Logos I like:

1. Paramount Pictures: Owned by Viacom, Paramount Pictures has been the longest existing American film studio (97 years). The mountain and stars have been with the company the whole time. It was said to have first been doodled during a meeting with Adolf Zukor by W. W. Hodkinson, based off of a childhood memory. Paramount has 4 more variations of this logo since the beginning.

I like it because it works with the name, but makes it more grandiose, just as Hollywood makes things more illustrious. To me, the stars reiterate movie stars, above the clouds, held above regular life.



2. USA Network: Owned by NBC Universal, USA Network was started in 1977. It is an American cable network that shows original and syndicate television shows, as well as edited movies. Their slogan is "characters welcome". I first noticed their logo while watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" last year, and found it to be simple, but clever and eye catching. They use figure-ground relationship to their advantage to create the "s", making the logo interesting and memorable.




3. MTV Network: Started in 1981, the first logo showed a hand holding a music note (see right). Later, the current logo was designed by Manhattan Design (Pat Gorman, Frank Olinsky, and Pat Gorman). It came from an idea on a crumpled piece of paper about to be thrown out with the rest of the ideas said not to work. The designer said the M was too fat, but the Vice President of Warner-Amex SatelliteEntertainment Company thought the design would work. Fred Seibert (VP) considered the M to be "classic" and the small tv "daring". He states, "A good ID must have shape, size and simplicity, but it also must stand out from the 30 other channels competing for attention."

I like this logo because of its versatility. The designers are constantly thinking of new ways to "dress" the M. The logo is unmistakable, but is interesting because it is also static and ever-changing. Designer Alan Goodman states that the logo "has movement even as it sits there. It already has action because something is always being done to it." I like the nature of it and I think it works well with the identity of the company. This channel displaying the current music trends is targeting the young adult demographic. This is a static age, and trends are constantly changing, therefore the logo parallels with the nature of this while also being bold.


4. National Basketball Association (NBA): This league of men's basketball was formed in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America. The name was changed in 1949 when they merged with their rival league, the National Basketball League. The logo that is still used today was designed around 1971-72, depicting the silhouette of Jerry West (a.k.a. "Mr. Clutch"). I like the logo because it displays the kinetic energy of basketball with a simple figure set in the colors of the U.S.A. flag.


















5. MasterCard: This company began in 1966 as the Interbank Card Association, going global in 1968. The logo was designed to represent the merging of commerce between two hemispheres: the "golden" West and the Eastern world (red). The world unites under the trusted name of MasterCard. This logo is current since 1996, but they have recently rebranded their corporate identity, now calling themselves "MasterCard Worldwide". Hopefully they will keep their old logo on the cards and ads. The new one was said to "reflect the company's unique, three-tiered business model as a franchiser, processor, and advisor", but I don't see it as being as successful as the old logo.

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