October 19, 2022

10 Most Famous Logo Designers Of All Time

Let’s discover, learn, and get inspired by the best.
Here are some of the most famous logo designers of all time you should know and learn from!

Being a designer means working in the competitive and creative tendencies of the working environment. It means one should constantly find more inspiration and get the best work that will leave a positive footprint in the industry. Among many, famous logo designers have become one of the best inspiration sources for people.

The tag of famous itself explains one competence in creating a distinctive, long-lasting, and impactful logo crossing centuries or industries. But when you see those famous people, it is easier to notice the similar or familiar touch on their design. In logo design, designers have many points to deliver. And that delivery success later builds their fame.

In other words, creating a famous visual identity is more than just an impactful picture. The designer needs to create and shape the brand's future. Surprisingly enough, not all famous creators are professional. You can find that some of the famous signs and the talent behind them are pretty unique.

Some of those world's known logos and designers are also students who are looking for extra funds for their jobs. But their ability to fully develop a visual identity has made the logo designers known even after their passing. It means that a successful sign or visual identity is not only impactful for their represented business but also for the people behind their process.

Considering the existence of human beings behind the most famous logos or works, you will see how good it is to learn from their projects. Each person has their distinct style, which does the iconic works last long and create a magnificent legacy in the industry. For the best works to consider, here is the list of those best logo designers to be inspired.

Famous Logo Designers For Inspiration

1. Ruth Kedar

Starting with the obvious famous logo is Ruth Kedar. The woman behind the famous work was an art professor at Stanford. She is the talented designer who created the beloved and worldly known logo, Google. The colorful, simple make and is part of one of the best search engines in the world.

There is a short background story behind the symbol creation. The founder of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, were Ph.D. students at Stanford. The two founders were looking for and contacting logo designers to make the perfect visual identity. But later, the choice fell to their college professor, Kedar. Ruth Kedar later created a logo for one of the biggest international companies.

Looking at Google Signs, you can see that Ruth Kedar put a lot of thought into it. She became one of the logo designers thanks to her smart perception of understanding the hidden meaning of meeting and collaboration. Kedar also mentioned a concept similar to Alice in Wonderland, underlining the idea of presenting thought, learning, and understanding.

The logo itself is pretty simple, with Font Catull. Kedar later combines traditional styling with clean lines. She also plays with stark colors, creating a sense of a universal and vibrant world. In 2015, her Google logo got some haul into a simpler geometric typeface. But Kedar's works still have the fundamental concept and keep underpinning almost every search done on Google.

2. Frank Mason Robinson

When it comes to famous designers and the iconic visual identity that comes to the surface is the iconic logotype from the Coca-Cola drink. The person behind the logo is Frank Mason Robinson, a non-specialist. Robinson was not one of the famous designers without reason, considering his lack of expertise and specialties.

He was Coca-Cola's bookkeeper, someone who knew literacy, writing, and company details. The man was the first person who made the initial design of Coca-Cola using a standard serif font. But later on, he changed it to Spencerian Script to create a flowing movement. Surprisingly, his choice was the standard business font in the US back in the 1880s.

With his simple idea, Robinson later had roles as company treasurer and secretary. He was also responsible for the company's advertising until his name achieved another milestone in Coca-Cola's history. One thing that makes the non-designer Frank Mason Robinson known is how impactful his logo idea is. The simple text makes it a trend, even these days.

He is also listed as one of the famous logo designers that set a natural flow in design trends. You can see it from how modern style has roots in using hieroglyphics and heraldry. The 19th century which has many color printings, also pushed companies to start creating authentic and distinctive design features. At that time Coca Cola did it smart with script logotype and created a wave of the trend even now.

3. Paul Rand

Paul Rand might be considered the ideal idol and inspiration for many other renowned logo designers in this list. It goes with the fact that the man was like the epitome and the first name ever to appear in the history of logo and design making. You can see the proof from his famous logo works, including but not limited to IBM, Enron, UPS, Westinghouse, ABC, and NeXT.

