9 Most Iconic Business Logos That No Longer Exist
Business logos can be traced all the way back to ancient Greece, when rulers and their dynasties would encrypt monograms on their coins. The modern evolution of logo design, however, takes its roots in the early days of the Renaissance, when artisans labeled their crafts with simple watermarks, thumb-prints, or pressings into gold. Today, corporations and brands around the world use an ideogram (icon or sign), an emblem, or a combination of the two to make their logo. The best logos are an embodiment of a company — its products, philosophies, and services. Logos have also grown and adapted to the times, representing a snapshot of an era, triggering brand recognition for decades to come. Today, some of the most iconic business logos have evolved, but remain some of the most influential examples of how a business logo can truly make a lasting impression.
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McDonald's Physical Golden Arches
In the late 1950s, the golden arches were actually architectural fixtures placed on either side of the first McDonalds hamburger stands. The logo was progressive at the time, since it was part of the building itself, but was also bold and simple enough to be incorporated into a myriad of other branding applications. Overall, the golden arches have had a large impact on consumers, and are now recognizable around the world as a symbol of American culture, even as the physical arches were removed from buildings in the 1960s. The arches served as a platform for transforming a truly iconic American brand.
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Apple Computer's Second Logo
The rainbow bitten Apple logo replaced a far too complex logo depicting Isaac Newton sitting under a tree with fruit about to fall, the moment "gravity" was to be theorized. Introducing an appealing color scheme, it gave the company some noticeable pop and appeal, and was meant to evoke several things: hippie culture, the uniqueness of the product (Apple was the first home computing device capable of displaying colors), and a stark, colorful contrast when placed on pale mono-colored products. The first fruit logo was such a significant emblem of the company because it gave rise to today's more modernized, monochrome logo, which still maintains a connection with the company's dynamic, innovative past.
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MTV's Moon Landing Logo
MTV first went on the air in 1981 and adopted its famous "Moonman" icon for the next 30 years. MTV's promotion of the moon-landing kick-started a creative, cool, and progressive way to establish an on-air presence in the realm of brand recognition. The "Moonman" helped the network to establish a true brand ID, allowing it to use its reputation to promote more obscure artists and musicians. The logo would go on to gradually morph over the next several years.
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Nike's Swoosh
In 1971, Caroline Davidson designed the Swoosh logo for a mere $35. Today, the logo has undergone some alterations, with the most noticeable change being the elimination of the company name, leaving simply the Swoosh as the focus of all attention. Simple and powerful, the logo represents the wing of the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, and is a classic case of a world renowned company gradually simplifying its corporate logo as its fame increases. Today, the checkmark stands alone; the company name itself has become superfluous and redundant.
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Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has been a steady cultural icon, proof that a unique style from more than 100 years ago can remain timeless and relatively unchanged. We all recognize its stoic script logo, but the original logo in 1886 deserves its own appraise. The black, simple, and bold typeface of the 1880s represents a critical blueprint for all the subtle modifications that make up today's modern yet timeless Coca-Cola logo.
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Starbucks Coffee
Started in 1971, this café began selling coffee beans in Seattle's Pike Place market. The original logo depicted a two-tailed mermaid that had a vintage eclectic feel, which was achieved from a woodcut type illustration. According to one of the founders, the early siren symbol was supposed to be as seductive as the coffee itself. Since 1987, the illustration has been more streamlined and abstract, yet the face of Starbucks continues to be this seductive mermaid that we all recognize.
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Shell Energy & Petrochemical
Shell's clamshell drawing was both sophisticated and straightforward in the 1900s, as the company did not include its name in the logo. Over the years, the shell icon became more stylized, adding the red and yellow color scheme and incorporating the brand name into the logo. Today's logo took a hint from the original design's simplistic approach by dropping the name once again. Even still, the original logo concept was far more detailed and realistic. Its charm is still reminiscent in today's design, proving that the success of the brand could be attributed to its neutral style.
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Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM Pictures)
MGM has had one of the most unique and captivating ways to engage brand recognition – using an actual lion roaring as its production logo. Slats, the first lion ever used, was featured in all black-and-white MGM films between 1924 and 1928. Over the years, filming technology improved, resulting in the gradual change in the quality of the logo. And, of course, four lions have replaced Slats since original production in 1916, but Slats will always be remembered as the original. He is commemorated at McPherson Museum in Kansas.
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UPS (United Parcel Service)
The world's largest package delivery company, UPS is known for its brown trucks and iconic brown logo. Today's logo is the result of a global re-branding campaign that represents the company's emphasis on expanding its business operations. The original 1961 design established the prominent shield that is still in use today and showcased an eagle carrying a package with the words, "Safe, Swift, Sure" on the side. The message of the original logo is still a pivotal philosophy, defining the qualities of the company's service.
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