some kind of incomprehensible font. The letter "M" completely fell on its side, which is why the symbolism raises a lot of doubts among ordinary viewers. Also the effect was enhanced green color... It would seem that it evokes associations with nature, plants, but in the new version it looks rather ridiculous, given the overall composition of the development.

Logo mistake # 3: neglecting the opinion of the target audience

Tropicana, or target audience riot

Incorrect logos that appear during rebranding do not always change dramatically. An example of this is the world famous Tropicana juice produced under the auspices of PepsiCo. It was decided to create a completely new packaging for the product, and put it on the masses. The reason for this was the desire to move to a substantially new level, more modern and innovative. But the result was not in line with the brand's plans, because the target audience rebelled sharply.

This riot was due to the fact that customers no longer saw the appetite-inducing packaging they were used to. Now the juice resembled, rather, some kind of second-rate product, and people did call the packaging "idiotic" and "ugly". After months of letters and calls with complaints, PepsiCo quickly retreated, claiming they were immediately returning to their old packaging.

Logo mistake # 4: failing to get your message across

Pepsi, or global failure

Pepsi has changed its logo so many times, but the latest development, which cost a million dollars, left everyone in disbelief. The designer product was simply called pointless despite the price tag. The white stripe in the middle, as the representatives of the brand say, personify a smile, but there are no similarities between the images. As a result, the logo turned out to be very strange, and certainly not the most successful one.

But the label of the Coca Cola company, which has not changed practically from the very beginning of the company's foundation, is still one of the most successful. It immediately becomes clear whose strategy works much better.

Logo mistake # 5: neglecting current design trends

Wendy’s - laziness or a rebranding strategy?

Wendy’s is not very popular in Russia. This chain of fast food restaurants is one of the most loved in the West, and their cuisine specializes in the so-called "home burgers". The original logo seemed to be outdated, so the company decided to carry out a rebranding, which would take the brand to a qualitatively new level. Also, the main idea was to match the old style, but the result was not the best.

The new logo turned out to be very simple, as if done in a few hours. This was noticed by almost all visitors to the fast food restaurant. If you are planning a strategy to completely redesign your own corporate identity, you should devote 100 percent of the effort to this process, and not try to squeeze something new out of the old version, hoping for innovative breakthroughs.

Logo mistake # 6: being overconfident in your own idea

GAP: are clothes really cheap?

The GAP brand, like Wendy’s, is more widespread in the West than in Russia, but their example is changing corporate logo can also be used as bad example which is best not to follow. The clothing store decided to become more modern, closer to people, after which the rebranding phase began. People quickly noticed new logo with a well-known name, but almost everyone was shocked at how cheap and ridiculous the new design solution looked.

It is not known whether the company tried to save money on creating a new logo, or the desire to be simpler influenced such a deplorable result, but now the brand is again using the old version of the logo.

Logo mistake # 7: inconsistency between company activities and logo ideas

The brand's logo is worth $ 211 million - impressive, isn't it? And the outwardly updated design solution looks more than successful. But the label must clearly reflect the reality of the brand, so the flower-sun, which replaced the yellow-green shield, was accepted by many with hostility. The company wanted to show the world that now they are engaged not only in fuel, but also in the energy sector in terms of environmental standards.

Naturally, almost all environmentalists in the world accused the company of hypocrisy and inconsistency of their words with the real state of affairs. The situation was especially aggravated in 2010, when a major accident occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, and about 5 million barrels of crude oil spilled into the water. One can imagine the scale of the disaster and damage that resulted from the 36 hour accident. Because of this, BP's symbolism no longer seems so successful.

Logo mistake # 8: removing memorable elements

BBC: when criticism didn't break decisions

Throughout the history of its existence this company changed the symbolism only 5 times. The penultimate version was the letters BBC in gray squares highlighted with multi-colored lines. And the last option became more restrained and minimalistic, since the colors were completely excluded from the composition of this option, and the letters were enclosed in black squares. Outwardly, the option looks very aesthetically pleasing and restrained, but what did the channel viewers dislike?

The changes seemed almost insignificant to the public, and getting rid of the colors made the model somehow nondescript and unmemorable. But the company was not attacked by critics, and this symbolism is still officially used today. This example can hardly be called unsuccessful. Rather, it symbolizes what one can be prepared for when changing visual style.

