We've selected 20 of the most famous and successful logo designers in the field, along with their most famous logo(s). Logos that have an immense impact on our society. Some of you will surprise you!
Chupa Chups logo: Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dali was asked by Chupa Chups to create their logo. He decided to adhere to the drawing style of his melting clocks and put the name of the "Chupa Chups" in a bright circle.
The name of the lollipop comes from the Spanish word "chupar", which means "To suck". The first commercial was launched under the slogan "Es redondo y dura mucho, Chupa Chups" ("It's round and long-lasting"). Dali even delivered the logo with some marketing advice: Put the name on the top of the lolly wrapper. It's better for branding.
Coca-Cola logo: Frank Mason Robinson
The Coca-Cola logo has undergone many changes over its 128+ years of existence. What did stay consistent over the iterations were the two curly C's at the start of each word. It was created by the bookkeeper of John S. Pemberton (The inventor of Coca Cola)
Frank Mason Robinson came up with this idea and assumed this would look great in marketing campaigns. What's interesting is that the logo is not really designed, it was just Frank Robinson's elegant style of writing. The original logo was just black and had the trademark signage included in the tail of the first C.
Apple logo: Rob Janoff
The famous Apple logo, an apple that has a bite in it, was designed by Rob Janoff. It is said by some that the bite represents man's thirst for knowledge, and the original sin, biting in the forbidden fruit.
However, Steve Jobs says that the apple is just his favorite fruit and there's nothing more to it.
Rob spent an entire week drawing apples in all forms and shapes until he found the perfect representation for the tech giant.
Before this logo was invented, Ronald Wayne, one of the Apple co-founders created his own logo, which looks nothing like the current logo:
Here's an interesting video of the full history of the logo:
Google logo: Ruth Kedar
Probably known best for her designing the Google logo, Ruth was born in Brazil but later moved to Israel where she got her degree of architecture. She then moved to Stanford University where she did her Masters program in design.
She has won the award-winning Analog deck and Duolog deck. She's been displaying her online art collection since 1994 on Art.Net. She's been a consultant art designer at Stanford University for 15 years.
Fact Logo: Herbert l. Lubalin
He was a prominent American graphic designer who provided visual beauty to 3 magazines. These were Eros, Avant grade and Fact. He spent his last years working for the newly founded international typographic corporation.
Citibank logo: Paula Scher
The citibank logo originally started as a napkin drawing. Jokingly it's called the 1.5 million dollar napkin:
Paula Scher runs a design company called "Pentagram". She took her design team to Citibank to discuss what it is they were looking for. During that meeting, she drew the logo sketch on the now-famous napkin.
A famous quote from her: "It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds.". She also drew the logo for Tiffany & Co
IBM: Paul Rand
Paul Rand is known for his design of the IBM logo, as well as the ABC logo. He was an American graphic designer and concentrated on corporate logo designs. He was one of the people who founded the Swiss style of Graphic design. He taught design at Yale University and was later inducted in New York art director's club hall of fame in 1972.
Library of Congress logo: Sagi Haviv
Sagi Haviv designed the logo for Library of Congress, as well as logos for the US Open Tennis Championships, Leonard Bernstein at 100, Harvard University Press, Conservation International, and LA Reid's Hitco Entertainment.
He has also written two design books, and he is a famous teacher and public speaker. His company is now part of Chermayeff & Geismar, which turned the name into Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv.
If you want to learn more about logo design and his life, here's an interesting TEDx Talk from Haviv:
Time Warner Cable logo: Steff Geissbuhler
Steff Geissbuhler is one of the most famous American logo designers. He designed multiple integrated brands and corporate identity programs.
He also served as the president of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and is member of the board of the American Institute of graphic arts.
FedEx logo: Walter Landor
Probably known mostly for designing the Fedex logo, Landor was born in Munich. He was a famous brand designer and founder of Landor Associates. He always had a talent for designing packages and logos. He worked with brands like Del Monte, Malboro, Fujifilm, Tab & Bank of America. He also designed the corporate identities of many airlines like British airlines, Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
Orange logo: Wally Olins
Olins is one of the most sought after personalities when it comes to branding. He founded Saffron consultants in 2001 after being the chairman of Wolff Olins till 1997. He was also awarded a CBE in 1999. He was nominated for the Prince Philip Designers prize in 1999. He was given the Reputation institutes' first-ever Lifetime achievement award in 2006.
Nike logo: Carolyn Davidson
Davidson was a student when the founder of Nike her to design a logo for Nike.
