Logo Analysis - DreamWorks

DreamWorks Analysis

While most movie production companies start from the bottom making small, low budget movie, the DreamWorks entertainment company actually started with a serious status within the media world. Steven Spielberg, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and record producer David Geffen came together to form the company in 1994, which all but sky rocketed the company to greatness. Since then this company has come to create such blockbusters as “Shrek”, “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon.” DreamWorks has shown no signs of slowing down and is sure to be a powerhouse in the entertainment industry for years to come.

One important factor that has helped DreamWorks to obtain its lofty perch is the distinctiveness of their logo. Before many a popular movie, the hugely recognisable logo is what  If the people in the cinema enjoy the movie that comes after the logo, then they are much more likely to seek out other DreamWorks movies. Anyone seeking to create a branding empire of their own should consider the lessons of DreamWorks.

 

The first logo came about through the imagination of Steven Spielberg. He wanted a logo that reminded others of Hollywood’s golden age. To that end he suggested the concept of a man fishing while atop the moon. He at first wanted it to be a computer generated image but, in the end, an artist named Robert Hunt was asked to hand-draw the image. It was Hunt that suggested that the man become a boy and Spielberg agreed. As an added bonus, the boy on the moon was modelled after Hunt’s son.

As a nod to the three people who had come together to make DreamWorks, the initials SKG were added to the bottom of the logo. This stood for Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen, the three original founders.

This logo, although not massively recognisable today, was a foundation for greater things. The boy sitting on the moon could have a connotation of night and dreams, and along with this idea this could be the reason for the child sat on it. Therefore the logo itself could be a symbolism of children’s dreams (hence the word ‘Dream’ in the com

panies title), or even their bed time stories etc. The colour and shade of the blue is very neutral and is also synoptic to the night time theme.

As the company grew, the logo needed to be updated to reflect its growing popularity. While they stayed with the original logo of the fishing boy, they decided to update the logo with the use of computer graphics to give it a more modern feel. This included giving the boy and the moon some updated artwork as well as adding digitally created clouds to give the logo an illusion of depth.

This logo created secondly concurs the ideas of DreamWorks being a reincarnation of children’s dreams and the logo is no longer plain, it has greater depth and different shades of colour. The log is no more realistic – in terms of the moon. And the title is now white, which is in collaboration with the idea it being night time. The night time lexical field is finally added to by the addition of clouds. This could show a few different things – for example for a religious stand point, it could connote that the boy on the moon is in heaven, he is above the clouds, looking down, showing that DreamWorks is a kids heaven. On the other hand, it could show the companies ambitions to cater to children’s needs and bedtime story desires.

The current logo of DreamWorks has stayed true to its predecessors. It too shows the idyllic image of a young boy fishing from the moon with clouds surrounding him. However the “DreamWorks” name itself was changed. Each letter was given a bright colour so as to stand out and make the logo that much more visible. The logo is now so what more child-friendly. It is much more colourful, its letters are now bolder and stand out more, and the clouds and moon are also much more bold and colourful. The child, now much smaller compared to the moon, is now still sitting in the centre but doesn’t appear to be the main focus of the logo. Is this because DreamWorks is trying to evolve into a more serious, adult company? Maybe, but the ‘DreamWorks’ text itself is more colourful and childlike, contradictory to the lesser image of a child. The clouds and now more white and fluffy, this again, going back to a heavenly scenario, is again more light hearted and childish.

Overtime the DreamWorks logo has changed and adapted to all and any technological advances and has constantly been on the rise because of it. Today the DreamWorks logo is much more recognisable and up to date.