From Amazon to McDonald's: Artist Gives Iconic Logos a Medieval Redesign

An artist has been garnering attention online with his medieval reimaginings of some of the world's most iconic company logos.

Ilya Denisov, who creates his work under the pseudonym Ilya Stallone, has been praised on social media after sharing a series of ironic reworkings of brands, such as Amazon, Spotify and KFC among others.

The images, shared to Instagram under his professional moniker, gently poke fun at the likes of McDonald's with the company's famous Golden Arches logo reworked as a clown vomiting out two streams of yellow-colored bile.

Kappa's classic logo of two women sat back-to-back is represented as two men with their pants down squatting over a well, while Twitter's branding is reimagined as one very scared-looking bird with a rocket strapped to their back.

Given new owner Elon Musk's apparent aversion to satire, it's perhaps best that Denisov has showcased his work on Instagram rather than Twitter, otherwise he might have had to ensure it was labeled "parody."

The design of a logo can influence how we feel about a company.

A 2014 study from the University of Missouri-Columbia found blue logos invoked feelings of confidence, success and reliability, while green logos were associated with environmental friendliness, toughness, durability, masculinity and sustainability.

Purple logos invoked femininity, glamor and charm. Pink logos came with a perception of youth, imagination and fashionable while yellow logos were all about fun and modernity, and red logos prompted feelings of expertise and self-assurance.

Denisov's designs are likely to invoke an entirely different reaction though.

The works, titled "Medieval Branding" by the creator himself, were born out of an appreciation of his twin passions.

"I am a person who simply loves both history and art together," Denisov told Newsweek. "I'm a graphic designer. My passions are illustration, logo and branding. My goal is that every of my next project is better than the last."

Denisov said the project was inspired by a recent trip to Europe.

"I was in Belarus and visited several medieval castles," he said. "This atmosphere encouraged me to create this series of works. I've been designing, illustrating and especially logo making for a long time and I realized that I can combine the work that I love and the atmosphere of the Middle Ages."

Denisov ranks his reworkings of the logos for McDonald's and Mercedes-Benz among his favorites, while acknowledging a sense of humor is required when approaching the pieces.

"These logos combine an interesting image and irony," he said.

The graphic designer admitted he's been blown away by the response to his work on social media.

"I did not expect great heights from this project. I did not think that this project would become so popular, since this is only my first project," he said.

"Thanks to all the people who appreciated my work—this is the best award. Making my mark on art (however small) makes me happy."

You can take a look at a few more of Denisov's pieces below:

1 of 6