Logos are the diamonds of corporate branding

So says Dave Holland in an article titled 'Making your Marque' which will be published in the upcoming edition of The Encyclopaedia of Brands & Branding in South Africa. Holland has just completed judging for the inaugural World Logo Design Annual and after trawling through 1500 logos, or symbols, wordmarks or icons in his personal time, noted his impatience and demanded something great and timeless, something that truly stands out with an enduring single-minded focus on communicating one simple idea brilliantly - a logo that tells a story that will always rise above, no matter what the prevailing wind has to say.

"There are plenty of good logos out there, hundreds of thousands of them, millions of them," he says, "and all do a good enough job of basic identification. However, it is a sameness among all of these that reenergises me to continue seeking for, or designing, marks, for marques, that truly stand out, above and beyond the same."

In his article, Holland identifies his ‘4 Cs' for assessing great logo work, which he says are not always achievable all at once, but certainly useful as guiding lights:

1. Concept - tell a story that has a single-minded meaning and avoids just ‘pushing style'.
2. Clarity - be resonant and immediate, while preferably communicating one message only.
3. Craft - balance, harmony, contrast and overall aesthetic pleasure should pull together.
4. Context - differentiate from competitors, or adapt to and stand out in your unique market.

He lists 14 logos to contemplate that, he believes, currently achieve some, or all of the above. For example, there's the calligraphic brush mark that looks like a wing for Cathay Pacific. This logo's rich storytelling value (which draws directly from the region's artistic and craft heritage) is simple, distinct, unique, visible, and artfully placed in a robust and modern corporate visual style.

Then there's the Barack Obama '08 logo. Holland says, "I enjoyed a quiet sense of satisfaction watching this historic election race's democratic winner pip his competition at the post - with this logo alone, he should've been voted in as de facto winner from the beginning, in a perfect world - hey, I have a dream too. Hope, security, vision, Americanness, all expressed in a memorable and punchy monogram O. May the best brand win..."

Others making the list are a leading Japanese construction and mining equipment manufacturer, Komatsu, as well as Jaguar, CNN, Anglo American and Deutsche Bank. He lists Boeing as his "all-time favourite and one of the reasons why I got into this job in the first place" and the stylised Penguin as "more or less perfect". He even puts in his 50 cents' worth about the Busta Rhymes logotype.

Read Dave Holland's full article in the 2008 edition of The Encyclopaedia of Brands & Branding in South Africa being launched in October. To order your copy, email affinity@iafrica.com or call +27 11 442 2366.