Logo Analysis

Logo Analysis:

Walt Disney Co.

Unsurprisingly the founder of this company was Walt Disney, who is now famous for the character Mickey Mouse, and the Disney princesses he created. To match these achievements he had the company logo made to match these themes.

The most famous of these logos was the "Magic Castle" logo designed in 1985 which was based off the Cinderella castle from the movie "Cinderella". The main intention for this logo was to evoke a sense of fantasy and imagination to the audience from the idyllic looking castle which would conjure up dreams of excitement and romance and is an irresistible draw to children all over the world. The light blue backing and simplistic quality of the logo is very appealing and represented the technological advancements of the time.

In more recent times this wasn't an accurate reflection of the companies abilities and the castle was starting to lose its dream sense that had been so inspiring in previous years. This leads to the creation of "A stunning Castle" in 2006 which kept the previous castles concept while still modernising it to fit into modern times. While the tower and the arching line (which I believe is meant to display the magic that surrounds Disney) were the only distinguishing features of the previous logo this logo included balconies,windows and even a moat. This gives it a more eye-catching style and showcases the technological advancements of the company with its computer generated castle and the panning back swoop the camera does. Their is also the beautiful music that plays in the background of both logos which is the instrumental version of the "When You Wish Upon a Star". This song came from one of Walt Disney's original films "Pinocchio" which is a compelling story of hope. This same sense of hope is created in the song which is performed by Leigh Hareline and Ned Washington, and grabs the attention of those that aren't even watching the TV. 

There was also one other logo which was used after the company was first founded in 1923 which was known as the "Revolving Mickey". This is the least known logo and was simply a revolving Mickey outline that changed colour. There were two main reasons for this logo which were very powerful tools when it first came out. The first was to advertise Mickey mouse which was his most famous creation and attracted attention from everyone. The second was to show the technological leaps and bounds that the company was making for the time.

Another interesting idea that they played with was using different variations of the logo to reflect the upcoming movie. The first use of this was in "Toy Story", and afterwards they kept on making variation after variation. Below I have included a clip that shows these variations.

I believe that it is because Disney did these variations and continually updated its log to fit a movie, like the dog kennel theme in "Shaggy Dog", that the Disney logo was able to stay so memorable. It is this quality and the fact that it looks good both online and offline that will play a key part in shaping our logo.

DreamWorks Animation:

This company is a lot younger then Disney, being founded in 1994, but has still made many films that are memorable to kids and adults alike. The co-founders of the company were Steven Spielberg (director), Jeffery Katzenberg (Disney Studio chairman), and David Geffen (record producer) and it is their initials that make up the "SKG" on the bottom of all of the companies logos.

Steven Spielberg had the most control over the design of the logo with him wanting it to be a reminiscent of Hollywood's golden age. He originally intended for it to be a computer-generated image of a man on the moon fishing, but thanks to the advice of Dennis Muren (Visual Effects Supervisor) they got Robert Hunt to paint it. With the desired logo Hunt also sent over another painting with a boy sitting on the moon fishing, and Spielberg loved it. This lead to the logo that we are all familiar with today, with Hunt's son being the model for the much loved kid on the moon.

The first logo was this simple logo that include the boy on the moon fishing with nothing else. Though I couldn't find why he choose this design I believe that it is because it appeals to the inner child that is present in everyone, and takes people back to days when they were happily playing.

The second log was very similar to the first with the only major change to the background.Though this is a darker version of the logo it still attracts the attention of the inner child with the cloud cover behind simply adding a further sense of freedom to the overall look that would appeal to most viewers.



The latest logo is identical to the previous with the only changes being that it has a lighter background that is more appealing and the font. My belief for the choosing of this font is that it seems more inviting and seems to strengthen the message of freedom that the company focuses on.


This message of freedom is achieved through the kid-like colouring of the words as it recreates the work of young kids and gives the impression that one did so, possibly the one on the moon. It also links viewers back to their childhoods giving them a sense of freedom from their busy lives and allows them to relax and be prepared for the movie.



The logos that are seen on movies are made at ILM from Hunt's paintings in collaboration with Kaleidoscope films (designers of original storyboards), Dave Carson (Director),and Clint Goldman (producer) at ILM. This allowed the effect of the painting to come onto the screen and accompanies the background music nicely. The background music is a soft and gentle piece composed by John Williams that slightly builds to drop again that honours Hollywood's golden age, while still sounding inviting for viewers.

Here is another video that includes the different variations that DreamWorks Animation created for its logos.






This company demonstrates the importance in creating a title that matches what the audience expects to see as well as giving them a similar quality that matches the movie they are watching. This themed matching is a great concept that we should bring along to our logo in order to make it powerful and meaningful.



Warner Bros.

This companies history is the most complex on out of the three I choose, and deeply exploring all of their logos would take way to long. Due to this I will Simply list all of them and focus mainly on those that are either vastly different or have the most meaning. Founded by the Warner brothers (not their actual name) around 1923 they have had over 10 different types of logos with the only main similarity being the letters "WB" and the shield. Though I couldn't find out the reason why they choose the shield I believe that they did so in order to show the strength and power of their company, despite them only having just been created. It could also demonstrate their focus on action films which have been one of their most successful genres.

All of their logos:

In their first logo they have a picture of their studio showing in the shield with the letters "WB" squished at the bottom. As the "WB" got bigger and bigger in every new logo (excluding 6 and 9) we are shown how they became more confident in themselves for their success rather then were it was created which is why I believe they had the studio as the bigger part of the shield in their first logo.

In the 3rd logo we get the first example of the logo that everyone is familiar with today with the only difference being that the shield is zooms towards the camera. I believe this reflects the growing success that the company was now experiencing and shows how they are more obvious.

We then have the 6th logo which is the first one not to include the letters "WB" and shows only the "W" which turns into a 7. They did this in order to showcase the new advancement in technology they had taken with using seven arts. They also choose a white or yellow scheme to use with this which made it very plain. This seemed to make the company feel more open and inviting but didn't come across as powerful as the previous shields.

The 9th logo is the only logo that doesn't include any use of a shield and was designed by Saul Bass, who was legendary in changing the way opening sequences were done. They most likely hired him as they believed that he would be able to make their company logo better and he did give them a new title that is very appealing. The stylish "W" is very impressive and was a huge success at the time but wasn't able to keep up with the continually changing audience with is formality being a hindered to it. This however did give the concept of neatness and perfection that the company had wanted to portray as a reflection of their movie.

Their 11th logo is the most familiar to modern audiences and is loved by all. With its blue and gold colours giving the sense of wealth and order that Saul bass's one had given, while still showing themselves as making powerful movies with the shield predominating the screen. The clouds in the background also gives the scene a freeing feeling that makes viewers relax and seems welcoming.

It is hard to talk about the backing track for this logo as it varies depending on what movie your watching as they like it to flow with the movie. They do usually choose pieces that involve an orchestra as it gives the logo a majestic feel that matches the shield.

Like the previous two companies they also make slight variations of the logo so that it fits the theme and below is a clip that shows these as well as the progression of the logo.







From this company we are shown that it is powerful to have the music match the scene as well as being open to let the logo 'evolve' as time goes in order to achieve the best effect that showcases our movies.


One strong idea that we plan to use from all of these companies is the flexibility in the adaption of the logo and making it fit the theme. We have already decided to use drawings for the logos and credits which will be devolped further on another post.