She made various sketches:
Nike choose the famous Swoosh logo, which was not her favorite, but is still used to this day. It had some variations over the years:
The image resembles a wing. "Nike" is named after the Greek Goddess of victory.
Shell logo: Raymond Loewy
The Shell logo is a scallop, representing a visual of the corporate and brand name.
The logo has been changed many times since 1900, but the scallop has remained consistent:
Loewy has designed a multitude of logos for a large variety of industries. Examples are TWA, BP, Lucky Strike, and the Air Force One livery.
I love NY logo: Milton Glaser
Best known for the 'I love new york' logo, he started his own studio, Milton Glaser, Inc, in 1974. His work has won numerous awards from Art Directors' clubs, Type directors' club, and the American Institute of graphic arts. In 1979 he was made honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of arts. He has taught at the School of visual arts and at cooper union in New york.
Interestingly, this logo also started out as a napkin drawing:
Lufthansa logo: Otto Firle
The Lufthansa logo, an encircled stylized crane in flight, was created in 1918 by Otto Firle.
In 1967, Otl Aicher created a new corporate design for the airline, based on the original logo.
NASA logo: James Modarelli
Modarelli was a designer at NASA Glenn Research center. In 1959, employees at NASA were asked to come up with designs for NASA. James Modarelli's design was chosen.
NASA has 3 logos, but the NASA Insignia that Modarelli designed is best known. The insignia represents a planet. The red v-shaped wing represents aeronautics. The circular orbit around the agency's name represents space travel.
KLM logo: Henri Kay Henrion
Henri Kay Henrion is the founding father of European corporate identity. During World War 2, he designed campaign posters like "Dig for Victory", "Aid the Wounded", and "Grow More Food"
After the war, he started he launched "Henrion Design Associates", where 'corporate identity' was invented. It is during that time his company became a designer for major companies like KLM, British European Airways, and Giro. Although KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij) used numerous other logos since 1919, the design by Henri Kay Henrion was kept. The symbol on top of KLM represents a crown.
Universal logo: Bob Gill
He's an unorthodox person with enormous talent. He's designed for Apple Corps records, Rainbow Theater, Universal pictures, queen and High times magazines, and the United Nations. He's won a number of awards and has designed numerous film titles.
V&A logo: Alan Fletcher
He founded the design firm Fletcher/Forbes/Gill with Colin Forbes and Bob Gill in 1962. Their clients included Pirelli, Cunard, Penguin Books and etc. Gill left in 1965. He made the logo for Reuters, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Institute of Directors. He won the Prince Philip Prize for the designer of the year. He was inducted into the hall of fame of the New York Art Directors Club in 1994 and became an honorary fellow of the London institute in 2000.
Deutsche Bank logo: Anton Stankowski
Stankowski was a graphic designer from Germany. He was also a photographer and painter. He is best known for illustrating processes or behaviors, rather than objects.
The Deutsche Bank logo is one of his designs. It's a slash in a square, representing consistent growth and dynamic development in a risk-controlled environment.
Showtime logo: Ivan Chermayeff
Ivan Chermayeff is one of the 3 founders of Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv. Although design is subjective, he is considered one of the best and most successful American Graphic designers
Chermayeff passed away in 2017. Here's an interesting interview if you would like to learn more about him:
Other famous designs of him are Chase bank's heptagonal blue logo, and the Smithsonian's sunburst logo
Mobil logo: Tom Geismar
A new alphabet design was made for the logo of Mobil Oil Corporation. The idea of the red O is placed in there to assist in the pronunciation, which is "Mo-Bil" and not "Mo-Bile"
Other famous companies he designed for are: Xerox, PBS, Univision and the Rockefeller Center
Continental Airlines logo: Saul Bass
Saul bass was a multitalented person. He was successful as a graphics designer and filmmaker. His main projects in graphics design included movie posters and logo designs.
His most famous logos are the Avery Internation logo, continental Airlines logo, and the United Airlines logo.
FedEx logo: Lindon Leader
The Fedex logo was designed by Lindon Leader & Landor associates. Lindon Leader has gained a global reputation for his 30 years of experience in corporate identity. He runs a company now called "Leader Creative" in Utah, where he does branding for large corporations.
His design philosophy: Simplicity and clarity
There is a hidden meaning in the FedEx logo. The empty space between the letters E and X is an arrow, symbolizing speed and precision.
Air Jordan logo: Tinker Hatfield
Tinker designed logos for a whole series of Air Jordan (v3-v15) and numerous other Nike logos.
He is also Nike's Vice President for Design and Special Projects.
The famous jumping man silhouette was posed by Michael Jordan. The pose is known as the "Jumpman Pose"
More Offbeat » 
