ANGUS HYLAND
Angus is a partner at
Pentagram and has written
several books on design,
including Symbol (with
Steven Bateman), published
by Laurence King Publishing
where he’s creative director.
pentagram.com/about/
angus-hyland“When I was a child, I was dragged to visit
Chi Chi the giant panda in London Zoo. Its
biggest attraction, Chi Chi was one of
the word’s most endangered species and,
unwittingly at the time, the inspiration
behind what I now consider to be one of the
very best logos.
The World Wildlife Fund (now the World
Wide Fund for Nature) is 60 years old next
year. Its symbol was based on a sketch
by environmentalist and artist Gerald
Watterson and refined by Sir Peter Scott, one
of the WWF’s founders. Sir Peter chose the
panda because it represented “an animal that
is beautiful, is endangered and one loved by
many people in the world.” It’s also in black
and white, which happens to be a useful
characteristic for creating a graphic symbol.
The logo has undergone several tweaks
over the years, but remains true to the original
concept. In 1986, the brand consulting firm
Landor streamlined the panda, adjusting theangle and removing the line between its ears.
Known as amodal perception, the blank space
between the ears makes us join the gaps and
draw the circle ourselves, emphasising the
logo’s curvaceous quality.
In what could have been considered a
bold move, the Landor version also removed
the panda’s eyes. Rather than making it
harder to engage with, it actually had the
opposite effect – it now resembled the facial
proportions of a human baby, creating an
arresting image that we can all relate to on
an instinctive level.
The most powerful marks are usually
simple or abstract, and while the lack of
detail helps add impact, it makes it difficult
to instil any emotion or provoke any real
engagement. Equally, figurative logos are
notoriously tricky to pull off (think
Prudential’s windswept mock-classical
figurehead, or the dreaded BT Piper). It’s
difficult to find the right balance, but WWF
(along with a few others such as the Penguin
logo) is one of the very best examples.
What’s remarkable about the WWF logo
is that it’s more potent than ever. With 41,415
species on the International Union for
Conservation of Nature Red List, and 16,306
of these endangered species threatened with
extinction, the WWF’s conservation work
has never been more critical.
The WWF is clearly proud of its symbol,
and its heritage, and like the best-managed
brands has treated it with respect over the
years. Chi Chi was a gentle giant, and her
image stands for protecting the vulnerable –
something that resonates with us all more so
now than ever before.”DESIGN CRUSH
ANGUS HYLAND ON HIS ADMIRATION OF THE WWF LOGO