Belgian sketch artist Christophe Szpajdel has designed almost 7,000 logos for metal bands around the world, earning him the title ‘Lord of Logos’.
To put his reputation to the test, Fast Company tasked him with redesigning the logos of several famous companies—such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter.
With his signature style, he reimagined and gave each logo a darker, edgier feel. For example, the Facebook logo was made to be more ‘thorny’, “a metaphor for the death by a thousand cuts the average Facebook user experiences every day”, while Walt Disney’s logo was made to look more like a haunted castle.
“My work is very organic, which is an extension of my interest in nature,” he told Co.Design. “There’s always been a link between wildlife and metal. There’s a shamanistic feel to them, and designing logos is my way of exploring nature.”
He also added that modern companies “could learn a thing or two from metal logos”. He said, “Logos weren’t meant to be designed by committee, which is why the best logos are drawn by hand.”
“Look at the Coca-Cola or Kellogg’s logos. The most timeless logos aren’t necessarily the most efficient, readable or memorable ones. They’re the ones that have the most flow.”
Check out his redesigned ‘black meta’ logos below:
[via Fast Co.Design]