Brand Identity Essentials

WIT76 Logos with a Sense of Humor

As with art, literature, and life, some of the most memorable work done in the area of graphic identity gives people a reason to smile. While comical logos can easily go too far—after all, you don’t want the organization to be perceived as a joke—a clever, witty graphic identity can rise above the rest.

Look into the all-seeing CBS “eye” for an example. One of the major broadcast television networks in the United States, CBS easily could have based its service mark on a more literal image of a TV set or TV camera. Instead, with a wink (pun definitely intended) the network chose to provide a subtle editorial statement on the emergence of the then new media. It may seem obvious today, but it was much less so when ...