A logo conveys the entire essence of the owner or of the product represented and a good graphical realization of it may represent a decisive contribution for profit and success. In spite of its size, easily to ignore, the importance is situated in an inverse proportion. The logo designers, the creators of logos, have a very difficult job: with few letters and shapes they perhaps should design an entity to represent a huge company and the responsibility is enormous.
Nowadays, the financial crisis provoked a lot of international movements and ones of the most interesting are the (re)discovery of the unexploited potential of the online medium and the necessity of a clever strategy of marketing and this means for logos a bigger role and importance. We like or not, a logo could be compared with the contribution of some very qualified employers! It’s sad but true, a wise manager between a normal employer and a very attractive logo should select the last opportunity (just my personal point of view).
A special category of logos, ones of the oldest but still highly appreciated are double meaning ones. As the name is suggesting, these amazing works have as the main feature the possibility of having different understandings depending on the perspective of the viewer. A double meaning logo is the result of a very creative mind and it supposes a colossal volume of work and be sure, there is no exaggeration!
I am a great lover of double meaning logos, I consider these as a stimulus for the mind, but there are a couple of good reasons to create or possess such a logo.
1. Overexciting the mind of viewers
We are living in a monotone world and many of our actions are repeated everyday, we could simply neglect very important aspects just because of this annoying boredom. A double meaning logo has the purpose to break this superficial pressure, the seeing and the complete understanding of it should take few seconds and usually make people say “wow”.
2. People became more interested in
A double meaning logo that managed to attract the eyes of the people surely makes them more interested in the products/person behind it and it is the main purpose of the logos. Undoubtedly, a clever logo, for a well-targeted segment of consumers is the base of a quite probably successful promotional strategy.
A logo is playing a vital role in the process of branding and nothing is more self-explanatory than the logo of FedEx. In FedEx field of activity speed and quick deadline are very important. An arrow could represent a solution, but how someone may insert this into a modern logo (we all know what FedEx is). Lindon Leader, the designer of this logo came with a brilliant idea and inserted the arrow between “E” and “x”; people, subconsciously, making the association between an arrow and the company. It’s not necessary to say that FedEx became a worldwide know company, the logo of them being a smart promotional & branding tool.
3. A distinctive logo in a big ocean of “other drawings”
The fight for clients is something usual and the managers are trying with all possibilities to attract more and more potential customers. A quality logo, which stands apart from others, has more chances to bring customers and a double meaning logo is one that is the favorite of people.
4. A sign of intelligence and respect for clients
As I previously stated, a double meaning logo requires a small mental exercise from the viewers and the smart creation makes them consider the products represented also innovative and qualitative. Depending on the activity and the public target such a logo may represent a very good solution.
A double meaning logo is clearly one of the solutions to take into account when creating a logo, but is it a universal key? If it is universal, why don’t all the logos respect this idea?
These are two questions that need answers, but any of them are totally depending on the context. Taken as separated concepts, a double meaning logo isn’t efficient in all fields, but accumulated with the specificity of the owner the by name is a well-done choosing. It sounds a little bit too theoretical, but the next two examples must be edifying.
Firstly, let’s take the example of kindergarten, there are kids, toys and the intelligence & imagination is related to the age, a very colorful and joyful logo represents the first idea. Even in this context a double meaning can’t be wrong, a hidden smiley face could be obtained from the letters and surely the attraction will be stronger, will create the idea of uniqueness, very important in marketing.
Another example is the logo of F1, few expect from this respected sport a subtle meaning, it is all about speed, money and again speed. Where is the hidden meaning of it…should I will let you find it?
At the end, if you are interested in creating such logos I will make you sad: it isn’t accessible to everyone, usually is required a powerful imagination, many hours of strong research and lots of attempting to polish the final version. On the other hand, don’t worry, all the great designers worked a lot to reach the highest standards, hence back to work and chin up! To help you better I added up here few amazing double meaning logos to inspire you; please let me know which one is your favorite.