Top five biotech company logos

I can’t help looking at logos, compulsively evaluating their appeal and effectiveness. Some logos simply grab the eyeballs and emotions in a very powerful way, others make me want to…well, to be blunt, lose my lunch on the sidewalk.

Much of my work is in the pharmaceutical field, and there seems to be a dearth of good design and creativity when it comes to logos. While I think that some of the top 50 pharma companies have reasonably appealing logos (Pfizer, J&J, Novartis, Lilly, and Valeant come to mind), many of them are pretty much “blah”.

On the biotech (medicine) side, however, there are at least a few that are graphically appealing, simple, creative, and (how else do I put this??) postive-feeling. Here is the countdown of my current top five:

5. Zelos: attractive typeface, nice use of complementary colors – somehow this logo manages to feel both professional and informal at the same time.

4. Javelin: while I’m not sure why someone would name a medical company after an instrument that, when used, everyone runs away from, this logo is a nice graphic that corresponds well with the company name. The javelin imagery is pleasing and modern, and the color combination works well.

3. OSI: something about the use of the parenthesis around OSI just works – it’s a simple but unexpected way to emphasize the name. The grey and red color combo is appealing, and the use of non-capitalized type for the word “pharmaceuticals” makes the logo more approachable.

2. Solstice Neurosciences: it takes a lot for me to have postive feelings about anything orange (just a personal quirk), but this logo works nicely. The company name is imaginatively captured by the treatment of the “O”, and in this instance, the typeface still feels very approachable even when using all caps.

…and now, my favorite (for many years, ever since I first saw it)…

1. Gilead: a sweet combination of professionalism and academia, and a great use of white/red reversal. The typeface for “Gilead” is nice too, but it’s the graphic that makes this. Simple, striking, memorable – I’d wear this on a t-shirt in a heartbeat.

There are many, many logos, taglines, and websites that make me want to gag – far too many to list here – but when it comes to the You can’t possibly be serious?!? Award, I think this one takes the cake…!