I'm only guessing it was a DIY store because it looked like a house...

August 3, 2010 7:40 AM

Which French company (probably a DIY store) used to use this logo - difficulty: it was probably in the 1980s and I haven't got a picture of it...

It was a simple logo that made a stylised house out of three parts. The first block made the left hand side of the house, up to the roof. The middle part made a door with a triangular top, and the right hand part made the other wall and part of the roof.

I think it was orange, blue and yellow or white, but I might be wrong.

If anyone can give me an image for it, that would be fantastic.

posted by sodium lights the horizon to Media & Arts (14 answers total)

This is the only thing comes to mind: BHV
I remember it was orange back in the day. It's definitely house-like, but not exactly the way you describe.
posted by chelseagirl at 7:48 AM on August 3, 2010

Response by poster: Okay... excuse the god awful artwork and the self link. Imagine this but drawn by someone who knows what they are doing, and who can draw parallel lines.
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 8:04 AM on August 3, 2010

Your page doesn't show an image for me.
posted by RustyBrooks at 8:24 AM on August 3, 2010

Response by poster: I hate wordpress sometimes. Sorry. Try this one http://sodiumlightsthehorizon.co.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/logo.png
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 9:31 AM on August 3, 2010

It's none of the CAC Small 90 logos available on wiki (thought it might be Mr. Bricolage). I'm out of time, but you might want to peruse the listings of the CAC 40, CAC Next 20, and CAC Mid 100 for more French company logos.
posted by quadrilaterals at 9:46 AM on August 3, 2010

If 1) all else fails, and 2) you have the related technology*, you might consider trying Google Goggles. Disclaimer: I have not tried this myself, and I don't know how tolerant of hand-drawn images it is.

*requirements, according to the Google folk: an Android device running Android 1.6 or above; A QVGA screen; a camera with autofocus
posted by YamwotIam at 9:56 AM on August 3, 2010

I haven't been able to find it there, but Brands of the World has a large library of logos (and a pretty terrible search engine).
posted by shakespeherian at 10:00 AM on August 3, 2010

I just tried it with Google Goggles and got no hits.
posted by globotomy at 12:18 PM on August 3, 2010

I'm pretty sure chelseagirl has it; I've lived in France for 11 years and that very much sounds like BHV, not any other home improvement place except perhaps Leroy Merlin (Google images search) — do any of these past BHV logos trigger your memory?
posted by fraula at 12:31 PM on August 3, 2010

Response by poster: For some reason, I can't find goggles in the Android store on my Hero. Thanks for trying globotomy.

I've trawled the Brands of the World French section to no avail.

This isn't looking likely, is it?

It's not made any easier because blue and orange/yellow together seem to be quite popular colour combinations for these big box style French chains - Castorama, E.Leclerc and Bricoman being the most frequently appearing logos.
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 12:34 PM on August 3, 2010

Your description doesn't ring a bell, but it could be the logo of a real estate franchise as lots of them have a house in their logo. Finding it is going to be difficult without access to an old logo catalog, though.
posted by elgilito at 1:32 PM on August 3, 2010

Response by poster: Not that it makes any real difference, but I've convinced myself the colours to be blue/orange/white.

The shape is definitely correct, because I know of a greyscale logo that plays a very close 'homage' to it (ie, it's a blatent ripoff).

I don't think it was a real estate company, because I remember seeing a car bumper/window sticker with the logo on as a giveaway.

It's bugged me for years. I'm sure it will do for a few more years...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 2:02 PM on August 3, 2010

It's not an old version of the Point P logo, is it?
posted by creeky at 2:45 AM on August 11, 2010

Response by poster: If anyone is still reading down here, I've been informed by someone who should know that the logo belonged to a company called "Briker" who ran a series of DIY stores until they were absorbed by the larger chain Castorama in the early 1990s.

I still can't find a logo though... if any of the generous people in this thread have any bright ideas (since google images has failed) I'd be very grateful.
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 5:15 PM on August 14, 2010