March 13th, 2008 by John Reeve

Oscar Wilde once said “consistency is the last refuge for the unimaginative.” While this should, and does, hold true for our most adventurous endeavors, there are times when consistency is necessary. For example, in logo design. Given all the responsibilities it must carry on its back, the logo has enormous responsibility to the company it represents and the public it speaks to. When a logo represents one branch of a larger whole, its design must be consistent, to convey relativity and permanence. Here are some examples of consistent logo design.

Pelago & Intervals

The Pelago logo was birthed, like Venus, from our love of the ocean and the metaphors it so willingly lent to our design business. When we started designing the logo for Intervals, we were challenged to come up with an idea that would illustrate the concepts of a web-based project management service, but would also relate, visually, to the Pelago logo. We approached the new logo from two perspectives. First, the logotype uses the same Trade Gothic typeface. And second, the logomark incorporates a similar line treatment. The Pelago logomark conjures up imagery of oceans and islands, while the Intervals logomark loosely represents charts, graphs, and time.

Basecamp & its Brethren

Another good example of consistency in logo design is the suite of products from 37signals. The original Basecamp logo has translated well to other services, showing that there really is no limit to what you can depict inside a snow globe.

Adobe

Adobe has continually had to rebrand itself as they acquire more companies and release new products. They’ve managed to keep things consistent, using a periodic table motif to distinguish each product. It’s a little too basic for my likes, but it works.

There are plenty of other examples of consistant logo design. If you know of some, please share them in the comments field below.

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