Part one: the best logos of 2013 so far, as chosen by design experts

Part one in our new series of blog posts looking at 2013's best, most inspirational logo designs takes in the year's biggest trends, most creative branding work and biggest identity projects, as chosen by our panel of world-leading logo designers.

Michael Johnson, johnson banks

I'd vote for the new Whitney ID: interesting, engaging, unusual, controversial, flexible – all the things a good identity should be.

Jessica Philpott, freelance designer

One of my favourite logos of the year is the 4Seven logo by Magpie Studio. The channel identity as a whole, from 4Creative, has been doing well in the design awards this year, winning a gold at Cannes, and the marque itself is lovely: a clever twist on the classic Channel 4 logo.

Uri Baruchin, strategy director, the Partners, London

What does a modern royal crest look like? It's an interesting and challenging brief and Koeweiden Postma nailed it with something that's modern and minimalist, yet very festive and regal. I visited Amsterdam during the run-up to the inauguration and it dressed the city beautifully.

Looking for more of the best logo designs of 2013? We'll post part two in our series covering the most inspirational logo designs, as chosen by our panel of experts, tomorrow.

Update: don't miss part three of the series, where we look at more of 2013's best logo designs so far.