Logo Evolution-9/9/09

So, I started thinking about logos as I was drinking a Coke. I realized how simple the logo was. All it is is Coca-Cola written in cursive. So, to relate it to the blog, I began to look at various logos online until I stumbled upon the evolution of the Shell logo.
I think that this relates perfectly to assignment two. They are changing the logo with minimal effort to improve it. To preface this, I am not really going to dive into the history of the company, but simply discuss the logo with my point-of-view. That being said, the logo began very simply. It's really only a front view of what's obviously a seashell. Things get interesting with the next design, where the standard Shell logo begins to take shape. In 1904, the logo became a top down view of the shell. It is still much more intricate than the current shell design. It looks to almost be a photograph. The next version loses a little intricacy but also adds some more inking, which seems to replace some of the former lines. The logo doesn't change again until 1930, where it begins to look much more a design than a literal drawing of a shell. The edges are much more rounded and the border is a heavy black line. In 1948, color, according to this picture, is added as well as the name of the company to the logo. Once again, the logo seems to gradually become more streamlined. The border has become more intricate but the edges have once again become more rounded. In 1955 they updated it with much less lines and changed the title to red. This change isn't all that drastic, but it does keep streamlining the design. In 1961, the logo only added a red background to the design. Not much to say about that one. Now, in 1971, the logo takes shape to what we know today. There is now only seven lines and a thick red border, still with the yellow interior. This logo has remained basically the same until now. In 1995 they changed the color a little and in 1999 they removed the text, but that's really all.
The point of this description is to show that Shell has seemed to treat their logo as the way we treated assignment two. Sure the changes early on where pretty drastic, but when their brand became widely known and popular they couldn't afford to change anything too much or they would lose recognition.