I DESIGN LOGO's!

Think about all the most recognizable brands. Now visualize their logos. It’s easy, right?

That’s because logos go way back to the start of the marketing era. Consider Apple without the apple or Nike without its swoosh.

A small business logo is probably the most critical tool in your product promotion arsenal. It’s not just a random mark. It provides your business with an identity that represents your core values and your mission.

If executed properly, that identity can immediately sell your brand to prospective customers. A poor small business logo design will turn your customers off. Having none at all is even a bigger marketing mistake.

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The 5 Different Logo Design Styles: Which Type Fits Your Brand?

by: Sherry Howe

Where would McDonald’s be without their golden arches, UPS without their brown shield emblem, or Coca-Cola without their iconic cursive script? Each of these logos perfectly encapsulates the associated brand, and yet, each is an entirely different type of logo design.

The same way that food falls into basic food groups, logos fall into 5 basic styles, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a definition of each logo type, along with some tips on how to choose one that properly represents your company.

Want some help deciding which logo style will work best for your brand? Our logo services team will evaluate your brand and create an original logo that speaks to its core identity.

1. Wordmark (Text)

In a recent study of logos belonging to the top 100 brands in the world, 37% of them consisted only of text, often stylized using a unique font. These are known as wordmarks or sometimes logotypes (since they are logos composed entirely from “type”).

Wordmarks work best when the name of the company is very distinctive. Google has a simple, minimalist logo design, but it works for them in part because their name is so quirky and memorable (not to mention short). The same can be said for Yahoo, Pinterest, and other brands that use relatively simple text as their company logo.

Text-only logo styles are an excellent choice for smaller companies who are just getting their feet off the ground. When getting the word out about your business is crucial, it’s not a bad idea to have a logo that very clearly communicates the name of your company.

Simplicity is key when creating a logo, and lettermarks are about as simple as it gets. They’re similar to wordmarks in that they’re comprised of text, but highlight the company’s initials rather than their full name.

This can be handy if your organization’s name is difficult to pronounce or especially long. After all, “IBM” makes for a much catchier and more concise logo than “International Business Machines.” When you know that you’ll have minimal space available for branding (like when working with a very small product), lettermarks are a good way to save on size and still provide an indication of your brand’s name.

Additionally, using a lettermark logo design assigns equal visual weight to every word in the name of your company, which may make them easier for customers to remember. “EA” acts as a simple mnemonic device that helps to familiarize people with the “Electronic Arts” brand.

3. Brandmark

(Symbol or Icon)

A symbol can express certain ideas much more effectively than text. Think of how well traffic signs are able to associate images with information (“merge left,” “school crossing,” and so forth) and, without a single word, compel you to take action (hopefully).

In the same way, brandmark logos (which consist only of a symbol or icon) can give your audience a clear representation of your company’s identity without the use of words or letters.

Brandmarks are very useful for global companies, since consumers in other countries can associate the logo design with an identity regardless of what languages they understand.

They’re also helpful when the name of your company is very long and doesn’t lend itself well to an abbreviated lettermark; a group called the “Pediatric Ophthalmology Organization” might prefer a brandmark that doesn’t draw attention to their unfortunate acronym.

However, a brandmark logo type can be a risky move. Since it’s only a symbol, a person looking at it won’t be able to see your company name (unless maybe you’re The Company Formerly Known as Prince). That means it might not be the best choice for a new startup or a smaller company that’s trying to get people more familiar with their brand.

Note that in that same study of the world’s top 100 brands, only 6% of them consisted solely of a symbol, suggesting that this type of logo works best for very high-profile companies that are influential enough to be widely recognized by a symbol alone.

For a brief period, the musical artist known as Prince was entirely branded with a symbol and no name.

4. Combination Mark

(Text and Symbol)

56% of the top brands’ logos incorporate both text and a symbol. Combination marks (occasionally known as iconic logotypes) are the best of both worlds, so it makes sense that they’d be so popular; they spell out the name of a company while simultaneously associating it with a visual icon.

Because combination marks are more complex, they require more time and thought to design effectively. But that extra work gives you a logo design that’s more versatile than most. These logo types can often be split apart, giving you the ability to use the text or the symbol independently if the situation calls for it.

From a legal perspective, combination marks tend to be easier to trademark than symbol-only logos, which can often look a bit similar. Making a logo that resembles a red five-pointed star puts you at odds with every other company with a similar registered logo (Macy’s and ReverbNation, to name a couple), but including unique text can help set you apart.

