The meaning of logo
In today's rapid development of science and technology, the role of printing, photography, design and image transmission is becoming more and more important. The development of this non-verbal transmission has the characteristics of Competing forces against language delivery. Logo is one of the unique transmission methods.
When people see smoke rising, they think of fire below. Smoke is a natural sign of fire. In an era when communications were underdeveloped, people used smoke (wolf smoke) as a special means of transmitting information related to the meaning of fire (such as emergencies, emergencies, alarms, etc.). This artificial "smoke" is both a signal and a sign. It rises high, spreads slowly, has a vivid image, and has distinctive features that people can see quickly from a long distance. The speed and effect of this non-verbal transmission were beyond the reach of verbal and written transmission at that time. Today, although the means of language and text transmission have become very developed, intuitive transmission methods such as signs, which are clear to the public at a glance, have quick effects, and are not bound by the languages ????of different ethnic groups and countries, are more suitable for the needs of the ever-accelerating pace of life. The special function is still irreplaceable by any transmission method.
A sign is a mark that indicates the characteristics of something. It uses simple, obvious and easily identifiable objects, graphics or text symbols as intuitive language. In addition to marking something and replacing something, it also has the function of expressing meaning, emotion and instructing actions.
Logo, as a special way of intuitive connection between human beings, is not only ubiquitous in social activities and production activities, but also serves the fundamental interests of the country, social groups and even individuals. It is increasingly showing its extremely important and unique functions. For example, the national flag and national emblem, as symbols of a country's image, have special meanings that are difficult to express accurately in any language or text. Public place signs, traffic signs, safety signs, operation signs, etc., have an intuitive and quick effect in guiding people to carry out orderly and normal activities and ensuring the safety of life and property. Special signs such as trademarks, store logos, and factory logos have great practical value and legal protection for developing the economy, creating economic benefits, and safeguarding the rights and interests of enterprises and consumers. Almost all major domestic and foreign events, conferences, sports games, postal transportation, finance and trade, institutions, groups and individuals (stamps, signatures) all have signs that indicate their own characteristics. These signs play a role in communication, exchange and publicity from various angles. , promote the progress of social economy, politics, science and technology, and culture, and protect their respective rights and interests. As international exchanges become more and more frequent, the characteristics of logos, such as being intuitive, vivid, and free from language and text barriers, are extremely conducive to international communication and application. Therefore, international logos have been rapidly promoted and developed, becoming one of the most effective means of visual transmission. , becoming an intuitive communication tool for human beings.
The origin of the logo
The origin of the logo can be traced back to the "totem" of ancient times. At that time, each clan and tribe chose an animal or natural object that it believed had a special mysterious relationship with itself as a special mark of the clan or tribe (called a totem). For example, the Nuwa clan uses snakes as their totems, Xia Yu's ancestors use the yellow bear as their totems, and some use the sun, moon, and crow as their totems. At first, people carved totems on the caves where they lived and on working tools. Later, they became symbols of war and sacrifice, and became clan flags and emblems. After the country was born, it evolved into the national flag and national emblem.
In production labor and social life, ancient people continued to create and widely use various types of marks, such as road signs, village signs, and tablets, in order to facilitate contact, indicate meaning, and distinguish the types, characteristics, and attributions of things. , seals and coats of arms, etc. Broadly speaking, these are signs. Most of the vessels with logo patterns found in ancient Egyptian tombs were the maker's logo and name, which were later changed into patterns. In ancient Greece, signs were widely used. Stonemason's symbols such as crescent wheels, grape leaves, and similar simple designs have been found carved on ancient buildings in Rome and Pompeii, as well as in Palestine. China's own workshops and shops are accompanied by signs, banners and other signs. Paper produced in the Tang Dynasty already had dark markings in it. By the Song Dynasty, the use of trademarks had become quite common.
For example, the Liujia Needle Shop in Jinan, which specialized in manufacturing fine needles at that time, printed a rabbit image and a trademark with the words "Recognize the white rabbit in front of the door as a mark" on the product packaging. The armor worn by European medieval soldiers had invisible marks on their head coverings to identify their affiliations, and noble families also had family emblems.
By this century, public logos and international logos began to spread around the world. With the rapid development of social economy, politics, science and technology, and culture, up to now, carefully designed signs that are highly practical and artistic have been widely used in all fields of society, playing a huge role in the development and progress of human society. role and impact. It is a historical necessity that a new science - "symbolism" came into being.
Characteristics of the logo
1. Functionality
The essence of a logo lies in its functionality. Although artistically designed logos have ornamental value, the logo is not primarily for viewing, but for practicality. Logos are an indispensable intuitive tool for people to carry out production activities and social activities.
There are flags for human use, such as public place signs, traffic signs, safety signs, operation signs, etc.; there are flags and emblems for countries, regions, cities, nations, and families. and other signs; some are used exclusively for social groups, enterprises, benevolence, and activities, such as emblems, monograms, factory logos, social logos, etc.; there are trademarks dedicated for certain commodities; there are also trademarks dedicated for collective or personal belongings. For example, stamps, signatures, monograms, signatures, brands, etc., all have unique and irreplaceable functions. Signs with legal effect have a special mission to safeguard rights and interests.
