The Ghostbusters logo made its first appearance in the original 1984 film and immediately became iconic. Like the movies, the No-ghost sign is used all throughout the series. Michael Gross went to Brent Boates, one of the artists already working on concepts for the movie, to help with the design. The logo design is loosely based on the no signs of Europe.
The Ghostbusters II logo
A post shared by Stuart Reeves (@stuartreevesdesign) The logo was a fun way to make the message clear in teasers and trailers, but it doesn't make much sense on the side of the Ectomobile or as the sign on their fire house headquarters. The solution is as simple and literal as the original design.
- When it was released in 1984, Ghostbusters was a remarkable film for several reasons.
- The Ghostbusters logo was initially only going to be used on the eponymous team’s uniforms and on the Ectomobile.
- The No-Ghost Sign has been used for the franchise in one form or another since its initial appearance with the first film in 1984.
- Dan Aykroyd conceived the logo in his original Ghost Smashers script.
- However, I do have some issues with the Ghostbusters II logo.
Ghostbusters Uses
Firstly, why is the busted ghost smiling? However, I do have some issues with the Ghostbusters II logo. By using the same ghost, which is not at all Fatso from Casper, holding up two fingers, there could be no doubt as to what is being communicated.
The original Ghostbusters logo
This simple graphic conjures up all things Ghostbusters – classic moments from the film, the catchiest of theme tunes, and some seriously evocative childhood memories for 1980s kids like me. From its use in the 1984 film itself to its huge popularity on t-shirts and countless other items of merchandise ever since, the No-Ghost logo has become firmly embedded in our popular cultural heritage. “The interesting thing is – and it’s hard for people to figure this out – but one of the versions I did had ‘Ghostbusters’ written in the diagonal sign,” he explains. And there are, in fact, two versions of the Ghostbusters logo, Gross reveals. This in itself is not unusual (there’s a logo for Omni Consumer Products in RoboCop, for example), though the extent to which the Ghostbusters’ logo is used and referred to – in and outside of the film – has only since been bettered by Jurassic Park.
(My personal preference is undoubtedly the Sedgewick Hotel version, which transports me to that thrilling first moment of seeing the Ecto-1 in action.) One, in which Mooglie’s hand is more smoothly curved, is clearly visible for the first time in the scene where the Ecto-1 stops outside of the Sedgewick Hotel in the original 1984 Ghostbusters. The origins of the logo can be traced back to a script for an winorio casino registration early manifestation of the Ghostbusters idea from its creator Dan Aykroyd, known as Ghost Smashers.
Ghostbusters ( Images
It eventually dropped the case, and the Ghostbusters logo has survived. As a bonus, it could also serve as an 'O' in a Ghostbusters logotype. It's very graphic, clear and easy to interpret, it has a strong personality, and it was simple enough to work both on film posters and in smaller sizes such as on the Ghostbusters' uniforms.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire logo
Gross explains that this ‘correct’ version of the symbol (ISO , signage buffs), with the crossbar running top left to bottom right, was then only used in Europe where the ‘no’ sign was more familiar than in the US. “Danny Aykroyd had it written on the page, that the boys came in with this logo on their shirt, or on the side of the Ectomobile, of a ghost trapped in the ‘no’ symbol. The original logo design became iconic after the first Ghostbusters film in 1984, but it almost never was. The animated logo seen in the first chapter of the film shows it having both legs, which wasn't quite the same as the design used later in the film which had the ghost not showing its right leg at all. The classic No-Ghost logo is firmly cemented as an essential piece of film history.
Even viewed in isolation, with the movie title nowhere in sight, this classic insignia, with its cartoon ghost trapped behind but reaching through a bold red ‘no’ sign, is instantly recognisable. Before Ghostbusters had even opened in cinemas, the ‘no ghost’ had been established as the logo of the film itself. Ecto-1, sporting the ‘no ghost’ symbol, from fatmovieguy.com This fun but not excessively cute figure, with the strong graphic impact of the red circle and slash of the ‘no’ symbol, makes for a playful and thoroughly memorable design. As for what happens to the Ghostbusters logo in 2016, when the film returns with an all-female ghostbusting team, a recent graphic from Sony Pictures’ Twitter showed little sign of a new version as yet.
- One early logo design that never saw the light of day shows what appears to be Thing from the Adams Family in handcuffs.
- “Danny Aykroyd had it written on the page, that the boys came in with this logo on their shirt, or on the side of the Ectomobile, of a ghost trapped in the ‘no’ symbol.
- This form of the logo was mostly used in Europe, where the use of the ‘no’ sign is more familiar in daily life.
- The logo was a fun way to make the message clear in teasers and trailers, but it doesn’t make much sense on the side of the Ectomobile or as the sign on their fire house headquarters.
- The symbol would be required for sets, props and costumes, Gross explains, so needed pinning down right away.
- In some European and Japanese posters, a mirrored version was used.
- Which is probably just as well, as no-one wants a repeat of what emerged when the Ghostbusters came back for a second time in 1989.
And this comic element is reflected perfectly in the logo. But this is brilliantly offset by the movie’s deft wit and playfulness. We all know that the ghouls that terrorise the citizens of New York in Ghostbusters are at times downright terrifying. The magic of the No-Ghost sign is in the tone it sets.