With the instant gratification that has become our normalcy, it’s difficult to imagine what life was like in medieval times. Ilya Stallone, a Russian graphic designer, bridges the past and present with Medieval Branding, a project that reimagines modern-day popular logos in an olden aesthetic reminiscent of medieval manuscripts.
Ilya Stallone has been featured on many brand pages for the art pieces(rethinking of popular logos) made, which are usually uploaded on his Instagram handle.
He uses grotesque art style to express this morbid but true reality about the medieval times.
Let’s dive into his art pieces.
The Puma
“The Puma” is an artwork that stabs a lion over the written text of the brand Puma, which is a sports brand. The illustrated animal is not the original puma, but a lion who looks starved.
Burger King
The “Burger King” logo remix then takes the expression on a literal level and demonstrates two kings rolled up and sandwiched on a throne that looks like a ‘burger’. Because a king is a singular entity, the two seem to be in conflict of who will be the burger King.
Lacoste
This piece is an alligator eating a man inspired by the Lacoste logo. This could be a reference to how Lacoste became famous for its wallets, and how a man used to stuff his wallet inside his pocket, but now a man is being stuffed inside an alligator’s pocket. The work can also be interpreted in another way. The first recorded use of alligator or crocodile skin in N. America is from the 1800s. Before that – in the Middle Ages – go near an alligator and you became food.
Windows
“Windows” is one of the most well-known brands of operating systems, and Ilya has taken it to a religious level by making the windows look like church windows. As we see it, the religious appropriation of the logo represents the strong religious sentiments prevalent during the mediaeval time.
There is a correlation between Medieval references regarding the brand and their identities.
The designs that take the concept literally, such as Audi’s four wheels that now look like, well, four bicycle wheels, are perhaps the best.
Is it necessary to change the direction of an existing logo to make a big statement? Should you make minor changes to the existing logo design to avoid alienating long-term customers?
When the right logo is combined with the right product, it can become a priceless asset. Consider the Nike swoosh, McDonald’s golden arches, the Michelin man, the three-pointed star on a Mercedes, or the Wool mark symbol. These are just a few of the most well-known examples. To give your own logo design the best chance of achieving similar longevity and recognizability, even if it is in a smaller niche area, keep in mind the universal traits shared by all successful logo designs.
Ilya Stallone has captured all that in his articular expression of the logos. His creations prompt the thought, What if modern brands existed in medieval times?
Liked how this artist turns popular logos medieval? You’ll like this artist who is humanizing historic paintings.
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