20 logos that make you think…

Many people underestimate the power of logos. Aside from acting as visual reminders for organisations they play an active role in advertising campaigns which seek to encourage the viewer to make an action. Through creative logo design the chances of an individual donating money to charities, giving up harmful vices or signing up to government initiatives could be increased. Below are 20 examples of great logos that make you think.

Donate Games – www.donategames.org

Mind, National Association for Mental Health – www.mind.org.uk

Goodwill Industries International – www.goodwill.org

Amnesty International – www.amnesty.org

shelter-logo
Shelter – www.shelter.org.uk

nspcc
NSPCC – www.nspcc.org.uk

British Heart Foundation – www.bhf.org.uk

WWF – www.wwf.org

UNICEF – www.unicef.org

The UK National Blood Service – www.blood.co.uk

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home – www.battersea.org.uk

Feeding America – www.feedingamerica.org

Actionaid – www.actionaid.org

Help The Aged – www.helptheaged.org.uk

Guide Dogs of America – www.guidedogsofamerica.org

NHS Smokefree – www.smokfree.nhs.uk

Recycle Now – www.recyclenow.com

Act on CO2 – www.actonco2.direct.gov.uk

Live Aid – www.live8live

Mencap – www.mencap.org.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gareth Hardy

Gareth is a brand identity designer specialising in creative logo design & identity. He is the author of Smashing Logo Design, a book dedicated to everything 'logo'.

14/09/09
5:43 pm

David Airey

Hi Gareth. Nice selection here. Although not the most visually attractive, my pick of the bunch goes to Pentagram's Shelter. I'll never forget the subtly amended h.
14/09/09
5:52 pm

Gareth

Thanks for the comment David, my favourite is probably the mind logo due to the great execution of a tricky concept.
14/09/09
5:54 pm

Roy Smith

Great collection, Gareth. Hadn't noticed the g in the goodwill logo before.
14/09/09
6:00 pm

Alex Griendling

Some keepers here! First time I'd seen the "Shelter" logo. Similar to Chair Entertainment's logo: http://www.chairentertainment.com/ Thanks for sharing these!
14/09/09
6:03 pm

Carson Shold

Wow, a great collection that definitely makes you think. Like Roy said, I never really looked at the goodwill logo hard enough to see the face and the 'g' before. Cheers
14/09/09
6:22 pm

Gareth

Thanks Roy @ Carson, glad you enjoyed them. I'll be doing similar posts in the future...
14/09/09
6:55 pm

Minanube

Great collection and inspiring
14/09/09
10:10 pm

Jun-Yi

I actually like the British Heart Foundation and the 'recycle' logos for being friendly and approachable. The Heart Foundation can appear daunting so it really helps that it looks approachable. And asking someone to go out of their way to recycle is helped a lot, in my opinion, by the friendly and 'easy' look of the logo.
15/09/09
1:31 pm

Sanik

Awesome collection! Give Blood and Mind are my favorites here.
15/09/09
4:44 pm

Gareth

Cheers for the comments Minanube, Jun-Yi & Sanik.
16/09/09
1:40 pm

Dave Taylor

I think one of my favourites is the Smoke Free. double meaning with the device depicting cigarettes being stubbed out but it also looks like a person celebrating. The guide dogs of America brand is good too with the Tunnel vision theme. great selection.
17/09/09
7:42 am

Shamoon

Nice selection of logos. One of my personal favorites is British Heart Foundation, it gives the feeling of warmth and love.
18/09/09
10:49 pm

Solvita

Shelter logo is also one of my favorites. And just to clarify, it is designed by Johnsonbanks not Pentagram.
28/09/09
5:22 am

Orlando

Mind...great solution for a very complicated subject. Nice collection.
03/10/09
3:53 am

Michelle McCarrick Truett

David - agreed - the Sheltered logo makes you look at it happily and say "of course!" Nice collection - thanks!

the graphic design blog that speaks the truth

20 logos that make you think…

14th Sep 09

ABOUT THE AUTHOR