Hacker News Reader

Comment by Grakel | Hacker News Reader

It's a logo for Prince Charles' organization that awards companies making environmental efforts.

Not a logo, but a "seal". The distinction makes sense, since the intricate design would not work well as logo I think. I found it beautiful, but obviously it's only "news" because of who created it.

What is the distinction of a seal and logo in practice?

Logo has to work in many more contexts. You probably aren't going to be embroidering a seal on a polo shirt, for example. A seal will go on your website and marketing pamphlets, but that's about it.

My next question would be is there an economic value of a seal? I would think slapping a logo on everything works all the same. Or am I wrong to think most (everyone except the creator?) people would not know or care about seeing a seal vs a logo.

A seal conveys a specific certification/endorsement while a logo is identifying a company/product/service/etc. For example, if you're a Microsoft Certified Solutions Engineer, slapping a Microsoft logo on your website doesn't convey that (and surely won't be appreciated by Microsoft).

A seal is supposed to be difficult to counterfeit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4xqfs0/how_w...

As such, there is an argument that a seal refers to a physical object with physical imperfections, which are hard to reproduce. Note that the article is about the "design" for the seal, as distinct from the seal itself. Maybe the plan is to manufacture a physical seal off the design (complete with manufacturing imperfections) then use that to make impressions?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com