LogoLounge Master Library, Volume 1

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Job:01536 Title: Logolounge Master Library Vol 1 (Rockport)

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Job:01536 Title: Logolounge Master Library Vol 1 (Rockport)

Page:12

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Joe Duffy is principal and chairman of Duffy

& Partners and is a leading creative director in the

fi elds of branding and design. His fi rm’s clients

include market leaders such as Coca-Cola, Sony,

Jack in the Box, and Wolfgang Puck, to name a

few. His work is regularly featured in leading

marketing and design publications and exhibited

around the world.

Why have crests and initials remained so

popular with designers and consumers over

so many years?

>

It’s primarily because they have meaning and

because they are personal. They typically refer

to a family or person or part of history. They can

relate to the characteristics of a person or

company and what makes them unique. Initials

and crests represent people, primarily. I think that

is why they are looked upon with some degree of

meaningful nostalgia.

For example, I’m Irish. My family is from County

Galway in Ireland. The “Duffy” name has a crest

that goes back hundreds of years. I don’t like

the design of it, but I do like its signifi cance. It

represents the generations of Duffys who came

before me.

Now, if it was also good design, you would then

have both parts of the equation needed for real

success: the meaningful part and the artistic part.

Those crests or ligatures that are most success-

ful achieve equity through both meaning and

aesthetics.

A long time ago, someone unknowingly

created the fi rst crest or initial logo. When

do you think it all started?

>

Interestingly in times like these—of economic

and cultural uncertainty—crests and monograms

deliver a sense of stability. They suggest that

something has been around, or that it’s legacy

minded and built to thrive over time. Perhaps the

fi rst crest dates back to a time when people were

looking for strength.

Commercially, it probably goes back to the fi rst

packages that were designed. That person had a

desire to create iconography that was pleasing to

the eye and that had some meaning that could

be explained or expanded about a brand or

company, something that would bring meaning to

the company’s audience. It probably goes back

to the beginning of packaged goods.

What are the visual mechanics that make a

crest work as a logo?

>

It helps the brain in terms of simple defi nition

by creating a focal point. Having some framing

device for the most meaningful parts of a brand

language. That, plus placement on a package

or a page, is what people will go to fi rst when

making a purchase decision.

Right now, I’m looking at a collage that one of our

designers created during the research phase of a

Joe Duffy,

Duffy & Partners

Signifi cant and

PERSONAL

Those that are most

successful achieve

equity through both

meaning

AND

AESTHETICS.

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