2． Recognition
The most prominent feature of logos is that each has a unique appearance and is easy to identify. Showing the characteristics of things and marking the different meanings, distinctions and attributions between things are the main functions of logos. Various signs are directly related to the fundamental interests of the country, groups and even individuals, and must not be similar or confused with each other to avoid misunderstandings. Therefore, the logo must be distinctive, recognizable at a glance, and unforgettable.
3. Conspicuousness
Significance is another important feature of signs. Except for invisible signs, most signs are set up to attract people's attention. Therefore, strong and eye-catching colors and concise and clear graphics are the common characteristics of logos.
4. Diversity
There are many types of signs and a wide range of uses. Regardless of their application types, composition forms, and expression methods, they are extremely diverse.
The application forms are not only flat (almost any flat surface can be used), but also three-dimensional (such as reliefs, garden sculptures, arbitrary three-dimensional objects or special styles of packaging, containers, etc.) logo, etc.).
The form of its composition includes direct use of objects, some composed of text symbols, some composed of concrete images, images or abstract graphics, and some composed of colors. Most logos are composed of a combination of several basic forms.
As far as the means of expression are concerned, its richness and diversity are almost difficult to summarize, and with the development of science and technology, culture, and art, there is always innovation.
5. Artistry
Every designed unnatural symbol has some degree of artistry. It meets both practical requirements and aesthetic principles, and gives people a sense of beauty, which is the basic requirement for its artistry. Generally speaking, artistic logos are more attractive and infective, giving people a strong and deep impression.
The high degree of artistry in logos is the need of the times and the progress of civilization. It is the embodiment of people's increasingly higher cultural literacy and the needs of their aesthetic psychology.
6. Accuracy
No matter what the logo is intended to illustrate or indicate, whether it is a moral or a symbol, its meaning must be accurate. First of all, it must be easy to understand and conform to people's cognitive psychology and cognitive abilities. Secondly, it must be accurate to avoid unexpected interpretations or misunderstandings, and special attention should be paid to taboos. It allows people to understand clearly and accurately in a very short time. This is the advantage of logos over language and faster than language.
7. Persistence
Logos, unlike advertisements or other promotional materials, generally have a long-term use value and cannot be easily changed.
》》Principles of logo design
Logo design is not only the design of practical objects, but also a kind of graphic art design. It has similarities with other means of graphic art expression, but also has its own artistic rules. It must embody the aforementioned characteristics in order to better perform its functions.
Because the requirements for its conciseness, generalization, and perfection are very strict, that is, to be successful to the point where it is almost impossible to find a better alternative, it is much more difficult than any other graphic art design. .
1. The design should be carried out with a detailed understanding of the purpose of use, scope of application, relevant regulations and other relevant circumstances of the design object, and a deep understanding of its functional requirements.
2. The design must fully consider the feasibility of its implementation, and adopt corresponding design methods according to its application type, materials and production conditions. At the same time, the visual effects when used in other visual communication methods (such as printing, advertising, images, etc.) or when zooming in or out should also be taken into consideration.
3. The design must conform to the intuitive acceptance ability, aesthetic consciousness, social psychology and taboos of the target.
4． The idea must be carefully developed and naughty, and strive to be profound, ingenious, novel and unique, with accurate meaning and able to withstand the test of time.
5. The composition should be concise, beautiful, and adaptable (adaptive to the shape of the object to which it is applied).
6． Graphics and symbols should be concise and summarized, but also should be artistic.
7. Colors should be simple, strong, and eye-catching.
8. Following the laws of logo art, creatively exploring appropriate artistic expression forms and techniques, and hammering out precise artistic language so that the designed logo has a high degree of overall beauty and obtains the best visual effect are the criteria for the pursuit of logo design art.
Laws of logo art
In addition to general design art laws (such as decorative beauty, orderly beauty, etc.), logo art also has unique artistic laws.
1. Symbolic beauty
Logo art is a graphic design art with unique symbolic art characteristics. It takes the forms, symbols (including words), colors, etc. that originate from nature, society, and people's concepts, and refines and processes them through art to structure them into graphic symbols with complete artistic quality, thus distinguishing them from decorative pictures and other arts. design.
To a certain extent, graphical symbols have the simplicity, aggregation and abstraction of text symbols, and sometimes they even directly use ready-made text symbols, but they are completely different from text symbols. It is embodied in the form of graphics (ready-made text symbols must be graphically transformed), and is a more distinctive, artistic and intellectual symbol.
Symbolic beauty is the most important artistic rule in logo design. Logo art is the art of graphic symbols.
2. Characteristic beauty
Characteristic beauty is also a unique artistic feature of logo art.
What logo graphics embody is not the individual characteristics (personality) of individual things, but the essential characteristics (unity) of similar things as a whole, or category characteristics. Through the artistic strengthening and exaggeration of these characteristics, the most conscious artistic effect is obtained. This is completely different from other plastic arts that achieve touching artistic effects through flesh-and-blood personality portrayals.
However, its expression of the sexual characteristics of things is not uniform and conceptual. The same sexual characteristics can and must have different personality and beauty in different designs, thus each is unique. Artistic charm.
3. Concise beauty
Compact composition and concise graphics are the structural beauty principles that logo art must follow. Logos are not only used alone, but are often used in various documents, promotional materials, advertisements, images and other visual communication materials. A logo with concise beauty can show its independent and complete symbolic beauty in any visual communication (no matter how big or small it is).