The history of the first and modern logos of the film industry

Table of Contents:

• The Beginnings of the Film Industry
• Visual Identifiers Become Part of Cinema
• The James Bond Franchise: The History and Evolution of the Bond Films
• Star Wars: The Epic Universe and Its Cultural Impact
• Alien: The Beginning of a Legendary Franchise
• Ghostbusters: The History of the Franchise
• The Evolution of the Jurassic Park Franchise
• Her
• Killing Eve: A gripping tale of two women's struggles
• Birds of Prey: And the Amazing Journey of One Harley Quinn
• Loki

The silent film era attached significant importance to text - static intertitles served to explain the plot and acted as character dialogue. Film titles were also designed using typefaces, making the aesthetics of opening credits much like book titles. Both lettering masters and professional typesetters were employed to create these titles.

Gradually, everything began to transform: standard title text was replaced by unique designs, accompanied by logos. Design began to occupy an important place in cinema.

In this section, you can find information about:

• The logos of the first films had their own unique features and characteristics, reflecting the spirit of the times. They were typically executed in a simple and concise style, often combining illustrations with text. Expressive and distinctive fonts were used, and the design could include elements related to the plot or theme of the film.

  At that time, the emphasis was on attracting viewers' attention, and logos often became an integral part of the advertising campaign. They could contain symbols that emphasized the genre or mood of the film. The primary colors were bright and saturated, helping the title stand out from the background.

  Also, it's important to note that many of the first movie logos were hand-crafted, giving them a distinct atmosphere and personality, unlike today's digitally enhanced approach. These early emblems reflected not only the artistic trends of their time, but also the technical capabilities available to creators.

• What logo did the director request with a "very fascist" style?
• How can you create tension using only the Helvenica typeface?
• Pentagram Studios is known for its striking logos that have become iconic for numerous brands. Their work includes logos for companies like Windows, Mastercard, and The New York Times. They have also created visual identities for organizations like Saks Fifth Avenue and the BBC. Each of these logos reflects Pentagram's unique approach to design and their ability to create memorable and effective visual solutions for a variety of clients.
• About the most unattractive logo.

The Beginning of the Film Industry

The appearance of the first motion picture in 1895 became the starting point for the development of the film industry. Seeing significant potential in this, many wealthy investors rushed to invest their funds in this new direction. Each of them strove to give the film company they created a unique look and stand out from the competition, which required developing a memorable image.

Before logos began to be actively used in intertitles and film titles, popular typefaces included Pastel from BB'S, National Old Style from ATF, and Photoplay, created at Samuel Welo's Studio.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, familiar studio brands such as Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, and Columbia Pictures began to appear on the cinematic horizon. Each of these studios developed a unique visual style, including fonts and logos, which helped them stand out from the competition.

For example, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion was associated with luxury and high standards. The Warner Brothers shield, adorned with the initials W and B, beckoned audiences with exciting stories. Paramount Studios, with its impressive logo, guaranteed exceptionally high-quality content.

One of the most iconic symbols designed for the studio is, without a doubt, the roaring lion enclosed in a ring of film. Above it rises the majestic inscription Ars Gratia Artis, which translates from Latin as "Art for Art's Sake."

The logo was designed by Howard Dietz in 1917 for Goldwyn Pictures. In 1924, after Goldwyn Pictures merged with Metro Pictures, the now familiar Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer company, better known as MGM, was born, and this iconic logo became part of its brand. Over its more than a century-long history, the emblem has undergone changes, replacing almost ten living lions, which was associated with the development of technology, the introduction of sound film and the Technicolor process.

In 2021, MGM unveiled a new logo featuring a lion named Leo, which has been its symbol since 1957. This image was created by Baked Studios using CGI.

The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lions are so popular that their logo has inspired many parodies. One of the most famous is the work of MTM Enterprises, which created a number of popular programs and films in the seventies and eighties. In this version, instead of a lion in the ring, a cat named Mimsy meowed. Also worth noting is the intro of the 1978 Soviet cartoon called "Robbery by ...", where the iconic lion is replaced by Cheburashka.

Visual Identifiers Become Part of Cinema

In the 1920s and 1930s, cinema in Europe, and later in the United States, was noticeably influenced by modernist trends. Logos and titles began to play a key role in the narrative—they were intended to set the atmosphere of the entire work and emphasize its genre identity.

By the mid-twentieth century, specific stylistic techniques began to emerge, which designers actively employed in their work. In particular, slab serif fonts, reminiscent of the famous "WANTED" posters, began to find their way into Westerns. Gothic fonts were chosen for horror films, and later, comic-style display titles. At the same time, for comedies and melodramas, a light antique font with graceful flourishes is used, which creates an atmosphere of lyricism.

