Crest & Logo Concepts and Designs Discussion

Iconic Variation

Crest and logo concepts must be designed to be  visually unique in order to 'stand out from the crowd'. They must also be germane to the organization they represent such as these RCMP crest design concepts..

Logo, crest and emblem designs & concepts will ideally contain additional, deeper meaning or information wherever possible.

The example crest below will illustrate this point. It's title is "Watching Over America", and we will illustrate how the obvious and the subtle convey this message.

Primary Example


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Alternate Example

Primary artwork design plan and concept considerations:

This short article discusses the development of a logo concept leading to a design.

We begin this concept with the knowledge that it is designed in context for the United States of America, and that the country is in a state of watchfulness and readiness as never before in her history.

In keeping with America's most visible icon, we use the eagle as a basis since national interests are at stake. Departing from the traditional one-headed eagle we employ a two-headed variant. This is for two reasons. Reason one is a symbolism of the twin towers which are at the epicenter of America's new wariness. Reason two is to convey a heightened state of watchfulness in all directions.

The eye within the lens aperture connotes the technological element of the increased surveillance which has become unfortunately necessary in these difficult and dangerous times. You will notice that the eye in the aperture is not wide open in the primary image, but is instead partially closed. This treatment is to convey a somewhat covert feeling, but is also reminiscent (by virtue of the half-open eye) of a statement made by a Japanese Admiral shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7th, 1941 ...which was unexpected, initially devastating to America's naval fleet in the Pacific and which took a toll on the morale of the American public. That statement was;

"I fear that we have awakened a sleeping giant
and filled him with a terrible resolve"

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Empire of Japan
December 7th, 1941

It should be obvious to anyone familiar with the American spirit that
history is clearly repeating itself (in this way) in the wake of the attacks of 9-11!

In the alternate example we see the same image, but with the eye / aperture wide open. There is a 'glaring, big-brother look' to this which can be considered from two points of view ... one; Is the image to provide a 'threatening posture' to an adversary? and two: Is the image to inspire those at home without intimidating them?

This evokes the question as to whether an image is meant to be aggressive or inspiring. Neither is wrong, depending on application ... both have a 'use' as such. Perhaps the question should always be; What is the 'big picture' and which application serves the broadest range of uses?

The bottom line, as always, is the choice, preference and decision of the end user ... not artistic difference, opinion or interpretation.

Finally we look at the tail. There is one long feather extending down from the tail which is also not typical of an eagle, let alone America's traditional eagle depictions in art and heraldry. The feather points straight down ...just as the lenses of surveillance satellites do! But most importantly it symbolizes the traditional long tail of the Phoenix bird ... that mythical bird who could rise again and again from ashes to be as strong, proud and beautiful as before.

Thus concludes this short discussion about how a crest or logo can be created with depth and significance. This technique cannot apply to each and every situation to the same degree because not all situations will have the required history and message to convey. However the principle does apply, because a crest or logo represents a unique entity ...and all effort should be applied to make the final artwork as intimately tied to the organization as possible.

© Paul Jacobsen 2004

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Crest and Logo Concepts and Designs