There is a bit of an inspiring story about Paul Rand. One of the old colleagues, Lou Danziger, stated that Rand almost single-handedly convinced businesses that design is one of the effective tools. He also has experience in working with magazines and eventually, in the 1950s, worked for many large corporation brands in America.

The brand is also one of the logo designers that prefer to work directly with the client and work with copywriters. It not only made him almost double pay but also understood the company's messages. Later on that stage, he worked with IBM. His style of simple, dynamic, and definitive style make his name shot out as one of the legendary and famous logo designers.

From IBM came many other important works by the man. UPS and the ABC network come with an initial and distinctive style, which is working with complete contrast. The logos are mostly simple with a less colorful appeal, but what he did are memorable. Rand is one of the logo designers working with simple contrast of shapes and colors, making it more favorable in varying industries.

4. Raymond Loewy

Another famous designer with a global footprint is Raymond Loewy, the person behind the infamous simple and symmetrical Shell symbol. Loewy had a range of experiences starting from his commission in 1929, where he worked to improve the appearance of mimeograph machines. His work later became the stepping stone to being a professional designer.

He worked with countless items, including postage stamps and the unexpected spacecraft design. He is also the one behind the creation of lucky strike package design, various logos, emblems, and machinery. Among his famous inventions and works, his 1962 Shell logo is still the most iconic work considered.

Despite the constantly changing styles, his footprint on the company's visual identity is too solid. His idea has become the primary concept and decision, which include the yellow and red shaped shell. Up until now, the simple yet striking design is still one of the most recognizable visual identities. That is why Raymond Loewy deserves his name as one of the famous logo designers.

5. Carolyn Davidson

A graphic designer that has her name stated as one of the famous designers is Carolyn Davidson. Her famous work is the Nike Swoosh logo, which she made in 1971. Her inspiring simple design has set out huge trends in similar swoosh-inspired imagery. At the same time, her work also set a great example of simplicity.

Her iconic swoosh logo makes one of the best examples of how designers can make a visual identity famous enough to attract attention. It was also safe to say that her badge was more known than the company itself in their time. Similar to many other logo designers, her work has been in many revisions. But her iconic swoosh persists in her famous work.

A little bit of an unknown fact and story behind the creation is that Carolyn Davidson was a student during her commission. She was a student at Portland State University who got an opportunity to work with Ribbon Sports Co-Founder Phil Knight. She later worked to rename and rebrand his company with her unique logo style.

Carolyn Davidson mentioned that her inspiration was the winged Greek goddess of victory, Nike, hence the company's name. The famous symbol itself is a dynamic combination of checkmark and wing shape. Due to its iconic creation, she is one of the famous logo designers that hit fortune. Starting with only around $35 for work, she also obtained company shares worth around $1 million now.

6. Paula Scher

After many logo designers known for their iconic works, Paula Scher takes her seat as one of the famous and successful creators focusing on typography. Her most famous works are Citibank and Tiffany's and Co; both heavily emphasize the use of typography as its visual identity element.

One thing that Paula Scher leaves in the creative industry is her solid work of creating minimal and clear messaging through typography. Her footprint is really clear and has become many trends from year to year. Her sheer determination to work with simplicity and pinpoint the objectives of the business makes her more famous.

She is also known for being part of Pentagram, one of the acclaimed design firms. Thus joining the famous logo designers is privileged enough for her. Among her works, her CitiBank logo had a unique story for inspiration. It is said that the big deal of the $10 million brand identity was started from a doddle on a scrap of paper.

That doodle was known as the first draft of the great logo deal. Scher also has long experience as a designer, which helps her present seemingly simple work into a winning concept. Her work is also known to have a touch of playful style in postmodern design projects, such as galleries, theater posters, etc. It shows proof that logo designers are not bound to limit their passion.

