Red Dot Studio in London were tasked with the naming and identity creation for a new range of taps. The 5-in-1 taps flip between delivering hot, cold, filtered, sparkling, and boiling water, so the name Flipper was coined to articulate versatility. The Flipper Taps logo combines the letter F with the shape of the tap (and a plus symbol, because “more”). It’s the type of design that, in my experience, often takes considerably more persuasion when it comes to achieving client consensus than it would with a more detailed logo. A nice touch with the positioning of the trademark symbol, too. The ..read more

In March of 1966, Paul Rand finished his Ford logo presentation book. It was a proposal to Ford Motor Company for a new house mark. I’ve always found it intriguing to read the words Rand used in his logo presentations. The story, the confidence, the rationale, the salesmanship. The presentation has been transcribed here for reference. 1903 was the year the Wright Brothers successfully flew their airplane at Kitty Hawk. It was also the year Henry Ford built his first motor car. It was a time of startling contrasts. Dynamic technological progress vied with the elaborate and sentimental habits ..read more

Clarence P Hornung (1899–1997) was an American printer, publisher, typographer, and designer of logos and trademarks. He designed for book publishers such as Encyclopedia Britannica, Vanguard Press, and the Book League of America. Clarence P Hornung, via Letterology In 1930, Caxton Press published the book Trade-Marks Designed By Clarence P Hornung. Photo via Type Punch Matrix The colophon states that 750 copies were printed in December 1930, with 650 copies for sale. Each volume was hand-signed and numbered by Hornung, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts named it one of their 50 Books ..read more

Helios Publishing House is a full-service publisher in Moscow, selling publications of various types. They provide authors with help for illustration, photography and retouching, design and layout, editing, proofreading, printing, and delivery. Oksana Paley and Alice Retunsky, co-founders of omsky, designed the Helios logo and visual identity, one that caught my eye after browsing the winning entries on the EDAwards website (this one picked up a silver award back in 2020). In Ancient Greek mythology, Helios is the god and personification of the sun. “Like a ray of light, books elucidate the l ..read more

A self-funded project, the team behind ABVA “documents, stores, studies, and popularises examples of different visual arts from Bulgaria.” The collection of Bulgarian logos was particularly interesting, with some lovely examples of clean, minimal, distinctive symbols, and others with much more detail and character. “We want to describe that elusive daily aesthetic presence in the life of previous generations. Often ignored, forgotten, or mostly unknown, it is to a great degree an example of the culture of a nation.” Favourites from the collection are this design for Zagore Vermicelli & P ..read more

For four years, designers Mark Liptrott of Concrete Studio and Nick Fraser brought together football and music by pairing iconic identities from both worlds. The idea was simple — combine football team badges with band logos. In their words, “bands as football teams and football teams as bands.” “We now have over 400 badges, working with friends and guest designers, setting up an exhibition at the National Football Museum in Manchester, becoming the proud sponsors of Brinscall FC Juniors boys’ and girls’ teams and helping Frightened Rabbit to raise a lot of money for the charity they are sett ..read more

In 2022, the former Hiii Brand, Hiii Typography, and Hiii Illustration Awards have been merged and renamed as Hiiibrand International Brand & Communication Design Awards. The Awards focuses on branding, business value, and communication design, “discovering and honouring outstanding branding practices and design strengths through a global call for entries and selection.” After 13 years, more than 80 international judges from five continents have judged more than 20,000 entries from 100+ countries. Here’s a sample of past winners in the logo and identity categories, with previous judges in ..read more

Seems like it’s been around forever. I stop by the website every once in a while, normally after clicking a link in an article, or clicking through from a logo in an image search. I think to myself, oh, this is good, I should add it to the site. Then I go back to whatever I was doing. So maybe 10 years after I first planned to, here’s a signpost to the logo archives on Graphis.com, where a record’s kept for the likes of these. Our Price logo, by CDT (Carroll, Dempsey and Thirkell) For my international readers, Our Price was a chain of record stores in the UK and Ireland. Endura Nail Corporati ..read more

Through his extensive design and educational work, Armin Hofmann (1920–2020) is considered one of the most influential graphic designers in Switzerland. He made a significant contribution to the international reputation of Swiss graphic design and influenced generations of graphic designers and teachers around the world. In celebration of Armin’s 100th birthday in June 2020, his son Matthias Hofmann, also a graphic designer, published the book Armin Hofmann. Reduction. Ethics. Didactics. The German / English book showcases a comprehensive overview of Armin Hofmann’s creative work, his profess ..read more

Located on the harbour-front in Stornoway, Scotland, Harbour Kitchen prides itself in its fresh selection of seafood. Designer Pearse O’Halloran was tasked with creating an identity that told the story of their culinary pride in a contemporary context. “We created a suite of brand assets and we were delighted to work with local printmaker Alice Macmillan on the main visual elements. The project includes a custom display typeface based on Hebridean culture.” You’ll undoubtedly be surprised to note that the HK monogram is the star of the project for me. The intricate linocut work in Alice’s po ..read more