10 Best Movie Logo Designs

If you look at the history of movie logos you’ll see that most movie logos just use a particular font for the movie name because most movies are not brands and won’t become a franchise.

They don’t need a real logo or an accompanying symbol or graphic for the type mark, in-fact they rarely need a logo at all.

The main purpose of a movie logo is to do two things:

1. Display the movie name
2. Reflect the narrative of the film

And it needs to do it in a way that’s easy to read, attractive and memorable.

Because of this, most movies stick to a simple format and forgo the idea of creating a logo.

However, some movies are setup right from the start to become a franchise.

They’re planned as a big branded movie that should stand the test of time and reiterate itself several times maybe over decades to come.

In this case, the movie needs a logo, it needs a symbol, an icon, something that represents the movie beyond its name and into visual design communication that speaks a universal language to create a unique symbolic identity.

These movie logos allow the movie to become more than a fictional film and a part of our real lives.

These movies become brands.

And to achieve that you need a great logo design to create a brand identity.

Heres a list of 10 movies that used a traditional sense of graphic design to produce a movie logo that was clever, communicated with it’s audeince, built a brand identity and in the end defined a genre.

The Godfather Movie Logo Design

Clever, intriguing and also a little sinister. The puppetmaster logo defines the movie perfectly.

The typography is synonymous with the movie and helped to build a brand identity for the Godfather franchise, and it’s often mimicked by other movies in the same genre in a bid to connect with a core audience quicker, however, the Godfather movies and logo design are such a masterpiece that any other movie using a similar typeface just makes itself look like a cheap knock-off.

Ghostbusters’ Logo Design

A graphic designers’ favourite!

The Ghostbusters logo design embodies symbolism with the magical touch of character illustration that gives the ghost its own unique character and personification.

It’s extremely iconic and symbolic as a logo design and represents an actual business within the film.

In doing so the logo design takes the brand from inside the movie, out into the real world.

Back to the future Logo Design

Everything in this logo is a subliminal and playful message.

• The slant of the type in either direction.
• The arrow pushing back but the logo ultimately arrowing forward.
• The orange gradient which not only makes it look cool but playful carrying the symbology of fire over from the actual film.
• The metalic stroke on the text connotating the delorean time machine.
• A super cool movie logo design.

Aliens Logo Design

The logo for “Aliens” managed to encompass the whole mood of the movie with a logotype/combination mark that defined the sci-fi genre.

The letters are tracked to give individual personality to each mark whilst symbolising separation and 6 different characters with an odd and evil one hiding in the midst.

The typography is stylish and calm, condensed and minimalistic with the letter i foretelling an evil presence that contradicts the overall tone.

Platoon Logo Design

The dog tags, movie title and style all make it clear what genre this film is but in terms of logo design, it’s one that surpasses being just a type-based logo and transforms the identity into something more memorable.

It’s a solid, serious and symbolic logo with a quirky edge that makes it almost playful, signifying disorder.

A perfect depicition of the movie.

Home Alone Logo Design

The dynamics of the home alone logo is so simple and clever that its almost stupid and you can pretty much say that about the movie itself which is why it’s a family classic.

The word “home” is followed by the symbol mark and then tightly followed by the word “alone”.

The single “lights on” window in the house symbolises the title in visual form.

The use of the small e at the end is not really needed but without it, it could be deemed as a horror movie instead. The lowercase e gives it a childish touch, definitive of the move.

The logo embodies the movie, its character and story in every way.

Jurassic Park Logo Design

The Jurassic Park logo is another favourite for graphic designers.

A flat illustrative design with 3 colours and in this case it‘s more than a movie title it looks like an actual brand.

It’s an encapsulated badge-like logo design and represents a business inside the film, making th brand identity duel purposed with a real-world feeling. It’s one of those rare movie logos that you get to actually see inside the film and builds a character all of its own.

Blade Runner Logo Design

I’ll be honest.

I’ve never even seen the film Blade Runner but the type–mark just creates atmosphere.

Fast moving, dynamic and sharp.

The typography was cool enough to make it a genre defining style.

007

007 is not the even a movie logo but maybe it can be seen as the franchise symbol.

The layout and structure emphasise the fast-paced, slick and classic style of James Bond.

It’s simple, black and white with an italicised condensed font which oozes vintage sophistication with a contemporary touch of action, paying homage to a time when James Bond made his first appearance as the smooth–talking gentleman spy.

Top Gun

This logo much like the film represents “America”.

A great play on a naval badge and a tribute to everything in the film; flying, rank, stardom, navy, stripes, stars, America! 

The style of the logo encapsulated the movie in one symbol.

Bonus logos – Every pixar movie

Animated movies which obviously have a heavy background in illustration tend to have great movie logos.

Pretty much every Pixar movie logo manages to create a well-rounded logo design as an identity.

What’s your favourite movie logo?