with the rapid development of science and technology, printing, photography, design and image transmission are playing more and more important roles, and this development of nonverbal transmission has the competitive power to compete with verbal transmission. Signs are one of the unique transmission methods.

when people see the smoke rising, they think there is a fire below. Smoke is a natural sign of fire. In the era of underdeveloped communication, people use smoke (wolf smoke) as a special means to transmit information related to the meaning of fire (such as emergency, emergency, alarm for help, etc.). This artificial "smoke" is both a signal and a sign. It rises high, spreads slowly, has a vivid image and remarkable characteristics, and people can see it quickly from far away. The speed and effect of this non-verbal transmission were beyond the reach of language and text transmission at that time. Today, although the means of language and writing transmission are very developed, the visual transmission mode, such as signs, which makes the public clear at a glance, has quick effect and is not bound by the languages and writing of different nationalities and countries, is more suitable for the needs of the accelerating pace of life, and its special role is still irreplaceable by any transmission mode.

sign is a sign that shows the characteristics of things. It takes simple, obvious and easily recognizable images, graphics or text symbols as its intuitive language, and besides indicating what to replace, it also has the functions of expressing meaning, emotion and instructing actions.

signs, as a special way of human intuitive contact, are not only ubiquitous in social activities and production activities, but also for the fundamental interests of the country, social groups and even individuals. It shows its extremely important and unique function more and more. For example, the national flag and national emblem, as symbols of a country's image, have special meanings that are difficult for any language or writer to express accurately. Public place signs, traffic signs, safety signs, operation signs, etc., have intuitive and quick effects on guiding people to carry out orderly and normal activities and ensuring the safety of life and property. Trademark, store logo, factory logo and other special signs have great practical value and legal protection for developing economy, creating economic benefits and safeguarding the rights and interests of enterprises and consumers. Almost all major domestic and international events, conferences, sports meetings, postal services, finance and trade, institutions, organizations and even individuals (stamps and signatures) have signs that show their own characteristics. These signs play the role of communication, exchange and publicity from various angles, promote social, economic, political, scientific and technological and cultural progress, and protect their respective rights and interests. With the increasing frequency of international communication, the intuitive, image-free and language-free features of signs are extremely beneficial to international communication and application. Therefore, international signs have been rapidly promoted and developed, becoming one of the most effective means of visual communication and an intuitive communication tool for human beings.

the origin of the logo

the origin of the logo can be traced back to the "totem" in ancient times. At that time, every clan and tribe chose an animal or natural image that they thought had a special mysterious relationship with themselves as a special symbol of their clan or tribe (that is, totem). For example, Nuwa clan takes snakes as totems, Xia Yu's ancestors take yellow bears as totems, and others take the sun, moon and crow as totems. At first, people carved totems on caves and labor tools where they lived, and later they became national flags and emblems as symbols of war and sacrifice. After the country was born, it evolved into a national flag and national emblem.

In production, labor and social life, people in ancient times constantly created and widely used various kinds of signs, such as road signs, village signs, steles, seals and heralds, in order to facilitate contact, mark meaning and distinguish the characteristics and ownership of things. Broadly speaking, these are signs. In the tombs of ancient Egypt, vessels with logo patterns were found, mostly the manufacturer's logo and name, and later changed into patterns. In ancient Greece, signs were widely used. Ancient buildings in Rome and Pompeii, as well as in Palestine, have been found engraved with masons' special signs, such as crescent wheels, grape leaves and similar simple patterns. China has its own workshops and shops, accompanied by signs, covers and other signs. There are dark marks in the paper made in the Tang Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty, the use of trademarks had become quite common. For example, at that time, Liu Jiazhen Shop, which specializes in making fine needles in Jinan, printed the rabbit's figure and the trademark of "recognizing the white rabbit in front of the door as a memory" on the commodity packaging. The armor worn by European soldiers in the Middle Ages had invisible marks on their skulls to identify their ownership, and aristocratic families also had family emblems.

by the turn of the century, the logo of * * * and the logo of internationalization have begun to spread all over the world. With the rapid development of social economy, politics, science and technology, and culture, up to now, symbols with high practicality and artistry, which have been carefully designed, have been widely used in all fields of society, playing a great role and influence on the development and progress of human sociality. It is a historical necessity that a new science-"semiology" came into being.

characteristics of logo

1. Functionality

The essence of logo lies in its functionality. Although the artistic design of the logo has ornamental value, the logo is mainly not for people to watch, but for practicality. Signs are an indispensable intuitive tool for people to carry out production activities and social activities.

Signs are used by human beings, such as public places, traffic signs, safety signs, operation signs, etc. There are national, regional, urban, ethnic and family-specific flags and emblems; For social organizations, enterprises, benevolence and activities, such as emblem, logo, factory logo, social logo, etc.; Having a trademark dedicated to a commodity product; There are also items dedicated to the collective or individual, such as chapter, signature, flower pledge, signature, branding, etc., all of which have irreplaceable unique functions. Signs with legal effect have a special mission of safeguarding rights and interests.

