Wikipedia

Yes bubble logo

The Yes bubble logo,[2] also known simply as the Yes logo, is a logo designed by the English artist Roger Dean for the progressive rock band Yes in 1971.[3] The logo was first used on the Yes album Close to the Edge, when it was first released on 8 September 1972.[4]

Yes bubble logo
Yes bubble logo
Product typeLogo
Produced byRoger Dean
CountryEngland
Introduced8 September 1972; 51 years ago (8 September 1972) on the Yes album Close to the Edge
Registered as a trademark inUnited States Patent and Trademark Office
Registration Number: 1199922[1]
Filing Date: 13 June 1980[1]
Registration Date: 29 June 1982[1]
Topographic Music, Inc.(registrant)[1]
Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and Alan White (last listed owners)[1]

The original artwork for the logo is held in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London,[5] and the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna.[6] The logo is listed in the NME's 64 of the Most Beautiful Band Logos.[4]

History edit

After Fragile, I felt Yes needed a logo and designed it without talking to them. For all I knew they weren't even going to come to me for the next album, but I still designed this logo. I did it over the course of a train journey to Brighton. I started with a notion that you can put these three letters together in an interesting way and by the time I got to Brighton, I'd pretty much done it. — Roger Dean[7]

Dean graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1968 and trained as a furniture designer. He went on to design chairs, interiors and houses, including the “retreat pod” featured in the Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange, and the seating for the club Upstairs @ Ronnie's at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club,[8] although he is best known as an album cover designer.[3] Dean received a commission from Richard Branson to design a new logo for the newly formed Virgin Records in 1970. The Virgin Records logo, also known as the Gemini logo or the Virgin Twins logo, featured Siamese twins sitting by a tree with a long-tailed dragon by their feet.[8] A variation of this logo was also used for Caroline Records, which was a subsidiary company of Virgin Records.[8]

Dean's first work for Yes was to design the album cover for Fragile, that same year he also designed the bubble logo for the band's next studio album, Close to the Edge. Dean came up with the logo without the band's knowledge and before they had started working on Close to the Edge. He sketched it out during a train journey from London to Brighton with the idea that the three letters could be put together "in an interesting way". Upon Dean's arrival in Brighton, he had finished it.[9][10] He also began designing stage sets for the band in 1972, which mirrored the sleeve design on the album.[3]

During a signing, someone asked me to do the Yes logo so I started to draw the square logo and he said 'no, no, no...I want the famous logo, the bubble logo.' Well, I told him, 'I can't remember how to do it.' The truth is, I only ever drew things once. I had done six sketches of it, to get it right, but I only ever drew it once! — Roger Dean[11]

The original drawings of the bubble logo were first exhibited in London's Design Centre and since then they have been housed permanently in a collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[12]

Accolades edit

The bubble logo has been recognised by:

  • NME in the 64 of the Most Beautiful Band Logos at number 3.[4]
  • Ultimate Classic Rock as one of the Best Band Logos (in no order).[13]
  • Tailor Brands as one of The Best Band Logos in History at number 6.[14]
  • DesignCrowd's as one of the 60 Famous Band Logos That Rock (in no order).[15]

The bubble logo usage edit

edit

Other uses edit

Further information edit

  • Popoff, Martin (2016). Time And a Word: The Yes Story. Soundcheck Books LLP. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-9932120-2-4. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  • Evans, Mike (2022). Vinyl: The Art of Making Records. Thunder Bay Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-64517-816-3. Retrieved 2023-05-07.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Image Trademark with Serial Number 73266222". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Yes 35th Anniversary Bubble Logo I, 2003". San Francisco Art Exchange. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Yes Logo". Victoria and Albert Museum. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Anderson, Sarah (5 April 2011). "64 Of The Most Beautiful Band Logos". NME. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Roger Dean". HarperCollins. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Roger Dean". San Francisco Art Exchange. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Roger Dean: How I designed the Yes classic Close To The Edge". www.loudersound.com. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Time to Give Prog Rock's Artist-In-Residence Roger Dean His Due". www.dangerousminds.net. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  9. ^ Smith, Sid (17 October 2016). "Roger Dean: How I designed the Yes classic Close To The Edge". Team Rock. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. ^ Tiano, Mike (2008). "NFTE #308: Conversation with Roger Dean from 3 September 2008". Notes from the Edge. Archived from the original on 2 November 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Roger Dean: The man behind the fantastical Yes album covers". www.mcall.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Roger Dean Biography". Trading Boundaries Ltd. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  13. ^ Wilkening, Matthew (6 August 2012). "Yes - Best Band Logos". www.ultimateclassicrock.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  14. ^ "The 30 Best and Worst Band Logos of all Time - The Best Band Logos in History". www.tailorbrands.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  15. ^ "60 Famous Band Logos That Rock". DesignCrowd. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2023.

External links edit

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