Design Woop | The Web Design and Development Blog » Inspiration

A Showcase of Retro Logo Designs

Dan Robinson — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

There’s a huge variety of logo styles out there, but few logo trends are cooler than the retro look. Vintage logos – the kind that you could easily imagine seeing in a 50’s diner – are actually surprisingly difficult to design. They need to look cool, slick and stylish – without looking tacky or cheesy. In other words, to be truly cool, they need to be more Mad Men than Happy Days.

We’ve brought together a collection of beautifully crafted, retro logos that will hopefully inspire you for your next design.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/25861-Gilford-Sons-Logo-Final

Gilford & Sons have a beautifully designed logo that remains simple yet functional & classy. The two tone effect shading and the stern, professional typeface create a sharp, retro logo that’s full of character.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/462253-Ms-Tidy-Logo

The logo for Ms Tidy Residential Cleaning uses hand-drawn typography and a character to add personality to the design.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/132881-Smart-Goal

The logo for Smart Goal uses clean, angular lines to create a vintage effect. The design also uses plenty of texture to help give it a slightly faded, retro look.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/466724-ARRC-Logo

The American Road Racing Club logo is beautifully designed, and looks like it’s straight out of a 1950’s American car club. The circular badge style and the faded texture of the logo both hint at a retro-style, and are used to great effect here.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/395127-Lunchpad

Lunchpad makes heavy use of a retro-inspired typeface to create a 1950’s vintage look, and despite the playful font, the black and white style helps to keep the design looking sophisticated.

Studio 85 have created an ultra-clean mark that looks professional & classy, while the circular design gives the logo a badge-like quality.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/312181-STUDIO85-3

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/336286-Mr-Dj

Mr DJ event services have a complicated logo, but it’s full of personality – and the quirky, retro style helps to make the logo memorable and fun.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/278266-Vintage-Hydroplane-Federation

The logo for the Hydroplane federation is reminiscent of the 1950’s vision of the future and looks like something out of the Jetsons. The bright red and the muted green in the design help to add to the retro feel of the logo, while the typography has a very vintage feel to it.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/333411-Tokyo-Bicycles-Logo

The logo for Tokyo Bicycles has a retro cartoon feel to it, with big bold borders and muted colours complementing the hand-drawn typeface perfectly.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/359504-Six-Yard-4

Six Yard have used angular lines in their logo to form a badge, while a ribbon is used in the background to add a touch of elegance. There’s something very retro about the solid, bold typeface and the texture of the shading on the ribbon that makes the design look strong.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/287891-Bubbles

Tonic’s logo is based on a custom-designed typeface that could easily be at home on a 1950’s fizzy drink bottle. The playful font suggests that Tonic is a fun, interesting & quirky brand, while the shading and highlights in the type help to make the logo “pop” slightly, and keep that retro feel.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/64770-Neo-Retro-Aviation-Logo-Red-

Avionics Masters have an astonishingly retro style logo, from the vintage effect font to the silhouette of the plane, it’s hard to find a more vintage design.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/368811-The-Collective-Logo

The Collective coworking space in Italy have opted to used two very vintage typefaces in their logo – the first is bold and strong, while the second has a more retro hand-written quality to it. Both complement the other in a surprisingly effective way, while the colours in the design also have a very retro feel to them.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/482059-ONST-Creative-Logo-Final-

ONST Creative have an amazingly designed, extremely fun & quirky logo. The typeface is very heavily inspired by retro designs, while the robot that’s featured is straight out of the 50’s.

Source: http://dribbble.com/shots/104327-Bottle-Cap-Logo

Tim Dobbins has used a number of techniques to give his logo a retro feel. The choice of red and faded white work really well together, while the angled lines surrounding the word “Designer” help to add texture. The hand-drawn font also completes the logo and really adds a vintage quality to it.

Are there any retro logo designs that you’ve found that deserve a mention? Let us know in the comments.

Dan writes for gift ideas experts The Handpicked Collection, who specialise in wedding gifts and presents. In his spare time he studies graphic design and practices his skills in Illustrator.

Showcase: Minimalist Workstation Setups

David — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

The environment you work in needs to be perfectly setup for you to do your best work and be productive. Having a quiet and tidy workstation setup is an essential part of keeping you free from distractions and providing you with a creative space to work from. In this we look at a showcase of clean and minimalist workstation setups.

Txuma Campos

Mike Svensson

Jason Schuller

Vince

Travis Isaacs

Chris Doss

Christoph Spiegl

David Trang

Azelie Lai

Benjamin De Cock

iBSSR

Home Office

Home Office Apple Store

Student Setup

Deja Vu

Whitewash

Rooted In Nature

Those High Heels

Landa Desk

Roaring Fire

Best Business Card Designs From April 2012

David — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Maintaining a business card gallery means I get to see a whole amazing selection of varying business card designs and printing techniques, today I am showcasing some of the great business card designs that were submitted in April 2012. I particularly like the edge painted business card effect as seen on the WHP Creative and BrainUp cards, take a look!

Mi$tA

Lava Stationary

Aggie Broadbel

I Do Art

George The Onas

Telegraph

Bobby McBride

Robbert DeLeon

Stephanie Salo

Casey Tanswell

Duct Tape and Glitter

See Jane Blog

WHP Creative

BrainUp

Neil McLean

BeApt

Osvaldas Valutis

Espresso Republic

Jacob Pierce

20 Examples of Perfectly Designed Comparison Tables

Gareth Boyd — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

When a customer is shopping, they want to know that they have options, and specifically what the differences between those options are. Most web services, whether they be invoicing tools, hosting packages or web apps have different pricing structures for various subscription lengths or features.

One of the ways to make sure that your customer is informed and satisfied with their purchase is to show them a comparison table. That way, they can see the differences in features and pricing, and make the choice that suits them best.

Of course, as with any other content on a website, it’s important to have a good design for your comparison table. Here’s 20 examples of perfectly designed comparison tables.

Panda Stream

Litmus

Fluxiom

Ballpark

Big Cartel

WooThemes

Cobble Stone

Eleven2

Notable

LightCMS

Moneychoices

Wufoo

Zendesk

Huddle

SlideDeck

SquareSpace

Dropbox

Resumator

Media Temple

Traffik Pricing

Inspiration: A Collection Of Retro Web Designs

David — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s post is a fantastic collection of inspiring retro web designs, I particularly enjoy the vintage/retro style of design in whatever form it takes, from posters and adverts to web designs. The vintage typographic elements and the attention to detail given to these really stand out to me, the subtle use of background textures in these web designs also appeals to me and I am already thinking how I can incorporate them in in some future projects!

The Soup Peddler

Blind Barber

Wells Riley

Cast Iron Design Company

More Then Twenty

Retro

Braun

Captin Dash

Goliath Sportswear

Tommy

Urbanoff

Neutral Milk Hotel

Rivers & Robots

Tom, Dick & Harry

La Bubbly

Forefathers Group

Bitfoundry

El Passion

Quality Laundry Pros

Beautiful Type

20 New & Innovative Business Cards From March 2012

David — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 07:00:00 +0000

The March 2012 business card design collection features an awesome collection of varying print and business card designs styles, I particularly like the thick edge painted business cards such as ‘Fredrik’ and ‘Nurture Athletics’. If you have a new business card you would like to have featured in the monthly round-up, you can submit your business card for inclusion.