Better Logo?
Saturday, January 3, 2009 at 12:01AM 
I was thinking about band logos a littlelast night. It dawned on me that 80s Glam bands had some of the best logos of all musicians. I don't know if it was the Metal, the time period or just a fluke - but it just doesn't seem like modern bands/artists have impressive logos.
That said, I've been trying to determine which Glam band has the single best logo. (Notice I say Glam. If I just said "best rock logo" I'd easily pick Aerosmith). Of course, such decisions are subjective but I think I've got it narrowed down to two bands: Def Leppard and Crashdiet. Now, I know there is some (small) debate over Def Leppard's Glam status. I consider them 100% Glam because of their hugely popular 80s sound and influence on other bands.
Anyway, I can't think of a Glam band that has a more recognizable logo than Def Leppard. I mean, their brand image is instantly recognizable which is hugely important in today's over-saturated music market. Having a great logo didn't help Def Leppard create a great album in Songs from the Sparkle Lounge but I bet it did help sell a few extra shirts during the recent tour. I have several Def Lep shirts - all because of the awesome logo.
From the modern era of Glam, there really is no contest when it comes to logos: Crashdiet takes the cake. In a lot of ways, the Crashdiet logo is very similar to Def Leppard's brand. There are hard-shaped letters, smushed together in just the right way to create a brand synonymous with a certain type of music. While I often think of Glam as "inclusive welcome-to-the-party Metal" the logos of both Crashdiet and Def Leppard juxtapose this idea. The hard edges of the letters symbolize the danger of Metal - the closeness of the letters welcome listeners to the fun. I highly doubt the band members had such symbolism in mind when the logos were originally created - but it's possible such ideas were subconscious.
So, which logo is better: Def Leppard of Crashdiet...or some other band? Why?
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