Extrinsic meanings
Apple logo – Fruit of knowledge
Adam and eve – Deceived into eating an apple from the forbidden tree.
Isaac newton – Discovering gravity when an apple falls on his head.
Alan Turing – Supposedly commits suicide after biting an apple laced with cyanide.
Nike – Swoosh
Greek goddess of victory – alternative name “Winged Goddess”.
Sports brand – logo designed by Carolyn Davidson. Apparently represents the wings of the Greek goddess Nike. The swoosh is to suggest movement.
Nazi uniform – Was designed by Hugo boss, the symbols on their uniforms were used many times before as peace signs.
Adidas logo – Adolf Dassler designed the brand/logo in 1947 – wanted to use his own name for the logo however he was a German and it was just after the war so his full name would not have been appropriate at that time, he instead merged his first and last name together.
Heraldry – Clegg coat of arms
We were told to create our own coat of arms using heraldry symbols that represent us and to explain each one. I chose to sketch mine.
Firstly, I found my family name crest and then started researching the meanings and colours of symbols I wanted to use.
Diamond shield – Female
Snowflake – 3rd Daughter
Wing – Protective
Lion – Bravery and strength also part of the crest
Arm – Hard worker
Black – strong, protective and already part of the Clegg crest
Identity and meaning of symbols and logos
We talked briefly about Bass brewery being trademark no1 and that the triangle symbol is featured in over 40 Picasso paintings. Also started to talk about brands that’s been in existence for 50+ years, looking how their logo/brand evolves over the years to reflect the era at the time.
Eg: The evolution of the shell logo:
We also looked at signs and symbols used in logos, we identified the meaning of road signs, (created by Margaret Calvert) that colours and shapes have different meanings to be easily understood.
We were each given a common symbol in class, (mine was a heart) we had to find logos and brands that have this symbol in and give a meaning to each.
British Heart foundation– Ecg recordings, heart beat
Walls – Ice-cream, everyone loves ice cream, parent company of other ice creams.
Twister and Magnum– part of walls brand
Cow and Gate and pampers– babies, love, natural instinct to love a baby
TY – Toys, children, love
Flora – Healthy ingredients, good for heart.
Comfort – Comforting, homely, hidden heart symbol
Blackburn Market – Come to Blackburn, love Blackburn
Habitat – Love our homes
Equi Passion – Hidden heart symbol, passion
Hershel farm – Chicken love, farm food
Thomas cook airlines – love holidays
Quicksilver – two halves make heart
The heart symbol is popular in art and logo designs it represents love, marriage, romance, kindness, loyalty, affection, emotion and medical. It could also represent more crude stuff like Vulva, breasts, bum or testicles.
The Vena Amoris (latin for ‘vein of love’) is believed this vein runs directly from the forth finger on the left hand straight to the heart.
Literal to abstract symbols:
We were given random words and told to come up with as many words we associate with them then sketch some obvious symbols and some not so.
Money – pound sign, Purse, wallet, Note, gold, coins, queens promise, health, riches, payments, financial gain, wage, finances, value, exchange promise, increasing, valuable, stock market.
Transport – Vehicles, lorry, car, train, bus, plane, ships, bike, taxi, escalators, holiday, roads, fragile, boxes, moving, cargo, carry, transfer, earth, communication, arrows, overwhelm, strong emotion, joy, hazard, shopping, means of transport.
Food – Eat, substance, life, grow, nourishment, bake, cook, order, takeaway, meat, shopping centre, feed, solid, knife & fork, recycle, earth, fish, sea, bin, rubbish, burger, chef, pizza, gas, pans, food shapes, health, vegan, raw, vegetarian, dairy, animals, menu, list, wheat, junk, starvation.
Technology– phone, mac book, computer, iPad, speakers, music, machinery, equipment, development, hardware, tools, gear, scientific knowledge, advances, gadgets, off sign, wires, Nasa, radio, rocket, bulb, WIFI, radar.
Livestock– farm animals, food, pets, cattle, music festivals, farming, assets, auctioneer.
Apparel – clothes, garments, attire, wear, wardrobe, shops, stock, dress, invest, robe, supply, coat hanger, laundry, iron, wash, washer sign.
Fuel – Coal, gas, oil, heat, power, supply, fire, burn, power stations, vehicle, industrial plant, power source, petrol pump, flame, oil can, filler symbol, danger sign.
Infrastructure – buildings, roads, power supplies, schools, phone lines, sewage treatment plants, bridge, motorway, factory, transport links, blue prints, plans.
Victoria Clegg 