The origin of the logo can be traced back to the totems 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 yellow bears 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.

In ancient Egyptian tombs, vessels with logos and patterns were mostly found to be 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, covers 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 making fine needles at that time, printed the image of a rabbit on its product packaging and recognized the white rabbit in front of the door as its trademark. 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. A new science - semiotics - came into being.

Characteristics of the logo

1. Functionality

The essence of the 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 signs 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; there are signs for social groups, enterprises, benevolence, and activities, such as emblems, monograms, factory logos, social logos, etc. ; There is a trademark dedicated to a certain product.

There are also items dedicated to collective or personal belongings, such as seals, signatures, monograms, signatures, brands, etc., each of which has 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 recognize. Showing the characteristics of things and marking the different meanings, distinctions and attributions between things are the main functions of signs. 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.