Currently, graphic gestures have lost their popularity and are used mainly as allusions to techniques used in classical cinema.

Initially, the graphic designers who created the film logos were not mentioned in the film credits. Mentions of them began to appear only in the 1920s.

Among the most notable representatives of this genre are:

• Edward Kauffer, who collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock.
• Dale Tate, a famous designer known for his logos, including works for the films of Charlie Chaplin and Victor Fleming.
• André François became famous thanks to his collaboration with Roman Polanski.
• Anthony Goldschmidt, who devoted his life to the world of cinema, worked with film studios from the 1960s to the early 2000s. He has designed logos for numerous Hollywood films.

The logo is no less an important component of the titles design than the text, which conveys key information about the film. Some of the most prominent designers who have worked in the field of dynamic titles include:

• Sola Bassa is a renowned American designer and creator of film posters. Over the course of four decades of his professional career, he collaborated with prominent directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese.
• Maurice Binder, a designer from the UK and USA, became known for his title sequences for James Bond films.
• Pablo Ferro is an American artist and designer who is renowned for his graphic work. His most significant contribution to cinema history is considered to be his creation of the dynamic lettering titles for Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.

In the 1960s, thanks to these names, film titles began to develop into an independent genre, acquiring dynamics and a storyline.

Explore the evolution of the film titles genre and check out the most iconic videos featured in our review.

Some logos of famous franchises become so recognizable that they take on a life of their own, extending beyond the screen. Star Wars symbols, the dinosaur silhouette from the Jurassic Park sign, and the Ghostbusters team emblem can now be found on clothing, toys, and even candy. At the same time, there are logos that exist solely within the framework of the film's plot - having completed their existence, they elegantly continue the line set by the director.

The James Bond Franchise: The History and Evolution of the Bond Films

Release period: from 1962 to 2021.

Film companies: Eon Productions, United Artists, Les Productions Artistes Associés, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Columbia Pictures.

Synopsis: James Bond, a British Navy commander and better known as Agent 007, is the central figure in the works of the famous British author Ian Fleming and is considered the most famous spy in cinema. Each new film, telling the adventures of Bond, touches on current themes and events, be it the Cold War, political upheaval in Latin America or the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The official James Bond film collection includes 25 films. The first of them, Dr. No, appeared on screens in 1962, and the latest, No Time to Die, was released this fall. Over more than half a century of history, the franchise has achieved cult status. Such designers as Maurice Binder, Robert Brownjohn, Daniel Kleinman, and MK12 studio participated in the creation of its title sequences. The graphic style of the Bond series is most often associated with the name of Maurice Binder, who designed the title sequences for the first film and 13 subsequent films in the series. It was he who came up with the famous sequence with the gun and the girls, which became the hallmark of the franchise for many years.

The idea of ​​using a gun in the opening credits of James Bond films belongs to Joseph Karoff, who worked at United Artists, the studio that produced this film. The original version of the logo, designed in 1962, was significantly different from the current one - the pistol was located above the numbers and seemed to be pointing its barrel at the seven, creating a sense of dynamism.

An interesting fact is that the original version of the modern logo appeared not on screen, but on a poster for the American film Dr. No. Its creation was the result of the work of David Chasman, who served as creative director of United Artists. Chasman adapted and simplified the concept proposed by Joseph Caroff, adding elements of the barrel and trigger to the seven, which transformed it into the image of a pistol. While the logo has undergone some changes over the years—the letters have become thinner and the trigger shape has changed slightly—these adjustments are subtle, and it remains associated with the franchise to this day, remaining an iconic element in film history.

Interestingly, in addition to the famous "007" logo, which has become a symbol of the entire franchise since 1963, each new installment has a unique title card design. This style reflects the design trends of the time and the theme of the film itself.

Star Wars: The Epic Universe and Its Cultural Impact

Release period: 1977 to 2021.

Film companies: Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Bad Robot Productions.

Synopsis: Star Wars is one of the most famous space epics. The story follows the exciting adventures of a diverse cast of characters—human, alien, and droid—set against the backdrop of a galaxy far, far away.

These days, Star Wars symbols are everywhere: on clothing, in the form of children's toys, and even on supermarket shelves.

The creation of this logo has a multi-layered and interesting backstory, as several versions were used in the early stages of the film's production. A modified version, designed by Dan Perry and adapted by Fox, was used for promotional materials and posters. At the same time, the film's credits feature a logo that was created by artist Susie Rice under the supervision of director George Lucas, and then refined by another designer, Joe Johnson.

