For the movies they felt the need to make the Autobot logo edgier by giving it a frown or angry look. Putting angry eyes to the logo truly goes against what being an Autobot means. Autobots are not supposed to be angry, they're the peace loving faction. Frown does not say peace.

 

The first one does seem more serene and thoughtful, doesn't it?

 

WOW. I never noticed that. I kinda prefer the movie one. Not so dull.

 

I'll admit, I looked past it as well. It's a minor thing, but I like the movie one. It's more stylized, more characterful. I also disagree with the notion that a faction that wants peace can't have a frowning symbol. Anger can be in the form of righteous fury or outrage at what the other side's done. It means that the party in question cares about what they are doing, about the people they are trying to protect and liberate. In this form, anger, sometimes known as passion, has overthrown tyrants, liberated nations, and created peace. Properly directed, this kind of anger can ultimately be life-affirming.

 

fixed

 

I don't like either of those.



I also don't like the diamond-eyed Bayformer Decepticons symbol.

 

There are way to many guys that like fighting in every incarnation for the autobots to be called uniformly Peace loving.

 

I like the movie bot update, but not the updated con symbol.

 

I actually preferred the movie Con version to the regular one for a long time, now I feel the old one's better. The Bot one always felt less noticeable to me but I do prefer the regular one. I see no need to 'angry' it up. It's a symbol!

 

I'm not to fond of the movie logos either. As well as the frowning eyes on the Autobot logo, the pairs of lines either side of the forehead are slightly angled down more sharply too. Plus the top corners of the head are peaked as well.
I can understand why perhaps they did it, to make the logo more stern and bad-ass or whatever, but it just feels a bit too confrontational to me now.

As for the movie Decepticon logo, I have no idea what they were thinking there. It doesn't look angrier or more threatening than the original 'Con logo. It just always looks goofy to me, which is surely the opposite of whatever effect they might've been trying to achieve.

Personally, like with a lot of things in the live-action movies, I think they just changed them for the sake of changing them. I don't feel it was an improvement. I don't see the point of changing them, even if it was perhaps to differentiate the movies from the non-movie toylines. The robot designs themselves were different enough. I'd have rather they'd left the faction logos alone so at least something established from the very beginning of the franchise could've survived through.
Can't say I much liked the move away from the logos being in red and purple either. And then Animated did it as well. So glad things seem to have moved back to the normal colour schemes.

I kinda think if the movies had wanted to change the logos then they should've just redesigned them completely, like as happened in Beast Wars, although obviously that was Maximals and Predacons rather than Autobots and Decepticons. If you want to keep the iconic symbols then just - y'know - keep the iconic symbols. Don't go fudging them and making them look like someone taking a difficult shit.

 

I always thought the Autobot symbol looked more sad than angry.

 

I was just looking at the movie Decepticon logo. I never noticed the diamond eyes before, but I can't say that I'm a fan.

I most prefer the current Decepticon logo being used in NuRiD. It has the triangle eyes of the original, but also looks a little sharper and more elongated than the G1 logo. It's kind of the best elements of the movie and G1 logos.

 

I honestly prefer the G1 look. For both symbols.


Just to get the traditional flat and Decepticon ones in here, too, because the quasi-raised/3D ones are a little distorted and of course shaded.

The Movie Autobot symbol is more "angry" looking in it's own little dopey "Take me serious!" kind of way. I guess it works for the franchise that took the Autobot sentiment from "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," to "RAHR! RAHR! (Incoherent righteous fury) DIE!"

The Decepticon symbol looks... Asian? And good god I hope that's unintentional.

 

^Anything to get a cheap dig in huh?

 

Well at least they didn't go full on 90's Leifeld "extreme" and add pouches and ammo to them to prove how badass they now were so I think the logos got off lightly compared to pretty much everything else in the film design stakes.

 

I prefer the G1 versions of both symbols, but especially for the 'Cons.

 

Very good catch OP. I had not noticed it either, I never looked that closely at the movie logo. I think the movie logo works for what it is - the live action version of TF that is very different from the version that I love and grew up with.

I prefer the original version, for similar reasons that you stated. I remember comparing the autobot and decepticon logos as a kid and noticing how different they looked: the autobot logo projected an aura of peace and reasonableness, while the decepticon logo seemed to project anger and aggression (cue Yoda with "anger aggression, the dark side of the force are they ! . . . "). I actually like both original bot/con logos a lot, and their respective color schemes. The movie logo is not my favorite, but it is what it is.

 

The ones used for all the cartoons I prefer, the live action versions is just too "lifeless", also makes it look like there's no distinction between the 2 factions.

 

I never noticed this.

I have no preference other than the diamond eyes on the Decepticon logo, I prefer it.

 

Personally I find the Movie Decepticon logo looks more avian or, more appropriately, snake like, with how it is noticeably pretty stretched vertically in comparison to the normal versions and of course the stocky, stout Autobot symbol.

Like this guy's face.


He's obviously evil and associated with snakes. Also the Middle East, appropriate given how The Fallen pretty much was retconned into having inspired the entire Ancient Egyptian civilization off of just his face.

Or, for a far different culture set at the mouth of a different river, there's this guy who has a very similar "stretched" face;