2. Identification

The most prominent feature of signs is that they have their own unique features and are easy to identify. It is the main function of signs to show the characteristics of things themselves and indicate the different meanings, differences and ownership between things. All kinds of signs are directly related to the fundamental interests of the country, groups and even individuals, and must not be similar or confused with each other, so as not to create an illusion. Therefore, the logo must be distinctive, recognizable at a glance and unforgettable.

3. Significantness

Significantness is another important feature of signs. Except for invisible signs, most signs are set to attract people's attention. Therefore, strong and eye-catching colors and concise and clear graphics are the characteristics of signs.

4. Diversity

There are many kinds and uses of signs, which are extremely diverse in terms of their application types, forms and means of expression.

its application forms are not only plane (which can use almost any substance), but also three-dimensional (such as relief, garden carving, arbitrary three-dimensional objects or special patterns of packaging, containers, etc.).

its forms include direct use of objects, characters, images or abstract graphics, and colors. Most signs are composed of several basic forms.

as far as the means of expression are concerned, its richness and diversity are almost difficult to outline, and with the development of science and technology, culture and art, it is always innovating.

5. artistry

all designed unnatural signs have a certain degree of artistry. It conforms to both practical requirements and aesthetic principles, and gives people a sense of beauty, which is the basic requirement for its artistry. Generally speaking, artistic signs can attract and infect people more, giving people a strong and profound impression.

The highly artistic logo is the need of the times and the progress of civilization, the embodiment of people's higher and higher cultural literacy and the need of aesthetic psychology.

6. Accuracy

No matter what a sign says or indicates, whether it is a moral or a symbol, its meaning must be accurate. First of all, it should be easy to understand and conform to people's cognitive psychology and cognitive ability. Secondly, we should be accurate, avoid unexpected explanations or misunderstandings, and pay special attention to taboos. People can see clearly and accurately in a very short time, which is the advantage that signs are better than language and faster than language.

7. Persistent

Signs are different from advertisements or other promotional materials, and generally have long-term use value and are not easily changed.

Principles of Logo Design

Logo design is not only a practical design, but also a graphic art design. It not only has similarities with other graphic arts, but also has its own artistic rules. It must embody the above-mentioned characteristics in order to better play its functions.

It is much more difficult than any other graphic art design, because it requires conciseness, generalization and perfection, that is, it is almost impossible to find a better alternative.

1. The design should be carried out on the premise that the purpose of use, scope of application, relevant laws and regulations of the design object and its functional requirements are clearly understood.

2. The feasibility of its realization must be fully considered in the design, and corresponding design methods should be adopted according to its application type, materials and manufacturing conditions. At the same time, we should also take into account the visual effects when it is applied to other visual communication methods (such as printing, advertising, imaging, etc.) or when it is enlarged or reduced.

3. The design should conform to the intuitive acceptance, aesthetic consciousness, social psychology and taboos of the target.

4. The conception must be carefully pushed forward, and strive to be profound, ingenious, novel and unique, with accurate ideographic meaning and able to stand the test of time.

5. The composition should be concise, beautiful and conformable (suitable for the form of its application).

6. Graphics and symbols should be concise, general and artistic.

7. The color should be simple, strong and eye-catching.

8. following the law of logo art, creatively exploring the appropriate artistic expression forms and techniques, and tempering the precise artistic language to make the designed logo have a high overall aesthetic feeling and obtain the best visual effect are the criteria pursued by logo design art.

the law of logo art

besides the general law of design art (such as the beauty of decoration and order, etc.), logo art has its own unique artistic law.

1. Symbolic beauty

Logo art is a graphic design art with unique symbolic art features. It refines and processes the forms, symbols (including words) and colors of things that come from nature, society and people's ideas, and makes them into graphic symbols with complete artistry, thus distinguishing them from decorative drawings and other artistic designs.

Logo graphic symbols have the simplicity, aggregation and abstraction of literal symbols to some extent, and sometimes even directly use ready-made literal symbols, but they are completely different from literal symbols. It is embodied in the form of graphics (ready-made text symbols must be transformed by graphics), and it is more vivid, artistic and recognizable.

symbolic beauty is the most important artistic law in logo design. Logo art is the art of graphic symbols.

2. Characteristic beauty

Characteristic beauty is also a unique artistic feature of logo art.

logo graphics reflect not the individual characteristics (personality) of individual things, but the essential characteristics (* * *) of the whole similar things, or the category characteristics. Through the artistic strengthening and exaggeration of these characteristics, the artistic effect of * * * knowledge is obtained. This is very different from other plastic arts in obtaining touching artistic effects through flesh-and-blood personality characterization.

however, its expression of the sexual characteristics of things is not uniform and conceptual, and the same sexual characteristics can and must have different personality forms in different designs, thus having unique artistic charm.

3. Concise beauty

Compact composition and concise graphics are the principles of structural beauty that logo art must follow. Signs are not only used alone, but also often used in various documents, promotional materials, advertisements, images and other visual communicators. Signs with concise beauty can show their own independent and complete symbolic beauty in any visual communication (no matter how large or small they are).