Logo mistake # 9: overpriced work

Moscow Metro, or cost disputes

Not so long ago, the studio of Artemy Lebedev began to rework the symbols of the Moscow metro, and information quickly spread on the Internet that the work cost only 1 ruble. It is quite symbolic for the redrawing of the letter "M", which, in the opinion of most Russians, ideally describes and characterizes the metro in Moscow. The result was not long in coming, and the red logo quickly spread throughout the country.

It was only later that information appeared on the network that the ruble that paid for the development of the logo was far from the only financial investment in the design work. It turned out that the total cost was 232 million and 1 ruble. The huge amount, according to the government, was spent not on the logo, but on improving the overall image of the metro. The designers drew the letter "M" for the ruble.

Logo mistake # 10: frequent design changes

Google: Nice, but why so often?

Google has always been distinguished by its originality, and their legendary logo completely destroys everything modern standards building a composition. The combination of incongruous colors, the use of shadows and a nondescript font ultimately led to the fact that such heraldry is recognized by almost all people inhabiting the planet. But what is it main mistake enterprises?

You don't need to redesign too often. The break between the old and the new brand logo was only a few months, and people simply did not have time to get used to the "outdated" design. Of course, the new design development satisfied everyone - both the brand and the audience of the brand. But this approach is unlikely to be good for a business that is just starting its own development.

Errors of logos in the creation and development of design

The above top 10 not very successful logo changes are not a reason for ridicule large enterprises who have been leaders in their own fields for decades. Everyone can make a similar mistake, because they are the ones who give us invaluable experience. It is not at all necessary to go through these shortcomings yourself, drawing certain conclusions from the failures of other companies. Let's separate them into a separate list:

  1. Symbols should not be overly expressive. As energetic as a brand you want to appear, aesthetics must be respected throughout. Such a thing as "overkill" very quickly felt by your audience, and because of this, you can quickly become the object of ridicule.
  2. Having a successful logo, you don't need to get rid of it if you don't have even more interesting and potentially successful ideas in your head. Do not try to appear more modern if your company already meets the requirements and expectations of the target audience.
  3. Minimalism is a complex art, the pursuit of which often creates an impression of unprofessionalism in the execution of design ideas. A minimum of details without a sense of taste looks like an awkward, cheap composition. It becomes especially embarrassing when the old logo in a minimalistic design looks stupid, incomplete.
  4. The label should be fully consistent with what your company does. You should not try to fit absolutely the whole point of your activity into a small drawing. Make sure everything is nice and simple. You also don't need to be hypocritical by using design hyperboles when drafting a new logo. Negative criticism will not be long in coming.
  5. Don't need to change style too often own enterprise... People should get used to the corporate identity, create certain associations in their heads. The constant change of logos, color schemes, fonts and slogans will simply prevent the target audience from accepting you as an established brand, unless, of course, you have a status equal to Google, Microsoft or Apple.
  6. The work on the logo should be done only with a professional designer, because otherwise, the result will be very cheap, ugly, too simple and not original. Good symbolism needs long and careful thought, so be prepared to spend more than financial resources, but also their own strength, time and stock of creative ideas.

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site selected 15 logos that are recognized around the world. They have a meaning that we have not noticed before.

Hyundai

Many people tend to think that the logo of the Korean conglomerate Hyundai is the first letter of its name, nothing more. In reality, the letter H symbolizes two people shaking hands (on the one hand - the client, on the other - the representative of the company).

Adidas

The name of the network of sports stores Adidas was formed on behalf of their creator, Adolf Dassler. The logo changed several times, but always included three stripes. At the moment they are tilted and form a triangle - a mountain. This is a symbolic representation of the obstacles that all athletes must overcome.

Rob Yanov, the designer behind the Apple logo: “I bought a whole bag of apples, put them in a bowl and drew them for a week, trying to simplify the details. Biting off the fruit was part of the experiment, and by coincidence byte(bite translates as 'bite') turned out to be a computer term. "

Sony Vaio

The first two letters of the Sony Vaio logo make up a wave representing the analog signal, and the last two resemble 1 and 0, which are digital signal symbols.

Amazon

At first glance, the Amazon logo does not hide anything unusual, but it helps to understand the philosophy of the brand. The yellow arrow resembles a smile: Amazon.com wants customers to be happy. The arrow also connects the letters A and Z, hinting that this store has absolutely everything - "from A to Z".