7. Ivan Chermayeff

Going for the more colorful and attractive brand visual representation is Ivan Chermayeff. The man is one of the famous designers who successfully nailed his career with varying brands. You can see his work under his company, Chermayeff & Geismar. It is a design firm he runs with his partner Tom Geismar.

The portfolio for his signs includes but is not limited to the iconic NBC prismatic peacock. There are also Mobil Oil, PBS, Pan Am, Barneys New York, Xerox, NBC, National Geographic, and many more. He and his partner even won an AIGA Medal in 1979 for their famous logo works. Both logo designers are equally talented and get more powerful, with Sagi Haviv as the third partner.

Looking at his jobs, you can underline his iconic logos and mostly pay attention to creating bold impact through simple and meaningful imagery. The distinctive touch appears from how the designer represents the brand using colors, distinctive shapes, and memorable depictions. He mostly works with icons, such as a sunburst image for Smithsonian or heptagonal blue for Chase Bank.

8. Rob Janoff

The famous logo designers list won't be completed without Rob Janoff, the person behind the iconic Apple symbol. One thing that makes the designers deserve a place on the list is his devotion to working with Steve Jobs since the beginning of the company. It is known that the currently loved brand's logo was different from its initial design.

The American graphic designer was a young art director working in Silicon Valley who was later picked up by Steve jobs and apple computer inc. to work together. In the beginning (1976), the Apple logo was pretty complex, with a depiction of Isaac Newton discovering gravity. It was the first sign made by Ronal Wayne.

In 1977, Rob Janoff started working with Jobs and developed the famous apple logo. It was pretty simple imagery, a bitten apple with gradient color. The signature style was used to represent the show-stopping technique of Apple during that time. In 1984, the icon got simpler without losing the initial ideation from Rob Jacob. That is why he is one of the known designers.

9. John Pasche

There are many stories of famous logo designers who are initially students looking for extra cash or doing some side hustling. John Pasche is on that list. The man was a London's Royal Academy of Arts student who got a lucky call from Mick Jagger, Rolling Stone's front man. Pasche was asked to create posters for the band's tour in Europe.

At that time, Pasche nailed the deal by creating an epic image cruise ship with cool-looking cars rolling on the road. It was the first step that delighted Jagger and led Pasche to more famous works and iconic symbols. Among many is the lurid tongue and lips design, which has an obvious connotation on how Mick Jagger and the bands are during that time.

10. Sagi Haviv

Last but not least is Sagi Haviv. Haviv is an Israeli designer born in 1974 who had his experience working with Chermayeff and Geismar. Together with his experience as part of the logo designers' firm, Haviv has his signature famous style loved by modern creators. He tends to work across every discipline, making him a veracious designer.

He worked on a range of graphic design projects, including logos, brand identity, motion graphics, art in architecture, and many more. Since Haviv worked alongside Chermayeff, his designs are pretty similar to each other. He tends to work with a simple style, which leads him to many famous designers' projects.

Those projects and famous works include the US Open Tennis tournament, Milwaukee institute of art and design, Women's World Bank, Harvard university press, conservation international, and many more. Thanks to his hand in working with the two other famous logo designers, Chermayeff and Geismar, he nailed varying jobs for the firm and gained his place on this list.

Final Words

You can see that behind the famous logo come talented artists who put their talents at stake. It also stated that not all of those famous designers are experts, indicating that everyone can and has the chance to make a masterpiece. But from the list, aspired artists can learn what, how, and why the designers work on those parts.

In general, you can see that most of those logos are pretty much familiar inspirations. However, the people behind the jobs have their personal touch and ideation that make their works stay for long, impactful, and raise their name as famous and best logo designers. Remember that each person is different and how people approach the design will not be the same.

One thing is for sure; you can underline some aspects from the famous logo designers list. First, being famous takes time and effort. Second, creating an impactful sign does not seem as easy as it looks. Third, everyone, no matter their stature, expertise, gender, or specialization, can create a wonderful visual. Make them as inspiration, and don't stop inventing.