In all the variety of graphic elements and characters found in modern logos, there is one special creature that everyone knows, but at the same time, never really existed. And that is the Dragon.
The dragon is a mythological animal that is found in all cultures. It combines traits of different animals including birds, snakes, tigers, and deer. Thus, many interpretations of the Dragon as a symbol are reduced to the fact that he represents the unity of the four elements. After all, the features adopted by the dragon from other animals, allow him to live in the bowels of the earth or the depths of water, fly through the air, and spew fire. But more often the dragon is depicted as a combination of bird and snake, that is, simply heavenly and earthly.
In Chinese culture, the Dragon is the most powerful animal that symbolizes power, nobility, strength, wisdom, and success. The Dragon is full of ambition and thirst for new experiences. This authoritative animal is a symbol of imperial power, which is invariably endowed with great strength, unusually sharp eyesight, and an ever-vigilant character. And also this mythical animal can control the wind, and rain, as well as bring fertility and a rich harvest.
The universal and very complex symbol, the Dragon, also symbolizes the mysteries of life, the relationship between good and evil, and even between male and female.
However, in logo design, the Dragon most often symbolizes strength, power, confidence, and superiority, allowing a brand or company to stand out significantly from the competition. In this article, we have collected for you the most interesting, in our opinion, logo variants in which the main character is this powerful mythological creature.
Autodesk Maya
The visual identity of Autodesk Maya is based on a minimalistic black-and-white color palette and quite a simple composition with the two-leveled lettering in the title case, executed in two different fonts, and a contoured emblem, which depicts a silhouette of a stylized dragon drawn in profile facing to the left. The simplicity of the inscription part here is perfectly balanced by the elegance of the Maya Dragon.
Automobil Turismo e Sport
The dragon from the badge of Automobil Turismo e Sport company is placed at the bottom of the solid black roundel, slowly walking along the arched silver frame. The flame-spewing dragon has the same silver outline as the frame, balancing the composition. The negative space above the dragon’s tail and neck is decorated by a tricolor flag in green white and red stripes, and the upper part of the emblem boasts a stylized “ATS” abbreviation in glossy silver bars.
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons badge is super intense both in its color palette and mood. The bright yellow and red composition features a drawing of a fierce fire-spewing dragon set against a solid yellow background of a horizontally stretched oval medallion. The red frame balances the colors of the dragon, while the lettering around it is written in the same shade of yellow as the main part of the emblem.
Chinese Football Association
For China dragon is a very special symbol, but on the logo of the Chinese Football Association, it shares its space with another mythological creature, the Phoenix bird. Both characters are drawn in solid yellow against a bright red background, with a thick circular outline decorated by five red stars on top. The roundel is placed on a shield banner with a rounded bottom part and is accompanied by white geometric lettering in Latin characters and smaller Chinese hieroglyphs.
Dayton Dragons
The visual identity of Dayton Dragons is also based on the image of a dragon, but this time the creature is drawn in an intense yet calm shade of green. It peeks out from behind the banner with the bold uppercase “Dragons” written in a sharp stylized typeface with the elongated tail of the “S” having an arrow on its end, as if it was the tail of the dragon.
Dragon Con
Dragon is not the first thing you see while looking at the logo of the Dragon Con convention. Drawn in gradient shades of yellow, it perfectly fits into the circular shape of the purple emblem, having its wing arched on top, almost creating the internal framing of the roundel. The emblem is overlapped by bold uppercase lettering with gradient shades and a bold dark outline of geometric characters.
Dragon Radio
The Dragon Radio logo looks near yet powerful and bright due to its red and white color palette. Both main elements of the badge, set in white, are placed on the solid horizontally stretched banner in the shape of a dialogue bubble. The left part of the badge boasts a drawing of a white dragon’s silhouette in a traditional style, while the right one features bold lowercase lettering in a modern sans-serif typeface.
Dragon Saber
The two dragons from the logo of Dragon Saber look truly dangerous and wild. Drawn in red, orange, and yellow gradients with black shades, and set on the sides from the stylized two-leveled lettering in black-to-green hues, they feature long and sharp lines of the horns and the tails, supported by quite large spikes on the top parts of their wings.
Dragon Soul
The visual identity of Dragon Soul is executed in a super elegant and even chic style, with the use of silver and gold shades and their darker gradients, turning into black and copper. The image of a dragon, drawn in an abstract way, with elongated and curved lines, makes up the main part of the composition, being set on a plain white background and overlapped by sophisticated voluminous lettering in a double outline.
Dragon Spirit
The aggressive and fierce dragon on the Dragon Spirit emblem is drawn three-dimensionally with blue gradients on the body and wings, executed in quite a realistic manner, and long yellow horns, which makes this mythological creature look more like a demon. The image is accompanied by massive uppercase lettering in two levels, written in the same color palette with the use of a custom font, where the heavy uppercase characters have the ends of their bars sharpened.
Drako Motors
The sleek and progressive logo of the Drako Motos company is executed in the laconic white and black color palette and composed of two elements: a massive uppercase wordmark, written in a stylized minimalistic sans-serif typeface with interesting details in some characters, and a smaller emblem, depicting a flying dragon with a sharp arrow-like tail see in the distance. The Drako dragon looks pretty peaceful, yet still full of grace and power.
Drexel Dragons
The visual identity of Drexel Dragons is based on the combination of a shark and elegant uppercase lettering in a stylized wishbone font, and an emblem with an image of a dragon, drawn in a heraldic manner yet with an important change — the creature on the logo looks super friendly, and its eyes are smiling, even though there are still two red flames coming out from its mouth.