Baskin robbins

The pink parts of the "BR" make up the number 31, which is the number of flavors that Baskin Robbins ice cream has historically had.

Toyota

Many people compare the logo of the Japanese automaker Toyota with the head of a cowboy wearing a hat. In reality, it is a stylized eye of a needle with a thread threaded through it. This is a kind of hint at the past of the company, which was engaged in weaving looms during its formation. However, the logo also has one more little secret: some of its parts make up the letters of the word Toyota.

Continental

Continental - manufacturer car tires... One of these can be seen in the first two letters, which create a perspective view of the wheel.

Formula 1

If you look closely at the empty space between the letter F and the red stripes, you will notice the number 1. The logo conveys a sense of speed.

Pinterest

A needle is hidden in the logo of the popular Internet service Pinterest, whose users can collect images they like and "pin" them to their online board. Take a closer look at the letter P - it is its sharp "leg" that is stylized as a needle.

The letter B and the red circle of the logo of the American manufacturer of audio products Beats are positioned as a man wearing headphones.

Toblerone

Toblerone is a chocolate company from the Swiss city of Bern. It is also called the city of bears. This is why Toblerone has included the silhouette of this animal in their logo.

A logo is extremely important for any company. After all, this is the first thing that a potential client sees, and it creates the first impression of the company itself. And a slightly bad logo can completely ruin the business. We invite you to take a look at how large corporations screwed up when creating logos.

It's a bit hard to believe, but it was supposed to be the official logo for the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, immediately after the release, the creators had to listen to a lot of negative criticism from the press, which claimed that this logo resembled Lisa Simson's intercourse and a punk swastika. And in accordance with the Iranian government, the word "zion" is spelled out here.

No, this is not what you thought. In fact, the Brazilian Federal University of the Santa Catarina Institute of Oriental Studies tried to create a Japanese-style logo with a temple in front of the rising sun. True, they had to quickly get rid of it, after it spread virally throughout the Internet.

And this is also not at all what you thought. This is the logo of a Czech company specializing in sausages. True, due to lustful associations, the logo still had to be changed.

Mont-Sat is a Polish company that installs satellite TV, and it does it with quite an enthusiasm. Interestingly, this company still uses this logo.

And this is the 1974 logo of the Catholic Church of the Archbishop's Commission for Youth Affairs. Looks well designed until you look closely.

In 1991, the A-Style apparel company created a stylized logo for the letter "A". True, it seems that these are just 2 people who have sex. By the way, this effect was created as a joke. Although to this day people still think it happened by accident.

The Japanese company Kudawara Pharmacy just decided to play with the alphabet for its logo. As you can see, this game has acquired a slightly different meaning.

The UK government trade office revealed its new logo in 2008. It seems nothing special, right? Only if you turn it 90 degrees, you can reveal that the man is pleasing himself.

Marketers and designers are creative people, which means they are not always able to be critical of their own creativity. Together with the connivance of their leaders, this leads to various kinds of curious situations. In today's review - the most ridiculous company logos.

This logo was developed by a British company specifically for the UK Department of State Commerce, for which about 14 thousand pounds of budgetary funds were issued. Everything would be fine, but the logo was printed on ballpoint pens, and in an upright position (in the photo on the right) it does not look as official as required by the state. officials.

After scandals with Catholic priests and high-ranking officials, the United States began to scrutinize every textbook, magazine or website for materials that in any way allude to pedophilia. However, the residents of Arlington can only laugh at such censorship, because they see the logo of the local pediatric center every day.

The management of the “Kids Exchange” store noted the same, placing a sign without spaces. It's hard to believe that none of the nursery staff shopping center did not notice anything unusual ("Kid Sex Change").

But there are practically no complaints about the creators of this logo for the service and assembly of PCs. A mouse, just a computer mouse.

It is very good that on the sign of this dental clinic, next to the logo, there is an inscription with the word Dental. Thanks to this, the brain automatically switches to the dentists and no more pornography in the picture is observed.

But this Institute of Oriental Studies (presumably located in Brazil) very successfully demonstrates the harm from stereotypical thinking. The author did not think of anything better than to depict the roof, traditional for Eastern architecture, against the backdrop of a huge rising sun. The result is obvious.

Judging by the sign, this school teaches female cheerleaders, as well as hip-hop dances. The logo, you must understand, depicts a couple dancing jazz. Or is it a bust of one of the cheerleaders?

Fashionable Italian clothing brand, no comments.