Logo Investigation

 Logo Investigation:

20th Century Fox:

In 1915, William Fox founded Fox Film Corporation. He then proceeded in 1935 to join with Twentieth Century Pictures to create the 20th Century Fox we all know and love.

Prior to the joint venture in 1935, Fox had a blank title screen with "William Fox Presents" displayed on screen. This was soon to be changed.

Shortly after, in 1935, the logo experienced a dramatic update due to a business merge between Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures. The design team composed of one person: Emil Kosa Jr. . He was responsible for creating the basis for the logo we all see today. It comprised of a statue of the company logo, a gold and blue colour palette which symbolises something grand, and there are lights that pan around the logo which also give it a grand element.

In 1953, artist Rocky Longo repainted the whole logo, giving it a refreshed and modern look with popping colours. This was reflective of the time period as the major art movement of the 50s was Pop-Art. The repainted logo features the same silhouette, but with bold colours, and the 0 in 20 has been tilted. This was for better proportion 

In 1994, technologies had advanced incredibly. By now, the logo was turned into a cgi animation, which panned over the statue and the city of Los Angeles, revealing the beloved Hollywood sign and finishing situated at the same angle displayed above. 

Filmmakers have been allowed to put their own spin on the logo. Some of these include:

Ice Age (2009)

 

Mirrors (2008)

Warner Bros. Pictures:

The Warner Brothers (Harry, Albert, Sam & Jack) founded Warner Bros. Pictures in 1923, releasing their first logo, which kept as a foundation for the logo we know today due to its timeless design.

This is the first Warner Bros. logo (1923). It consists of a shield marked with the W.B. initials, as well as some surrounding text. 

 

This was the second logo, which was the pathway to the modern look. Kinney Services purchased Warner Bros in 1970, and wanted a more simplistic, yet recognisable look.

 

In 1984, The logo saw huge design change with lots of bold colours and improvements.

In 2019, the logo saw its most riveting design upgrades. The entire logo and title were changed from a gold and blue colour palette to a silver and light blue palette. This gave the logo a modern, clean and fresh look.

Walt Disney:

In 1929, Walt Elias Disney founded Walt Disney. He was an American actor, animator, film producer and entrepreneur. Through his pursuit of the signature mouse figure we now know as "Mickey Mouse", Walt has formed an irreplaceable part of film that is recognised internationally.

First Walt Disney Logo. Published in 1937, Walt formed this design based around his signature mouse character Mickey.

Until the 80s, the Walt Disney company did not use their actual logo in their films but simply "Walt Disney Presents." This allowed for continuity and flow in film production while still being clearly a Walt Disney piece of media.

In 1985, a new logo was introduced. It consisted of a castle with a semi-circle in the backdrop, with the words "Walt Disney Pictures" displayed across the centre of the screen. This design was the basis for the Walt Disney logo we all know and love today, and was much more pleasing and aesthetic to look at compared to previous designs and approaches.

In 1995, the logo was adjusted slightly to a more vivid blue which caught the eye. The semi-circle was also updated to a luminous line rather than a solid white line. This halo effect of the luminous line compliments nicely to the royalty of the castle. This was purely done as a revamp for a fresh look.

Universal Pictures:

After several companies merges in 1912, Universal Pictures was founded. The globe was used to represent global/worldwide significance in the film industry.

 

This is the first Universal Pictures logo, which resembles a globe.

In 1923, the logo took a major update. The globe like logo was now evidently a planet in the atmosphere, surrounded by clouds. There is a lot more depth shown in this logo.

In 1926, Universal updated their logo, building upon its predecessor, now with a clear image of the planet Earth, showing they are truly "Universal".

In 1936 a much more eye-catching logo was birthed. This time around the logo featured its signature bold planet with the word "Universal" as the saturn-like ring. The shards surrounding the logo give it an atmospheric feel, as if we are in the stratosphere. This logo is ultimately more engaging than its predecessors and does an excellent job at clearly differentiating itself from other company's logos at the time.

A decade later in 1946, Universal merged with International IPC (International Pictures Company) resulting in a new logo, starring the words, "Universal International". This logo was simplified yet refined, and still has that atmospheric/galaxy edge with the starry sky in the background of the logo.

In 1963, Universal incorporated pops of colour into their logo. This being purely aesthetic from the company, started the basis for the Universal logo we all know of today. With is classic pops of blue and gold, these colours of royalty match the Earth, solar system but also give off a grand and "Universal" feel.

In 1990 the logo was slightly tweaked for a modern edge. This logo exaggerated the pops of colour even more to capture the eye and essentially do everything the previous logo did, but better.

7 years later, the logo went through some aesthetic changes once again. However, Universal had truly blown up at the point and their marketing had to stay on par, which is very evident with this logo which still looks modern to this day, despite being over 20 years old. It features the classic Earth in the galaxy with Universal circling around the earth. The colours were once again tweaked to keep up with that modern edge.

Last but not least, the most recent logo of 2012 was born. It is by far one of the most intricate and detailed logos of this day. With bright colours, fixated depth, popping 3D words, the beauty of this logo shows how far we have come with technology.

Paramount Pictures:

Paramount Pictures was founded by W.W. Hodkinson in 1912. There is a myth that the first logo was drawn up on a napkin.

This is the first official Paramount Pictures logo, which was crafted in 1912. The 24 stars surrounding the mountain scenery was claimed to be representative of the 24 actors who were originally signed with the studio.

Above is the second logo, which was birthed in 1917. All the way through to the mid 1930's, there were several aesthetic changed to the mountain and stars logo which consisted primarily of colour grading. Below are those displayed:

- pops of colour, same concept

refined for a crisper, clearer image, based on the    -  exact same logo as before. All aesthetic moves     from Paramount.

In 1968, Paramount added the words "A Gulf+Western Company" at the bottom of the logo, clearly displayed for viewers to see.

In 1986, Paramount Pictures had its 75th anniversary. For this event alone, they had a specially crafted logo updated which was more colourful, eye catching, and featured "75th Anniversary" displayed right under the word "Paramount".

In 2002, Paramount updated their logo to an image with much more depth. The mountains were now zoomed out and we can see the peak coming through the clouds, exaggerating the message of Paramount Pictures being a superior film company. The mountains now look more realistic and gives a retrospective feel as the logo has followed the same structure since its original in 1912, but we see how far it has come. This logo is one of my personal favourites as it is still a classic but has a modern edge.

Finally, we have the most recent logo, Paramount Pictures 2022. This logo, being updated last year, features all the CGI and new technology features and are clearly displayed. The logo is incredibly realistic and the colours are beautiful and pop right in your face without being too harsh. The logo features the same silhouette of the mountain except this time the clouds are lower and the peak of the mountain is higher up, making the logo seem even more grand. 

GROUP LOGO:

My group, Sensational Studios, have been close knit in planning what we want for our logo. We took inspiration from all of the companies I have talked about above and considered ways to keep our planning minimalistic yet strong and clear that it is a Sensational Studios film whenever people see it. We believe our logo aligns with our style and accurately fits with and represents our group.

Our logo: