The very best way to learn how to do something well is to study the pros. Whether it’s playing tennis, cooking a gourmet meal or designing your Logo and branding strategy business this is a smart way to get insider proven tactics and tips.

A logo must be more than a pretty picture. It needs to be a powerful visual communicator that can propel your business forward or else drag it down. As such, you want to know how to create the very best logo for your startup.

When I needed a new logo for this website I launched the design contest on 99designs. The process was fun and easy and I got over 100 great logo ideas submissions. Check out the video of my logo ideas below.  Read about my experience of creating a logo at 99 designs review.

10 Famous logos and what you can learn from them

One of the most famous 99 logos is on my favorite business book, The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris for 99designs promo.

It is especially useful to study famous brands logos because we can see how they have both evolved over time and continued to perform well and how they use their logos across many formats and mediums such as online, clothing merchandise and print ads.

10 famous logos and what you can learn from them

Famous Technology Logos

Arguably the most famous tech logo is the Apple logo which debuted in 1976. It began as a very old-fashioned illustration of Isaac Newton sitting underneath the apple tree! From 1977 on it was redesigned to become the iconic Apple with a bite removed that you know today. The lesson of how to modernize a logo is exemplified here.

Another example is Google whose original logo from 1998 was simply the company name in a standard text font. Believe it or not, this logo or lack thereof continued until 2009 when the company added colors and some letter shading.

The simplicity of the logo shown on a white background made the site very easy on the eyes and focused all the attention on the function offered – their search engine.

This type of logo is called a wordmark, where you simply write your company name and design the fonts, colors, and spacing to differentiate the company. This can be a very effective strategy for powerful branding.

Famous Fashion Retail Logos

Probably the most profitable logo in history is the Nike swoosh. Did you know that it was designed in 1971 by a student of graphic design which sold it to the company for only $35! It was inspired by Mercury’s flaming feet! It has also been interpreted alternately as a checkmark or positive symbol.

Your takeaways should be that you can use powerful mythology such as Mercury and borrow their message for your logo branding.

Drop Dead Gorgeous Fashion Logos from 99designs

Famous Food and Drink Logos

Reported to be the single most recognizable logo globally is that of Coca-Cola which first introduced their black-and-white logo in 1886.

While it has evolved over time the script lettering has essentially remained the same. In 1958 the now iconic red and white colors graced their logo. The color red was a wise choice because it is powerful, emotionally exciting and energetic – all things the stimulating soft drink offers.

Their choice of elegant script lettering was classic and timeless. As such. it traveled through generations, and across continents successfully branding Coca-Cola.

99designs Logos Examples for Food and Drink Businesses

Another super successful and famous logo is the golden arches of McDonald’s restaurants. The history of the McDonald’s logo design is interesting because the emblem of the golden arches was actually taken from the building design.

The architect of the first restaurant, Stanley Clark Meston, created the design of the arches to depict the letter M for the name of founding two brothers. The famous arches have become part of the logo design since 1968. The yellow golden color was the original building design.

How to develop a branding strategy for your business

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