Its creator, Kelvin Adithya, shared some background on the project.

“I read Kuwayama’s Trademarks & Symbols as a teenager and it always stuck with me. Then I saw @Frozune’s post about it and it reminded me how good that book is. Most of these marks only live in old print and rough scans now, and I didn’t want them to slowly disappear, so I thought, let’s put the whole thing online.”

Kuwayama’s book can be downloaded from archive.org

On how it was made, Kelvin said, “I started from a scanned PDF of the book. The pages curve toward the spine, so first I built a flattener to straighten them out, then a tracer to turn every mark into a clean SVG. The traces still had plenty of problems from the scan, so I picked 20 or so of the worst logos and wrote notes on what was wrong with each one. That taught Claude the common mistakes and how to fix them, and then I let it loop through the rest.”

Getting each logo right was one of the main challenges behind the project. Kelvin added, “The scans are pretty bad, and checking each mark against the original really needs a designer’s eye, like telling whether a wobbly edge is the scan or the actual design.”

The site took four days to build. Checking each logo continues, and designs from other classic books may follow.

Visit symbools. Follow Kelvin Adithya on X. Found via Oleg Coada.

The book Trademarks & Symbols can be viewed and downloaded here:
https://archive.org/details/trademarks-symbols-vol-2/

Tropical Smoothie Cafe, also known as Tropical Smoothie, is a restaurant franchise in the United States. It operates more than 1,700 locations nationwide, and was acquired by Blackstone in 2024.

A new logo and visual identity was doing the rounds this month, and it’s worth sharing for the monogram alone. Could a T look more tropical? Doubt it.

“We saw a chance to treat ‘tropical’ less as a place and more as a feeling, one guests could carry with them everywhere, matching the energy and craveability that’s always defined the food itself,” said JB Hartford, Executive Creative Director at JKR.

Quite an upgrade from the old Tropical Smoothie logo, too.

Excellent work by JKR, via BP&O, Print, and quite a few others.

This illustrative logo for a chain of Japanese restaurants was designed by Egor Zhgun of Art. Lebedev Studio in 2014. The studio’s case study dates back a while but you can catch that here.

The triple meaning makes the design — the chopsticks in hand, the red-crowned crane, and the rising sun. The crane is a Japanese symbol of longevity and good fortune, so it hints at the culture without clichés like the torii gates or cherry blossom. Set against the Hinomaru disc, it’s a lovely, memorable mark.

Founded in Moscow in 1995 by Artemy Lebedev, Art. Lebedev Studio is one of Russia’s best-known design firms, working across graphic design, identities, industrial design, wayfinding, typefaces and more. The studio sums up its approach as simple, elegant, logical solutions that stay true to the intended meaning. The Yakitoriya logo does just that.

Spotted via DaVinci on X.

Super Logo Design, edited by Taki Ono, is a two-volume set of paperbacks published in 2001 and 2002 by Graphic-sha in Japan.

These spreads are from volume two, available to digitally borrow on archive.org. It gives an interesting look at video game logos (among others) designed in the 1990s and early 2000s, listing the designer, client, year of creation, and software used (mostly Illustrator and Photoshop, but also Strata Studio Pro, KPT Vector Effects, 3D Studio Max, and more).

Borrow Super Logo Design on archive.org.

Via Design Reviewed.

Video game logos in the archives: Game+Logo.

Rome–based designer and art director Davide Mascioli shared his latest project — SELA (Space Exploration Logo Archive).

Passionate about art, space exploration, and design, Davide envisioned the SELA book as a project he’d love to own. His dedication to creating something tangible that preserves and celebrates the rich visual history of space exploration is the heart of this project, and his Kickstarter funding drive has resulted in more than double the initial goal.

From the Kickstarter page, SELA explores 370+ logos across eight thematic chapters, divided into five mini-books, each distinguished by a unique colour palette. From iconic NASA emblems to lesser-known mission insignias, discover the full spectrum of space logos reimagined in crisp vector detail.

The book will be printed on recycled Fedrigoni paper by Oreri, a printing space and independent publisher in Cagliari.

When asked what sources Davide used to obtain the examples he said (on The Daily Heller), “The internet obviously played a crucial role, but unfortunately a simple Google search was not enough to get what I needed. I scoured thousands of pages for months, but the communities of enthusiasts played the key role. Without them, this project would not have been possible. They include spacefacts.de, collectspace.com, spacepatches.nl, space.com and africanews.space.”

Beyond aesthetics, SELA honours the designers who contributed to the visual identity of space exploration, celebrating their creativity and highlighting their role in shaping the fascination with space.

In addition to the book, an online archive is now up and running, where you’re free to download vector logos and learn more about the individual designs: spaceexplorationlogoarchive.webflow.io

Lovely work, Davide, and congratulations on your success with the backing.

View the SELA project on Kickstarter.
More from Davide Mascioli.

Each year, for more than 20 years, Bill Gardner of Gardner Design has been studying thousands of logos to select the strongest fit for the year’s Trend Report.

“Flat Box” logos (above) by Scorpion Rose Studio and Semi:Formal, Blue Blazes, Asterisk, and Creative Spark.

Speaking about the collection, Bill said, “As ever, this report is an observation of the logo design industry and isn’t meant as a guide for best practices. Trends are trajectories that evolve and modify over time, not a passing fad. Use these ideas to expand your design acumen while pushing your own design to the next level and keep the trajectory moving to the next iteration.”

“Radar Sweep” logos (above) by Mode, Vadim Carazan, Bram Naus, and Brandforma.

Bill points out that trendy and trends are not the same. “Trends are directions — the way in which something will most likely go. Trendy is more ephemeral. Renowned designer Tom Geismar said it best when he shared with me, ‘Nothing dulls so quickly as the cutting edge.’”