Adding text to your logo can help you distinguish yourself from other companies who may use similar symbols.

5. Emblem

(Text Inside Symbol)

Unlike combination marks, which position text and symbols side-by-side, emblems involve placing text inside of a symbol so that the two are practically inseparable.

They tend to resemble the look of an official badge or seal, making them a common choice for government and political organizations, but they’re also used by well-known private companies like Starbucks Coffee and Harley Davidson.

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2. Lettermark (Initials)

Symbol Logo

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Unlike combination marks, which position text and symbols side-by-side, emblems involve placing text inside of a symbol so that the two are practically inseparable.

Conclusion

Deciding on a basic logo style should be one of your very first steps in developing a visual brand. Once you decide which type of logo design will work best for your company, you can choose a logo color scheme, font and other details to represent your identity.

Is there one logo type that you prefer above the rest? Have you noticed any particular trends in the logo styles that companies use? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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Logo design in today’s world is totally under rated.

People do not understand how important a good logo is and how valuable it is to their business.

In this article I am going to outline the ways in which you should NOT go about getting your logo designed… that is, if you are truly serious about business.

WHAT IS A LOGO?

To understand what a logo is meant to do, we first must know what a logo is. A logo’s design is for immediate recognition, inspiring trust, admiration, loyalty and an implied superiority. The logo is one aspect of a company’s commercial brand, or economic entity, and its shapes, colours, fonts, and images usually are different from others in a similar market. Logos are also used to identify organizations and other non-commercial entities.

It makes me wonder why people have no logo or why they would even bother with a cheap logo design if a logo is meant to do all of these things?

LOGO DESIGN CONTESTS

The worst deal you could probably go for is a logo design contest. Logo design contests are where you give a brief and then you have multiple designers come back to you with their designs. Although this sounds like a mighty good deal, the quality is usually far from anything you would want to represent your business.

You will be wasting your money and in the long term, particularly if you find out your logo was created from a free template that many people use, or you receive the design and it isn't properly prepared for your needs. Re-designing a logo and changing marketing material later on is much more costly than designing it right the first time.

On another note, design contests & designers who design on a speculative basis are damaging the design industry as designers should not have to invest time and resources with no guarantee of payment.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE DEALS

If you do a search on ‘logo design’ on google you will find many businesses offering logo designs for very cheap and unbelievable prices. Such deals as “5 design concepts from 5 designers!” or “6 logos from 5 designers only $200″ – Stay away!

These deals are extremely deceiving and the quality is far from satisfactory. Have you ever wondered how much thought they actually put into your logo design? Professional logo designers have a strict logo design process that can take weeks or in some cases months to complete a logo. They may offer you a result within 24 hours or maybe even less meaning literally no thought was put into your logo design.

STOCK IMAGERY

Some so called “designers” (usually the same people who enter design contests) steal images from stock sites to design your logo… or in some cases business owners download and use the stock images themselves. This is a huge no-no. Did you know that stock imagery gets downloaded by thousands of people? This should be reason enough not to use stock imagery as your logo. If you do this, other people will have access to your logo design and can and will use it in places that will potentially devalue your business. Ensure your logo design is original.

DO IT YOURSELF LOGO DESIGN

Closely linked to the stock imagery scenario above, business owners or those wanting a logo will try to do it themselves. I highly recommend against this and suggest you leave the design to a professional, much as you would leave your dental work to a dentist.

FREE LOGO MAKERS

You will find many free online logo makers on the web. Not only do these logos look unprofessional, hundreds of other people could have the same logo as you and what is the point of that? These logos have no thought, concept or memorability about them, they are merely symbols. They say nothing about your business and do nothing that a logo is supposed to do… I repeat, stay away from free logo makers.

GETTING A DESIGN WITHOUT FEEDBACK

Before approving and implementing a design, ensure you get feedback from your clients, peers, and stakeholders. Getting feedback on a design is a crucial part of the logo design process as it ensures that your logo is going to be successful.

WHAT IS THE COST OF A PROFESSIONAL LOGO DESIGN

The cost of a professional logo design is a question that cannot be easily answered as every company has different needs, however, the best way to approach this problem is to draw up a customized quote for each individual. A number of factors have to be taken into consideration when designing a logo, such as how many logo concepts need to be presented, how many revisions are required, how much research is needed, the size of the business and so on.

To wrap up, I’d like to quote a comparison by David Airey: Comparing the design industry to any other is by no means exact, but the, “How much for a logo?” question is kind of like asking an estate agent, “How much for a house?”.