Rice recalls Lucas's brief: he wanted the logo to look "very fascist" and "scary." The basis for Rice's "fascist design" was Helvetica Black, with the S's extended to the edges of the composition to enhance the legibility of the resulting ligatures. This version of the logo, like Dan Perry's logo, was not included in the film but was used on the cover of a book intended to inform theater owners about the upcoming film.

For the film, George Lucas chose the version designed by Joe Johnson at Industrial Light & Magic. In Rice's logo, the designer changed the sharp, straight shape of the W, smoothing it out and widening all the other letters to fit the overall style. The logo was adapted for widescreen by Dan Perry. This version began the saga in 1977 and has remained in use for nearly five decades.

Alien: The Beginning of a Legendary Franchise

Release Year: 1979.

Film Companies: 20th Century Fox and Brandywine Productions.

Synopsis: In the distant future, a cargo ship returning to its home planet picks up a strange signal coming from an unfamiliar planet. One of the team members becomes a victim of an attack by a mysterious creature, and the crew soon realizes that the dangerous organism is just beginning its life journey.

The logo for the film "Alien" is one of the most memorable symbols of late 20th-century sci-fi horror. The tense atmosphere created by this logo, executed in a wide grotesque font and appearing in stages, is achieved through animation. At first, simple white shapes appear on the screen, motionless, but seeming to gravitate toward the center. Gradually, the number of lines increases, and it becomes clear to the viewer that these are letters. However, their shape is distorted, which increases the feeling of anxiety.

The logo uses the Helvetica Black font, which is distinguished by its laconicism and severity. Its sparseness is at the limit of legibility, which adds tension to the design and sometimes causes discomfort. Richard Greenberg, who creates titles, perceives letters not only as text, but also as a means of expression, and as a prism through which the surrounding space is perceived.

The famous logo would later be replaced with more stylized, "comic" versions in the following films. However, designer John McKellan would return to the original again in 2014, when he created the title sequence for the game Alien Isolation.

Ghostbusters: Franchise History

Release period: from 1984 to 2021.

Film studios: Columbia-Delphi Productions, Black Rhino, Columbia Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Ghost Corps, The Montecito Picture Company.

Synopsis: Three former parapsychology professors working in an abandoned old fire station decide to start their own ghost-fighting business. To attract customers, they choose the catchy name "Ghostbusters." Their mission is to rid New York City of any paranormal phenomena. The new part of the franchise continues to develop the ghost hunting plot, transferred to the 21st century.

The sign featuring a cheerful ghost named Muggle, named by the film's creators Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd, became familiar to many who grew up in the '90s thanks to the popular animated series The Real Ghostbusters, which aired from 1986 to 1991. The original version of the sign was created by artist Michael Gross for the first film and was subsequently adapted for the animated series and subsequent films. This element of the franchise, which launched in 1984, has been used with minimal changes throughout its entire life.

While Muggle, who appears on the Ghostbusters logo, does not appear in the film itself, he has become a fixture of the animated series over time. It can be seen in the credits, promotional materials, and various intros.

"The Evolution of the Jurassic Park Franchise"

Publication period: 1993 to 2022.

Film companies that include: Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Legendary Pictures, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, and Perfect World Pictures.

Synopsis: Thanks to breakthroughs in the scientific field, a businessman was able to found a park inhabited by real dinosaurs. However, a security system malfunction results in the monsters being released—and the film's characters must find a way to survive. In subsequent installments, new characters face the consequences of the return of these ancient creatures.

The logo, representing a non-existent amusement park, became one of the most iconic symbols of nineties films. In Jurassic Park, this sign can be seen in a variety of places: from the main entrance to the park to the uniforms of the employees.

The film is based on Michael Crichton's science fiction novel Jurassic Park, published in 1990. The film's title is directly related to the book, and its cover served as the inspiration for the logo. The silhouette of a Tyrannosaurus rex depicted on the cover was moved to a yellow circle, to which jungle elements and the park's name were later added. The Neuland typeface, with its complex display form, fits perfectly with the logo's visual concept. This font, which appeared in the thirties, was used by American designers to design books about tropical regions and unfamiliar tribes, conveying the atmosphere of a wild, primitive era.

The success of the franchise has led to the logo becoming incredibly popular: the T. rex has reappeared on book covers, now as the film logo, and is also widely used in video games, animated series, and is retained for future adaptations. While the logo undergoes changes, designers always strive to maintain its recognizability and adhere to the original aesthetic. The third film experimented with replacing the T. rex with a Spinosaurus, but the overall style of the logo remained the same. Subsequent installments of the Jurassic World franchise again use the first version of the logo, but now it has a stone texture.