“Passages” logos (above) by Yorgo&Co, Stanislav, Khairul Islam, and Atlas Minor Design Studio.

“Bell Bottoms” logos (above) by For The People, Lantern, Avidity Creative, and John Dorcas.

One step ahead

Some years ago, Lucy Bourton, senior editor at It’s Nice That, discussed graphic design with Paula Scher. Paula let Lucy in on a secret for spotting trends and tastes that made me smile while reading: “If you look through design history and you see something that looks really radical, that’s what you’re going to be doing now. If you think it’s nice, that’s what you’ve already been doing. If you think it’s tired, that’s what you were doing five years ago. But if you think it’s ugly, that’s what you’re going to be doing in five years.”

More of the discussion here: One Step Ahead

Bill Gardner is the founder of LogoLounge.com, a repository site where members can post their logo design work and search the works of others by keyword, designer’s name, client type, and more.

For this year’s full selection: 2024 Logo Trend Report

Each year, the students of SVA’s Masters in Branding program spend 100 days documenting their process with a chosen creative endeavour.

This year, Print Mag has been showcasing each student. Here are a few 100 Days projects that stood out from a logo perspective.

Kaylin Ingram’s fun Brand Castles is a hint at the ephemeral nature of business, like castles in the sand. Follow on Instagram.

Marisa Goldberg takes a craft approach with The Brand Blanket, knitting 100 logos. Almost finished on Instagram.

Brand What Ifs is a series by Deane Cruz who wonders what well-known brands would look like if they branched into new markets. Also updating through Instagram.

More projects from the Masters in Branding students on Print Magazine’s SVA 100 Days page.

In December 2023, the Chengdu 2025 Organising Committee (OC) initiated a national contest to create the logo, mascot and slogan of The World Games 2025.

There were 3,562 logo entries, and in early April 2024 a meeting was convened in Chengdu to narrow the entries down to ten finalists. Following professional refinement, five candidate emblems emerged and were put to a public vote. More than 220,000 “likes” were cast. The logo designed by British designer John Fairley won with 55,679 votes, and on May 17th 2024, after joint review by the OC and the IWGA, The World Games 2025 logo was unveiled.

John Fairley kindly shared details on the variety of ideas within the mark — perhaps the most obvious being the stylised panda face that John replicated and rotated. I didn’t pick up on the panda at first glance, but once noticed it can’t be unseen.

“My logo design draws inspiration from the Chinese peony, the panda, a Chinese knot, arrows, and the world, seamlessly intertwining to represent The World Games in Chengdu’s essence.

“The panda bear, revered as a Chinese national treasure and adored worldwide, encapsulates the host country’s identity and cultural significance. Integrating the panda’s face into the logo establishes a strong connection to Chengdu whilst evoking a sense of familiarity and affection among audiences globally.

“The Chinese knot, symbolising unity, prosperity and luck adds depth and meaning to the design.

“The arrows, expressing internationality, convey the scale and convergence of diverse cultures. They symbolise the shared journey towards athletic excellence and camaraderie.

“This combination effectively represents the spirit of the Games, Chengdu and the rich traditions of China. I hope that it captures the values of unity, diversity, and cultural heritage while also being visually appealing and memorable, making it a fitting representation of the Chengdu World Games in 2025.”

While I’m no fan of open calls for design submissions, because as designers our ideas are our most valuable product, I can certainly appreciate the craft in individual entries. Sincere congratulations to John Fairley for his winning design. Having seen his presentation deck I doubt there were many submissions with same clarity and depth of thought.

As a side-note on the design contest approach, the contest terms are particularly harsh as they seemingly rule-out the ability for contributing designers to showcase their work. Pro bono would always be my preferred way for designers to freely offer their ideas (something I recently commented on in a piece for Readymag about free pitching).

About The World Games 2025

The twelfth edition of the multi-sport event will be held between 7–17 August 2025 in Chengdu and will feature no less than 35 sports, 61 disciplines and a total of 254 medal events. Among others, the sports include korfball, lacrosse, tug of war, billiards, and drone racing.

More from John Fairley.

The Zelman Meats logo, designed by Sam Lachlan of Red Dot Studio, identifies Misha Zelman’s steakhouse in Knightsbridge, London.

Speaks for itself.

Red Dot Studio elsewhere on Logo Design Love with their excellent work for Flipper Taps.

Shoop is the brainchild of Noam Oppenheimer, an Israeli architect with a burning passion to bring hot soup to the people of central London. Alongside chef Brem Gil, their mission is to serve up delicious soups (and sandwiches and salads) freshly made every day from seasonal ingredients.

With a site secured in Fitzrovia, the biggest challenge was to attract attention in an already saturated “casual dining” market, and attempt to lure office workers and tourists alike away from the multitude of tried and tested lunchtime chains.

With this in mind, Lizzie Frost wanted to create a logo that felt as warm and inviting as Shoop’s signature dish, and reflected Noam’s irreverent sense of humour – without becoming too cheesy or childish.

In Lizzie’s words, “The winking spoon and bowl felt perfect. Just crazy enough – or maybe I mean just subtle enough – to work. I kept the logo grounded by pairing it with clean modern typography; a carefully balanced combination of sans (Circular Std) and serif (Kings Caslon Typo).”

A lovely example of how the logo can be the star of the show (after the soup of course), and that not every business needs an elaborate design system.

Unfortunately the design shown on the website (pictured below) doesn’t have the visual balance seen in Lizzie’s work.

Still, the original symbol’s great.

More from Madrid-based graphic designer Lizzie Frost.