Subject: Charity logos - good/bad/ugly
Our new page gives you the low down on what makes a good charity logo. It looks at trends in design and colour and the thorny issue of managing how your logo is used.
- Can a logo really convey the ethos and activity of an organisation?
- Which are the charity logos which you think are outstanding?
Mind's logo is my charity favourite. Its the one with the squiggly line unravelling into the word 'mind' in lowercase.
I love the simplicity of it. I think it so cleverly gets across the confusion and tangled thoughts connected with mental health. I guess it means different things to different people. I can't think of anything else like it.
It'll be interesting to see what RNID's new logo is like for their new name, launching next year. I think the amplification image in their current logo works well. Wonder what they'll do for 'Action on Hearing Loss' - it's quite a lot to fit in.
On re-reading above, it shows that the logos which connect with me are the ones with some kind of icon in, not just a name in different colours.
Off the top of my head, my favourite charity logos are...
1. British Heart Foundation (hard to see how it can be improved upon)
2. Macmillan Cancer Support (Love "We Are Macmillan...", although the logo doesn't translate well to 48x48 pixels!!)
3. National Trust
4. Great Ormond Street Hospital
Interesting article on the BBC website today about Gap and it's abandoned new logo. Talks about the dangers of getting it wrong. Gap logo debacle.
Small charity logos I like are harder to find. How about:
- Cats Protection
- Association of Children's Palliative Care (ACT)
- Women's Resource Centre - this one is great!
This one from Birmingham Settlement doesn't look like that of a small charity. I like it, it's clear and stands out but am not sure what it is meant to signify. Any ideas?
I like simple concepts: Amnesty's barbed wire candle; Water Aid's teardrop; Actionaid's exclamation mark within a bold font; Asthma UK's knotted tube representing breathing problems; the RSPCA's pawprint (although there are dozens of other animal charities that have similar logos).
Well designed logos should look good in colour or black and white, or large and small. I've put together a gallery of 50 charities' logos, reduced to only 16 pixels tall. This is how their logos look in miniature as their website's "favicon".
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