Here are some of the most controversial logos that, involuntarily or not, suggests a different message than the one it should be. Although, a professionally designed logo is a very important step that can bring tremendous value to any company, it is hard to understand how some have been approved.
1. 2012 London Olympic
One of the most controversial logo is the one for the 2012 London Olympics, which took a year to be created for no less than £400,000. Even a petition took place for the logo to be changed and 50,000 signatures have been collected but without any success. The general opinion was that the logo resemble Lisa Simpson (right) with her brother “Bart Simpson” (left) or that it can be spelled as “Zion“. In any case, dissatisfaction was widespread.
2. Arlington Pediatric Centre
Apparently, those at that medical center wanted a logo to represent a loving father with his child, even though the curves and the way it was drawn were not the best choices. Although they initially approved it and even used it on various things, including the building’s doors / windows, they eventually realized it was not the best logo they could have, and decided to change it.
3. A-Style
A-Style is an old Italian clothing company that wanted more for their logo and intentionally made it that way, although many still think it was just a mistake. Ultimately, thanks to the special attention it turned out to be a real success.
4. Brazilian Institute for Oriental Studies
This was the logo for the Oriental Institute of the Santa Catarina University from Brazil. Although it was meant to represent a sun behind a Japanese building, the result was something that could have been misinterpreted. Eventually, probably after a closer look, they decided to change it.
5. Catholic Church’s Archdiocesan Youth Commission
After being initially praised, in the end, as a result of the following scandals in the Catholic Church, the logo has begun to be increasingly misinterpreted and they have decided to change it. We can still find it in the Aiga archives.
6. Dental Care Logos
Although it is hard to believe how they could approve something like that, considering that it is about health professionals, it is unlikely to be intentional.
7. Kudawara
Considering that it’s a pharmacy, it’s hard to understand how they could have approved it and what they thought when they decided to use those two points above the “K” letter.
8. Pure Maple Syrup
The famous pure maple syrup from Vermont, where they probably wanted to illustrate how the syrup is naturally extracted from the tree in the nearby barrel. Although the syrup is not contested, not the same thing happens with the logo, and many say that the tree looks more like a man.
9. Junior Jazz Dance Classes
Every detail counts and any item removed or added may change the appearance of the drawing. You should always look at it as a whole to be sure you are not missing anything. Like for example in this case the two dancers look like a woman torso, which most probably it was not intentional considering that it’s a junior dance school.
10-19. Some more logos
These images speak for themselves. Some logos due to the field of activity, regardless of whether they were done intentionally or not, are totally inappropriate.
Conclusion
If you do not want something out of the ordinary that could raise controversy, be careful and choose a good designer, look at the logo from all the angles and also from different distances, eventually with more people to be sure it is what it should be and not something else.