Her

Year of release: 2013.

Film studio: Annapurna Pictures.

Synopsis: The film touches on the provocative, but rapidly gaining popularity with the development of technology, topic of the potential for romantic feelings between humans and artificial intelligence.

The creators of the film "Her" choose a provocative approach, abandoning traditional solutions, which also concerns typography. Melodramas, as a rule, use elegant italics or antique fonts. In this case, however, "Her" embodies brevity in three sans-serif letters. The Helvetica font chosen for the logo is characterized by restraint and dense letter placement, symbolizing the intimacy and tension that develops between the characters throughout the plot. This logo, along with the aforementioned Alien logo, serves as a prime example of how masterfully the seemingly simple Helvetica font can be used in the hands of a talented designer.

Killing Eve: A gripping narrative about the confrontation between two women

Production period: 2018–2020.

Network: BBC America.

Synopsis: Eve Polastri, an analyst working for the British counterintelligence agency MI5, begins pursuing a cold-blooded assassin named Villanelle. A dangerous obsession develops between these two women, leading to a twisted game.

Created by Pentagram, the slim and expressive typeface intended for the TV series Killing Eve embodies an atmosphere of menace. During this time, designer Matt Willey, working as a freelancer, was involved in the development of the graphic concept of the project. The logo he created became part of the show's broader visual identity, though it wasn't until a year later that he became a full-fledged partner with the studio.

The screen is densely packed with rich grotesque, allowing its vertical and diagonal rhythms to shine through. A small drop of blood becomes a noticeable accent in the logo, appearing in reverse between the different letters of the title in each episode.

The elegantly chosen muted colors for the typography, combined with the simple animation of the dripping blood, create an atmosphere that foreshadows the tense and dramatic development of events in the series.

Birds of Prey: And the Marvelous Journey of One Harley Quinn
Birds of Prey: And the Marvelous Journey of One Harley Quinn

Year of release: 2020.

Film companies: DC Films, LuckyChap Entertainment, Kroll & Co. Entertainment, Clubhouse Pictures.

Synopsis: After breaking up with the Joker, Harley Quinn decides to team up with superheroes Black Canary, Huntress, and Renee Montoya. Their goal is to save a young woman who has fallen into the clutches of a cruel crime boss.

Pentagram Studios created the logo and visual identity for Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) that fully captures the chaotic spirit of the main character, Harley Quinn.

The logo was designed using the Smart Sans font family from Monotype. However, the designers included hidden images of weapons from Birds of Prey within each letter. For example, the second letter R contains Harley's hammer, Renee Montoya's brass knuckles are disguised in the letter E, and the letters I, R, and D conceal Huntress's bow and arrow. The hand-drawn subtitle adds a touch of chaos and dynamism to the otherwise static logo, as if Harley herself had left it there.

This design approach could provide a great foundation for an expanded franchise, with the Birds of Prey name taking center stage in the branding while also incorporating the stories of the other characters who currently play supporting roles. These characters can be integrated into the logo's visual design, similar to how Harley's image is implemented.

The logo, along with the rest of the film's visual aesthetic, masterfully captures the heroine's playful, whimsical spirit.

Loki

Release Year: 2021.

Streaming Service: Disney+.

Synopsis: Loki finds himself in a mysterious facility called Temporal Change Management after stealing the Tesseract, the vessel for one of the Infinity Stones. In this new status, he travels through time, changing historical events.

The logo for the new Marvel Universe series "Loki" has sparked a storm of discussion and jokes along the lines of "Graphic design is my passion." However, now that the show is available, it's clear that this logo fully symbolizes both the plot elements and the very nature of the main character. Loki, as a god, is a multi-layered character who often finds himself in conflict with himself.

Glass, metal, and extravagant stylized symbols represent the many masks that hide the true face of this god of fun. The logo combines letters in a variety of styles that mimic familiar fonts used in superhero universes.

Furthermore, the deliberate contradiction of the font graphics evokes the typography typical of ransom notes—collages that criminals send to their victims or investigators. In film and literature, this technique is often used to illustrate the actions of psychopaths and is also firmly entrenched in punk culture. It is interesting that in modern language the term ransom typography has come to mean careless and clumsy typesetting.

In the animation of the logo, the differences between the letters are noticeably enhanced by the "selection": the viewer sees several versions of each of them in the name. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that the designers have coped with the task, and the logo in its kitsch looks quite impressive.

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