Band Logos

Recently I've been doing a lot of thinking about bands and their logos. My own band is going through the process of trying to create that perfect image. That one symbol that may not even have text in it, but people still know what it represents...a kick ass band. I'll let you know this is a painstaking process, especially in a band with 7 members (7 schizophrenic sets of opinions).

So if you don't have a publicist or creative director to do the brunt work, how does an artist/band (or company) go about creating their logo? What questions do they ask? With my marketing background the big ones I think about are "what will people/fans/consumers feel when they see the image?", "what thoughts does it provoke?" and "how well does it represent your brand?".

For example, below is a rough idea for my band's logo.


It's a take on Prince Buster's "Voice of the People" record label graphic. Presently we're discussing whether or not we should replace the tribal figure with the silhouette of a prizefighter. I understand the relevance of the tribal figure with the original logo, but I feel like only true ska-heads will even make the connection between ours and the old one.

Taking into account the above questions I would argue that with this present design fans may get confused (or even angry) about seeing a dark figure on the logo for an almost-all-white band that plays Jamaican music. I would also argue that with the addition of a prizefighter image it will further represent our name and increase the connection between the image and the band in the minds of the consumers. Just my two cents...

What thoughts do these popular band logos provoke in you? Besides the artists' music what else make these symbols so mem0rarable and prevalent? Or is it mainly the music that makes these logos effective?


-Tooth

P.s. I'm a proud Minnesotan and all, but WTF?

Band Logos