Best Logo of 2010

And the award goes to . . . .  Citizen Chain Cyclery!  One evening last year I was walking through North Beach San Francisco came across a closed bicycle shop. This sign in the window was back-lit and glowed on an otherwise dark street.

Starting from the alliteration of the store name, the powerful image rendered in black and white recalls so many things on so many different levels.  It evokes   nostalgia of earlier days and what many people consider one of the greatest movies of the 20th Center, Citizen Kane.  There's the San Francisco connection as Citizen Kane was modeled after the infamous publisher William Randolf Hearst.  There's also a distant bicycle connection in the movie that you will find if you look at the  Citizen Chain Cyclery website. 

The NB SF CA  letters on the lower right hand corner reminded me of seals on Chinese paintings and prints.   The guy stares straight at you, his head partially blocking the store name - even more powerful than the movie poster.  Is this an invitation or a challenge?  Is he protective or welcoming?  The clenched hand around the wrench looks like a weapon.  Speaking of weapon, Patty Hearst of SLA fame is William Randolf Hearst's grandaughter -- another iconic image.  Ahh there are so many questions!

I really didn't take a survey of logos, but this is one of my favorites.   The folks there are pretty cool too!

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