Comments on: 16 Beautiful Library Logos

By: Rose

Rose — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:05:00 +0000

I like the Swarthmore and the Oldham ones best also…I don’t have a favorite of the two.

By: ramblingwoods

ramblingwoods — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:14:13 +0000

I am drawn to the Swathmore one as it is nature based…

By: Leora

Leora — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:18:14 +0000

One point: I did take Brookline’s off a masthead, so it officially does have the name as part of the masthead. But to fit in with the rest, I just used the part with the book.

I didn’t notice that the Philly one mimicked a street sign; thanks for pointing that out.

I do note that the three top ones that you mention are bigger organizations; most public libraries have tiny budgets for logos.

By: Ellie

Ellie — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:26:54 +0000

May be that is what triggered my associations. Library logos is a unique collection – I’ve never seen one like this before – it is inspiring – makes me want to grab a book. Very interesting post – how many of us pay attention to library logos – you did such a good job!

By: zahava

zahava — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:16:18 +0000

In no particular order, the most successful logos of the bunch (IMPO) are:

Swathmore — Like the fact that the symbol encloses the signature of the logo — is compact, but easy to read, and has touches on reading as an escape or leisure time activity

L!brary — I am a sucker for graphic simplicity

Free Library of Philly — strong typography, good natural hierarchy, directional, and LOVE the imitation of a street sign!

Of the remaining, the only ones which I think are successful vis-a-vis visual communication and branding are CSRA and Oldham. I don’t love either of these, but think it is more of a ta’am v’re’ach thing than anything else.

Goshen works from a communication stand-point, but would benefit from more scale shift for visual interest. Brookline — great symbol, but don’t get the “name” of the place.

By: Leora

Leora — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:56:40 +0000

I’m thrilled with all the responses to the logos. Love the variety in what people felt was important in a logo. Also, a few logos kept being mentioned, and some were not mentioned at all.

By: Raizy

Raizy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:48:03 +0000

I like the ones that say the name of the library on them. A logo is supposed to be easily identifiable.

By: Jew Wishes

Jew Wishes — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:39:30 +0000

I like the Swarthmore College Library logo. I like the symbolism…the every branching…tree of knowledge.

By: Jendeis

Jendeis — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:15:52 +0000

My favorite is the Swarthmore College logo. One, because it has the word “library” in it. Two, because I love circles. Three, because the tree is so beautiful.

By: Leora

Leora — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:30:12 +0000

Looking at a display of logos, especially ones that are well-designed, is a bit like a kid looking at pretty fruit stickers.