Rock is a genre birthed by blues, country, and electric elements. The 1940s-1960s was an endless era of experimentation and rebellion. It is well-known to be a subversive and aggressively liberal genre—the notions of which have captured the hearts of teenagers and societal recluses.
Iconic rock bands ooze with artistry like no other. Their genius work influences the creative projects we see today. This applies to their lyricism, music, style, and design. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the best band logos anyone can recognize.
Once known by haters as “music of the devil”, rock bands are actually angels of graphic design.
It doesn’t matter if you are a hardcore metalhead, indie fan, or more, it’s a guarantee that you can recognize a handful of these band logos. These are famous for a reason, right?
This is also a good time for aspiring bands out there to start getting inspiration and whip up the perfect logo that will be the face of your music career. History repeats itself. When it comes to design, those who take notes from great examples are the ones that end up with a mind brimming with inspiration.
You can use this list of 60 astounding rock band logos to guide your design concept or simply use it as a handy guide to win logo quizzes. We won’t judge!
We will include the ones from the 1900s to the bands that continue to bust out record topping releases. Oh, and these popular logos are in no particular order.
Rolling Stones
For £50 in 1969 or £829 in the present times, the tongue and lips logo came to life after Mick Jagger worked with John Pasche. The artist was a student at the Royal College of Art in London. This logo was inspired by Jagger’s lips a la pop art.
The logo embodied the anti-authoritarian values of the band with its boldness in terms of color and illustration.
Pink Floyd
One of Pink Floyd’s most influential eras is The Dark Side of the Moon. It still is one of the best selling albums in all of rock history. The album features an illustration of light being refracted through a prism.
The Physics textbook-inspired logo of Pink Floyd’s sophomore album alludes to the lights used for their live shows. It was designed by Storm Thorgerson who is a graphic designer and childhood friend of band Members Syd Barrett and Roger Waters.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Created in a rush to pass a symbol to the record label, lead Anthony Kiedis drew an asterisk. Kiedis refers to his work of art as The Angel’s A-hole. The font you see encircling the res asterisk is called the Franklin Gothic font which is a heavy-set sanserif font.
They did not call on graphic artists to commission their insignia for them. Instead, the rock band created one for themselves. If you want to be like Kiedis and take control of your band’s logo design, you can check out this rock band logo maker and try it for free.
Metallica
Believe it or not, this typography logo was first used on the band’s calling card in the ‘80s. Even rock legends see the value in business cards.
It was designed by James Hetfield, the band’s lead vocalist using a font called Pastor Of Muppets. Talk about being a multi-faceted artist, right? Today, it is one of the most recognizable visual identities.
Daft Punk
The French duo has had the band’s logo emblazoned not only on their albums but in other places like the Monaco Grand Prix too. Guy-Manuel designed the logo himself after being inspired by a poster of the film Thief (1981).
Muse
Using a font called the Frutiger 65 Bold, Muse brands themselves in a straightforward way. The symbol of the English collective is often seen with or without two lines framing the typography.
Oasis
Oasis is one of Manchester’s most successful bands. They are often represented by a text logo inside a rectangle frame. This famous logo was designed using the font Helvetica Black Oblique in lowercase.
AC/DC
Like the band name suggests, the logo has an electricity inspired design. The font used for this is called Squealer that has a defined geometric and edgy look. It has a lighting illustration to separate the letters AC and DC.
Linkin Park
Despite the rock band’’s plentiful redesigning, their most iconic one is a round initial logo with the letters L and P inside. The typography is in a very stiff style that features no curves.
Linkin Park’s most recent redesign was in 2017. The design paid tribute to their frontman’s untimely passing. Currently, their logo takes the shape of a hexagon with a missing edge, representing the 6 members.
The Ramones
The band sold more shirts than albums. Their design features an eagle with an apple tree branch and a baseball bat in each of its talons.
Arturo Vega designed the logo envisioning The Ramones as a fully American band. The artist was considered the fifth member of the band. Vega is one of the main minds behind the band’s creative identity.
Blur
Here we have another English band with a text-based logo. The characters in the tex have no spaces in between which creates a connected silhouette. You will often see this logo in either black or white.
Paramore
For most of their career, Paramore carried a text-based logo. But now, the band has an emblem featuring three bars to represent each member. You may also see a flat and optical illusion version of this rectangle logo.
Buzzcocks
In 1977, the band collaborated with an art student from Manchester Metropolitan University named Malcolm Garrett. The Buzzcocks wordmark was the artist’s first real gig. Garrett used the font Compacta and infused more creativity by aligning the two letter Zs in a way that almost resembles a striking thunder.
Bon Jovi
For a classic rock band, Bon Jovi’s dagger to the heart logo seems so fitting. This New Jersey band has a powerful color scheme in its logo design which provides balance despite the detailed illustrations.
Depeche Mode
As one of the most influential electronic bands, Depeche Mode has a punk-inspired black and white logo. Since the band’s start in 1993, their logos have always featured a rough around the edges, handwritten style in their design.
Aerosmith
The 80s never left Aerosmith’s logo. Former member Ray Tabano was the band’s old guitarist and logo designer. The wing logo is an on-the-nose nod to their Get Your Wings album where the logo was first seen.
The Beatles
Famously known as the Drop-T logo, the design catches the eyes of the audience with its asymmetry. The letter B towers over the other characters, while the letter T in the middle appears to hang low.
This is a customized font that Ivor Arbiter whipped up in a rush to decorate the band’s drum kit. Arbiter was a drum designer and an all-around instrument entrepreneur.
Nirvana
Before the design became a staple of any t-shirt owned by fans of alternative music, this X-Eye Smiley Face first appeared in Nirvana’s invitation for the Nevermind album release party.
This endearing tongue-out fellow was said to be drawn by Kurt Cobain himself. Nirvana’s wordmark is in the font called Poster Bodoni Compressed. This font is also used by brands like GAP.
The Who
Unity and masculinity, these two traits are embodied by the English band’s logo. The typography is also put in a white, red, and blue background that resembles an archery target board.
The Clash
The punk rock band has a disarray typography logo to match the band name. Its design features an incomplete and harshly colored in strokes that give it the “I don’t care” identity that punks love.
A quick intermission
There’s no such thing as a lack of ideas. This list of famous logo inspiration may be over, but you can find more in our logo design gallery. DesignCrowd designers collaborate with different clients and niche to produce original and effective logos.
Guns N Roses
Weezer
Pearl Jam
The Strokes
Anthrax
Korn
Radiohead
Yes
The Killers
Van Halen
System of a Down
Blink 182
The Smashing Pumpkins
Misfits
KISS
The Grateful Dead
The Libertines
My Chemical Romance
ABBA
Sex Pistols
Queen
Iron Maiden
NIN
The Cure
The Smiths
Wu-Tang Clan
Led Zeppelin
Pixies
Fall Out Boy
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Avenged Sevenfold
Kings of Leon
The Script
Rage Against the Machine
Slipknot
The Kinks
Arctic Monkeys
Gorillaz
Foo Fighters
Black Sabbath
Keep the design inspiration rolling:
Written by DesignCrowd on Tuesday, May 19, 2020
DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.
