Iconic is a modern buzzword that has taken a beating from copywriters everywhere lately. But how does a design, when the hype dust settles, make the cut?

Icons are the mainstays of popular culture, they have pulled off the oh-so elusive transcendence into popular culture and won the public’s enduring affection. The recipe is a cocktail of aesthetic freshness delivered with breathtaking simplicity and ultimate functionality. I know what you’re thinking, a success formula straight out of the textbook… easier said than done.

“The one thing design must do is fulfill its function efficiently. If not, it risks looking ridiculous, regardless of whatever else it has to offer.” Says design commentator, Alice Rawsthorn of the New York Times. But perfect functionality alone will not elevate a design to the pedestal of iconic as she discovered in the case of the Heinz ketchup bottle.

Rawsthorn recently investigated this beloved packaging icon, noting that it was an ineffective predecessor to Heinz’s cheaper, squeezable plastic bottle for getting the tomato sauce out when it becomes thickened. “Why do millions of people still choose to pay more for a glass bottle, which will not work as well?” she asked. The simple answer is, people just like it.

She identifies Heinz’s success as achieving familiarity without being dull, the 1882 patented bottle tapping into positive nostalgia and promoting a corporate heritage that people respect. The same could be said for the Coca-Cola Company’s famous bottle. Created in 1915 it is known now as the “hobble-skirt bottle” for its unique, pleated glass style and curvaceous contours which are said to be inspired by the shape of the cocoa pod.

Both these products are examples of the rare breakthrough of a best-selling brand becoming the best in its class. This was also true of the infamous Volkswagon Type 1 or as this distinctive rounded car is affectionately known, the VW “Beetle”.

Twenty-one million of these babies were sold (more than any other car in history) with its function suitably met – to provide an economical small car for the people – much to the delight of the man who first encouraged its production, Adolf Hitler (something of an icon himself.) The celebrated Beetle remained enormously popular after WWII through to the sixties with VW drivers signalling each other in greeting on the road in acknowledgement of the proud club of owners. It was designed as simply as possible and became the benchmark of the era for compact cars.

So high was the standard the Beetle set, that it was only improved upon by its own manufacturers, Porsche. In 1963 the company patriarch Ferdinand Porsche’s sketches jumped off the notepaper and into production as the Porsche 911. No longer focussing on being practical, sensible and economical the 911, which shares its older cousin’s rear engine design, turned the beetle into a wasp.

Built to wrap around the engine, it was created as a cradle for its own might. Hunkering low to the tarmac as its chassis pulls off the feat of translating almost the entire potential of the engine into speed; the car came to represent daring and success.

Both cars are hailed as all-time greats for their Germanic dedication to functionality, but when it comes to whimsical aesthetics we must turn to the French. Though, in the stunning example of the Citroen DS, even the French turned to the Italians. Flamino Bertoni, an Italian sculpture and industrial designer, was recruited to create the car for the French car manufacturer. Known as Deese - goddess in French -  his futuristic, aerodynamic expression of art on four wheels is legendary. Outranking the Beetle and 911 in the Car of the Century polls conducted in 1999, the DS remains a timeless classic.

In the attempt to break new design ground there have been plenty of noble attempts that failed, not for lack of trying or talent but for the inability to catch the zeitgeist at the obscure moment of take-off. Often what defines the icons from the rest is merely the luck of good timing.

Chanel No.5 is referred to as le monstre by the perfume industry. Chanel estimates that a bottle is purchased somewhere in the world every 55 seconds but is this incredible popularity for love of the fragrance or for the identity in a bottle it promises? Just as Coco Chanel wanted to update fashion by designing a new silhouette for woman, she managed also to capture the spirit of modern femininity under the cork of No.5.

The first fragrance to use synthetics to create a fresh, abstract style, “I don’t want any rose or lily of the valley, I want a perfume that is a composition” Coco famously insisted and she echoed this thoroughly modern attitude in her chosen minimalistic packaging. Bold capital letters spell the brand, squared off art deco edges compliment the no-nonsense black and white label and the unsentimental choice of a number for the name finishes the statement. Endorsed by Marilyn Monroe, another icon touting a statement of womanhood, No. 5 remains the unequalled lioness of scent.

David Hill of Design Matters points out that it is authenticity that the public seeks in our icons and those that make the grade offer this quality along with “honesty and a celebration of what is original.” He lists Levis Strauss and Ray Ban aviators as examples of innovative takes on well known products representing the authentic offering in a market awash with wannabes.

All these examples share the common aspect of being a sort of visual shorthand for a bigger idea. Take the Che Guevara phenomenon as an irritating yet telling instance of this, where his face is emblazoned on tchotchke souvenirs and t-shirts worn by young people as symbols of counter cultural rebellion.

It this immediacy of recognition that marketing gurus and visual communicators strive for when creating logos. Shining stars of this struggle are the Nike “swoosh” and McDonald’s golden arches which express solid corporate character in the most simplified pictograms. Yet, just like Che, the message can become mixed over time and both these logos could just as easily be read in context as symbols of American cultural imperialism or the negatives of globalisation.

Will the iPhone go down in history as a design masterpiece or the Google logo come to symbolise innovative business that people are proud to wear as a badge, only time will tell.

Article by Estelle Pigott

Tags: branding, design, famous, labels, marketing, packaging