Nothing Runs Like a Deere
A wood crate with a John Deere logo has a prominent place on my front porch. Before I took Dr. Funda's class, I never thought about the crate or its' logo. However, when I passed it the other day I couldn't help but notice that the logo was different than the logo that appears on the side of my riding lawn mower. I decided to do a little research and discovered that the John Deere logo on this crate is the company logo from 1936 and was only used for one year.In fact, the John Deere logo has its own history and timeline which became of particular interest to me when I thought about it as a representation of visual rhetoric in American farming culture. I discovered that the first logo or trademark of a leaping deer was registered by the company in 1876 and the last change to the trademark occurred in 2000. The company website identifies the leaping deer trademark as "one of the world’s most recognized corporate logos" and tells the story of its evolution.
The logo has changed eight times in the last 135 years. The logos, along with the date they were first introduced, are as follows:
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| 2000 |
The style and shape is reflective of today's technology world: bolder, stronger, high technology oriented. In the symbol itself, the deer's feet are rooted firmly into the ground for a strong leap into the new millennium. The body, head and antlers have a purposeful attitude, a sense of direction and a clear commitment to taking charge by running smart.
I have always found these kinds of things interesting mostly because in high school I was really involved in desktop publishing/marketing. To a company the logo is one of the most important marketing tools because it is able to create immediate recognition with the company's consumers. To be effective the company's logo needs to be flexible and always attempting to create a connection with the consumer. In the past John Deere's logo was black and white with a lot of text and clutter which in today's design doesn't look very good but back in the day it appealed to consumers probably by creating a feeling of reliability. Their newest design is very simple and powerful it's also the first of their designs with color, not only does it have color but it has really bold color. All of this adds into a simple recognizable symbol that creates instant recognition but a feeling of sophistication which is what the modern consumer is subconsciously drawn to.
ReplyDeleteThe change in orientation in the latest logo--from a deer jumping down or over to a deer jumping up--is rather interesting.
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