While visiting the mens room after one of our shows I spotted the remains of a sticker on the restroom mirror. The name of the band had worn away but I instantly recognized the logo. It was the four cartoon heads used on the stickers and posters of one of our favorite bands, The Assholes (aka The Broke Americans). Even though they weren’t on the bill that night their presence was felt and once again their association with the local L.A. underground scene was reinforced. A name is a name unless you decide to change it as have The Broke Americans, aka The Assholes, but their logo can help make the change easier as the symbol for the band translates no matter to what their name has been changed. Other bands such as Rakit and The Regulators have instantly recognizable logos even when you can’t actually read the band name such as on the bulletin board of a darkened club. The Grateful Dead probably have more graphics associated with it than any other band. One need only see a skull and roses or a skeleton wearing a wreath or even the completely unrelated image of a chorus line of dancing teddy bears and The Grateful Dead have forced their way into your consciousness.
How does a band go about designing a winning logo? There are two ways; commission or appropriation. Commission is the act of hiring an artist to design your logo. This could be a friend or a fan of the band but hopefully someone who understands what your trip is and will come up with a design that fits. Just looking at the logo art for The Assholes tells you that they’re fun, perhaps with a sense of humor and that they probably play punk rock (their cartoon heads have Mohawks). You now know a lot about a band you may have never even heard of before. Southern Cal is full of artists and art students who love having their artwork seen and known. And like most people, they love feeling as if they’re part of a rock band’s inner circle.
The other process is appropriation. This is the process of taking an already produced, maybe even famous, piece of art and incorporating it or some of it as your logo. There are tons of art books and magazines that contain samples of art that are public domain, meaning that you can use it without being sued, and a helpful exercise is to go through these books as a band trying to pick out images that seem appropriate to your music, image and style. You’ll learn a lot about yourselves just by doing this and you may be surprised by how different your image of your band is from that of the other members.
How does a band go about designing a winning logo? There are two ways; commission or appropriation. Commission is the act of hiring an artist to design your logo. This could be a friend or a fan of the band but hopefully someone who understands what your trip is and will come up with a design that fits. Just looking at the logo art for The Assholes tells you that they’re fun, perhaps with a sense of humor and that they probably play punk rock (their cartoon heads have Mohawks). You now know a lot about a band you may have never even heard of before. Southern Cal is full of artists and art students who love having their artwork seen and known. And like most people, they love feeling as if they’re part of a rock band’s inner circle.
The other process is appropriation. This is the process of taking an already produced, maybe even famous, piece of art and incorporating it or some of it as your logo. There are tons of art books and magazines that contain samples of art that are public domain, meaning that you can use it without being sued, and a helpful exercise is to go through these books as a band trying to pick out images that seem appropriate to your music, image and style. You’ll learn a lot about yourselves just by doing this and you may be surprised by how different your image of your band is from that of the other members.
I don't understand why ALL bands don't have a logo. Every company or product has a logo, we've all accepted that everything that is commercially available is represented not only by a brand name but also by a symbol. Symbols are extremely powerful.
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