We count down 20 brands that may not be the biggest but can be described as ‘iconic’, and speak to leading design and branding experts to find out why they work.
‘Iconic’ is a big statement – by definition, it must be rare for a top brand to be elevated to that status. And if there’s one point on which all the global branding experts that have contributed to this list agree, it’s that it’s rarely about the logo design alone.
“It’s churlish to focus on the logo,” confirms Ben Marshall, creative director at Landor Associates. “We respond to experiences, stories we can pass on, and frankly, some things that are simply unusual or inspired.”
Michael Johnson, principal and creative director of Johnson Banks, agrees that an iconic brand should deliver on multiple levels – the product or service itself, the environment it appears in, its tone of voice, and more. “Thinking about ‘branding’ from this cinematic perspective is relatively new,” he admits. “It’s pretty difficult to deliver successfully.”
In some cases, volume of exposure can force brands into public consciousness – though it’s debatable whether that makes them iconic. “By sheer force of ad-spend and/or ubiquity, many would nominate brands like Coca-Cola or Nike without thinking,” says Johnson.
Such scale of repetition is enormously expensive. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been asked to design a logo ‘as iconic as the Nike tick’,” smiles Paula Benson, partner at Form. “Our question: do you have the budget to repeat it boldly and consistently all over the world?”
With the above factors in mind, we asked these experts and others to select 20 brands that they feel have earned – or deserve to earn – that coveted iconic status. Here’s what they came up with…