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E...L...B? What?

We’ve been working on designing a few logos lately which caused we to think about a logo that had befuddled and fascinated me since I was a kid — the Montreal Expos logo.

Growing up I could never figure out why the Montreal Expos logo spelled “E-L-B.” At least that’s what I thought it spelled. I could understand the “e” for “Expos” and the “b” for baseball, but I was at a loss when it came to the “l.” Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was confused. It turns out that I was partially correct. Armed with the power of the web, I learned the logo actually contains an “e,” an “M,” and a “b” which stands for “Expos de Montréal Baseball.”

The confusion about the logo has me wondering if the logo is a successful or unsuccessful design — and what makes a logo successful. A quick search online reveals that people are still discussing the Expos’ logo three years after the Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals. The mark certainly has awareness and novelty in its favor. On the other hand, there has been significant confusion about what it means. Some would say, “Who cares? If you understand that it signifies the Montreal Expos, then it’s done its job.”

We see logos everyday. Some days we even design logos. That striking the balance between clarity, novelty, meaning, and appropriateness is important is something most can agree on. Reaching consensus about what that balance is, or when that balance is reached, is something else entirely.