Logo evolution

Evolution of two well-known logos/ logotypes; a discussion regarding the success or lack of success of each logo:

·         McDonalds

·         Ford

Mc Donald’s – A successful evolution

Initially, in 1948, the logo of Mc Donald’s was not immediately distinctive; composed of three different letter types – Mc Donald’s in an italic script,( with serif) above the word FAMOUS, in upper case, bold letters, (News Gothic). Underneath, the word BARBECUE (perhaps a Walbaum type). The double line between Mc Donald’s and BARBECUE, on either side of FAMOUS, served as an unsuccessful attempt to unite the three different fonts, which appear too ‘busy’ to the viewer’s eye and consequently, easy to forget.

The 1953 Mc Donald’s logo, is perhaps more successful in terms of its greater unification; lettering and image are united inside the circular frame. The cute cartoon figure relates to the delivery of the product, by use of speech bubble” I am Speedie”. Also, the different fonts are now limited to 2, which makes the overall effect less ‘busy’ to the viewer’s eye. Mc Donald’s is presented in mostly lower case, almost a childlike type of lettering in bright red, which links it to the red diagonal band with white outlined upper case font, stating the words: FROM COAST TO COAST. Unfortunately, this logo does not appear memorable either, as overall, it is still too busy and complex, the little cartoon may be cute, but he is bland and not unique as a personality.

The 1960 Mc Donald’s logo presented the beginning of the evolution of the more distinctive ‘M’ logo type that 21^st Century customers successfully associate with Mc Donald’s; The’ M’ is seen with a diagonal line through it, all in gold, outlined in red, and the red word Mc Donald’s is underneath, linked with the red outlined ‘M’ above. The letter spacing of the word   ‘Mc Donald’s’ is more tightly spaced here, this was a hallmark of commercial graphics in the 1960s and 70s. (The ‘Mc Donald’s’ name is more generously tracked in the later 1992 logo) It is also noted here that the ‘M’ does not yet have the simple all – in –one format that it has today – it is formed by 2 interconnecting upside down ‘u’ shapes. This format seems rather complex and is not as easily identifiable as the later ’M’ shape.

The 1968 Mc Donald’s ‘M’ is the same form that it is today, however the company still saw the need to include the Mc Donald’s wording with the ‘M’. Here the Mc Donald’s name horizontally crosses the Letter ‘M’.

Colour changes are apparent from the orange ‘M’ of 1968 to the distinctive yellow Mc Donald’s ‘M’ of 1975 and 1992 where the Mc Donald’s lettering changes from the black print of 1968 to white in 1978 and 1992. The change to white creates a higher contrast.

It is noted that the designers experimented with the use of the rectangular box format in 1975, 1992 and 2000, perhaps in an attempt to unify the logo within a frame, or by using the sense of strong red negative space contrasting against the letters.

It was not until 2006 that the ‘M’ was considered a substantial brand in itself – instantly associated with Mc Donald’s and successful in its simplicity.

I see the successful evolution of the Mc Donald’s logo as corresponding to the shift from complexity to simplicity in advertising, which has occurred over the past fifty years. One explanation for this is that due to the complexity of modern lifestyles and the visual overload of typefaces, which the average person encounters daily in an urban world, the simpler the logo the easier it is to recognise and remember.

The evolution of the Ford Logo – not so successful

The evolution of the Ford logo also documents the movement towards increasing simplicity, yet I feel these changes ultimately do not reflect the individuality or uniqueness of the Ford vehicle. The 1903 logo appeared as an art nouveau - influenced, genuine article that captured the artistic awareness of the period and emphasized the quality of the car.

Perhaps the logo changes in 1909 and 1912 help express the speed of the car as the linked hand written fonts flow fluidly, however the decision to include the lettering inside the compressed oval shape seems to ‘ground’ the car. Rather than associating the Ford brand with quality or speed, this logo brings to mind mass production; the quick easy stamping of a car meant for the general market.

My preference would be to keep the original logo, as it has an antique, old family, pioneering feel to it, rather like an old belt buckle or a fine old whiskey. Perhaps the artist can put forward a case to keep some designs the same as the original which customers associate with uniqueness, and something special.