The OBEY Giant logo is an image taken from graphic designer Shepard Fairey’s ‘Andre the Giant Has a Posse’. ‘Andre the Giant Has a Posse’ is an image of professional wrestler André David Rasumoff, also known as ‘André the Giant’. Initially emerging from the skateboarding scene Fairey is best known for his Barack Obama “Hope” poster, which became famous in the run up to the 2008 U.S. presidential election. His ‘André the Giant’ design was created in 1989 and began a movement in street art and viral marketing, also appearing on skateboards and T-shirts. The design began as an experiment, but became a success. Fairey went on to artistically modifying the ‘Andre the Giant Has a Posse’ to becoming OBEY Giant. The OBEY Giant logo now appears on skateboards, T-shirts, bags, stickers, and it is still highly famous among the street art scene. OBEY is a successful clothing brand which now does not only attract skaters.
The logo is typo graphic, as it uses a combination of imagery and text. Fairey when creating the design was likely to be inspired by conceptual pop artist Barbra Kruger, who uses the methods of minimalism. A lot of Kruger’s work is black and white photography or graphics, overlaid with white blocky font on a red background similar to that of the OBEY Giant logo. I think the logo is simple but effective. The image of Andre the Giant is a stencil, which makes it easier to advertise on a street wall, as all that’s needed is a stencil and some spray paint. The word ‘OBEY’ is done in bold sans-serif font. The typeface is white coloured and blocky, which makes it stand out against the red background. The use of three bold colours in the work helps make it more rememberable and strong.
The logo does not disclose a lot of information about the company, but the logo does stand out, and it is recognisable. I think among a lot of people within the skater and underground art community the image of Andre the Giant is distinctive and they would be able to know the logo very well. Without the ‘OBEY’ text below the imagery the logo would still be able to be recognised.
I believe the logo is successful, and boasted the brand’s popularity. Its minimalistic style makes is stand out. I really like this style of work. This logo is likely to influence my designs as it highlights how simplicity can be successful. I will also look into the work of artist Barbra Kruger. I really like Kruger’s work and it influence a highly successful brand.
CREDITS: collage create by me, and photos used on collage can all be found on the Obey clothing official website.
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