Drexel University
The Drexel University logo looks very elegant and stable. Executed in a calm blue and white color palette without any color accents, it is composed of a two-leveled inscribe in a fancy traditional serif typeface, and an emblem, where the solid blue silhouette of a dragon, resembling the ones from ancient crests placed without any additional framing. The badge looks very expensive and excellent, evoking a sense of respect and trustworthiness for the educational institution.
Dungeons & Dragons
The logo of the famous Dungeons & Dragons franchise has the figure of the dragon hidden in the glossy silver ampersand, which unites the two levels of the bold solid red lettering, executed in a stylized typeface with elongated extra-thin serifs on the ends of the bars. The mythological creature is intertwined with the lines of the symbol, showing us only its head and its tail.
Fireball
The visual identity of the Fireball company features a hand-drawn image of a devilish dragon as its main element. The red silhouette of the creature is drawn in the center of the vertically oriented rectangular banner in orange, and accompanied by black uppercase lettering — the main Wordmark arched on top, and the addition written in straight lines at the bottom.
Football Association of Wales
As you probably know, the red dragon is the official emblem of Wales, hence it’s not surprising at all, that this is the only element, present on the logo of the Football Association of Wales. Drawn in a heraldic manner, the creature has its bird-like elements emphasized here. The solid red silhouette of the dragon, placed on a plain white background, has no additional color accents or lettering, creating a complete statement of the power on its own.
Georgia National Football Team
The main and only element of the logo of the Georgia National Football Team is a stylized image of a knight on horseback defeating a dragon. The white image with no accents is placed in the center of a solid red shield in a traditional shape. No additional lettering is present on the logo. By the way, in many cultures, defeating the dragon means nothing less than resolving the conflict between light and darkness, good and evil.
Guild Wars
The visual identity of Guild Wars has cool hand-drawn dragons in red and black gradients placed on the right part of the composition and stylized as the digit “2”, for the second part of the franchise. The emblem is accompanied by elegant serif lettering in plain black, with the bottom parts of some characters erased, supporting the stroke-drawn fire-colored body of the dragon.
LLVM
A super elegant and powerful dragon in two shades of blue and white is the only element of the LLVM logo. The creature has its wings spread wide to the sides, and its head turned to the left, as well as the tail. In Ancient Chinese culture, The Blue Dragon was considered the most powerful dragon living in the sky. It embodied heavenly power, and being on earth was the patron saint of the emperor, the son of heaven, and a symbol of his wisdom, authority, and power.
Mortal Kombat
The legendary Mortal Kombat franchise is the owner of, probably, the most recognizable logo with a dragon. According to the logo designer, he wanted to create an emblem, in the spirit of the letter “S” of Superman, so that it would also reflect the meaning of the brand and become super recognizable. And, undoubtedly, the task was accomplished to perfection. After more than two decades, the profile image of a dragon enclosed in a circular frame has become one of the most iconic logos in the gaming segment.
MSI
The MSI visual identity is a combination of a bright red emblem and a bold slanted lowercase lettering in black, set against a transparent background. The emblem depicts a white silhouette of a fancy traditional dragon drawn on a red crest with a triangular top part. As for the inscription, it is executed in a custom font with the vertical bar of the “I” shortened, so that when the dot is added to it, it makes the same height as the other characters in the abbreviation.
Qvale
The Qvale Modena logo is a glossy gradient blue vertically oriented rectangular banner with rounded angles, which is enclosed into a voluminous silver frame. The central part of the badge features a stylized image of a dragon in white, with its bottom part straightly cut, making space for the bold uppercase lettering in yellow, with a thin white outline.
Seattle Sea Dragons
The dragon from the logo of the Seattle Sea Deagons team is drawn in an abstract manner, with no specific details, in solid green and blue, with just the sharp red flame, coming out of its mouth, creating a powerful accent. The emblem is drawn against a transparent background above the two-leveled lettering, with the enlarged “Sea Dragons” part written in a shade of red slightly lighter and calmer than the one, used for the flame in the emblem.
Skyrim
One of the most elegant dragons in this list is definitely the one from the Skyrim logo. Drawn in thin sharp lines with the wings executed as two arrowheads, enlarged and extended vertically, the dragon is placed in the left part of the composition, followed by the lightweight uppercase wordmark in a classy serif font with triangular ends of the bars. Both the emblem and the lettering are executed in silver and dark-gray gradients, creating a mysterious image.
St. George Illawarra Dragons
The logo of St. George Illawarra Dragons is executed in a traditional black, red, and white color palette and uses traditional heraldic symbols. It is a classy crest with a sharpened bottom part and flat top, with the solid black silhouette of a medieval knight on a horse overlapped by a solid white silhouette of a dragon. The drawing is accompanied by uppercase lettering in red; placed on top and at the bottom of the crest, across its white framing.
Tatsu
The Tatsu badge boasts a super powerful image of a dragon with wings spread to the sides, drawn in orange gradients with glowing acid-green eyes, which make the creature look terrifying and at the same time magical. The dragon is holding a dark gray banner with the name of the brand, written in stylized uppercase characters with custom shapes, supporting the overall style of the badge.
Tequila Ley 925 Azteca
The creature, drawn in the center of the Tequila Ley 925 Azteca logo, looks somewhat between a dragon and a bird, or maybe a fish, or maybe a flower. It is somewhat very elegant and sophisticated with thin elongated lines, and a tail curved into a spiral. The drawing is enclosed into a lightweight wreath-like frame and accompanied by delicate lettering, placed at the bottom of the composition.
UAB Blazers
The dragon from the logo of UAB Blazers looks pretty simple in terms of style, yet represents everything that is needed: power, determination, and danger. Drawn in a plain green and black color palette, this creature has its eyes colored in the same yellow and orange shades as the flame, which comes out of its mouth. The massive white teeth of the dragon complete the image and its strong mood.
