From small businesses to larger companies, nailing down the correct type of logo is an essential step in the entrepreneurial journey. It is the modification from an idea on paper to an up-and-running company!
Are you perplexed by lots of logo designs? Well! Don’t worry at all. We’ve resolved your issue and compiled some of the best logo types in this comprehensive guide.
Even though a logo is just a tiny portion of a more extensive branding strategy, knowing what you want before starting the design process can help guarantee that the final product benefits you, your company, and your target market.
Let’s get started!
What is a Logo?
A logo is a symbol of text and images that identify your brand. A good logo represents the brand’s core values. Creating a good logo will help the audience recognize your brand and present your brand and what your company is.
What are the Different Types of Logos?
There are 13 different types of logos. Let’s explore each category in detail and their examples, which will help you choose the suitable logo for your brand identity. These logo styles are;
- Wordmark Logo
- Monogram Logo
- Pictorial Logo
- Abstract Logo
- Mascot Logo
- Emblems Logo
- Illustrative Logo
- 3D Logo
- Corporate Logo
- Calligraphy Logo
- Combination Logo
- Letterforms Logo
- Dynamic marks
Curious to know more and wonder how to choose the best logo type for your business. Let’s dive into the insights and learn each logo design.
1. Wordmark Logo
A Wordmark logo, a logotype, is a more classic and pure logo form. It’s simply the name of the company. Companies with short names like one-word or hyphenated use this type of logo.
It doesn’t contain symbols and illustrations; only the stylized company name speaks up to the brand’s landmark. The main features are the font and color that show your brand’s identity.
Examples of wordmark logos are:
- Coca-Cola
- Subway
- Wix
- Casper
- Kellogg’s
- eBay
- West Elm.
When to Use Wordmark Logo:
You can use a Wordmark logo when your brand has a concise name and will stand out alone on the market. In this way, your brand recognition will create a strong bond in the world and be helpful in your marketing strategy.
Key Attributes You Must Know:
Some brands prefer a custom typeface that requires a professional designer with a prolonged graphic design process. In contrast, you can opt for a logo font that displays your brand amazingly.
Moreover, modern design logos will use a sleek sans serif font; however, trendy designs have more elaborate typefaces. You can choose caps, small letters, mixes, or any unique character and color for your brand’s logo.
2. Monogram Logos
A monogram, a letter mark, is a typography composed of one to four letters, usually the brand’s initial and first letters, such as IBM, CNN, IMF, or HBO. Monogram logos are suitable for those brands that have complex and lengthy names. It balances a strong visual identity with name recognition.
A monogram or letter mark speaks about simplicity. It is practical and widely recognizable for those brand companies with long names. For instance, look at the NASA lettermark. How many of you remember that NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration? Mainly, place it with the letter NASA. In short, a monogram or letter mark is decent, simple, and easy to remember for longer company names.
Examples of Monogram Logos are:
- HBO
- IBM
- CNN
- HP
- Airbnb
- Gucci
- Louis Vuitton
- Channel
When to Use Monogram Logos:
It is helpful for extended business or brand names to make it simple and memorable. It is commonly used by industries such as law firms, financial services, and government agencies.
New businesses must be cautious with the monogram logo because it requires meaningful brand recognition. However, international companies benefit from a lettermark due to a reduction in language barriers.
3. Pictorial Logo
Pictorial logos, logo symbols, or brand marks are graphic icons, symbols, or images of brands instead of using a company name. Usually, these types of logos indicate an object from the real world.
Examples of Pictorial Logo are:
- Shell
- Apple
- Target
- Snapchat
- Major League Baseball
- Church Logos
When To Use Pictorial Logo:
It suits those already well-established and recognized brands because these logos depend on brand familiarity. If your marketing strategy is worldly, recognizable, and global, go with the pictorial logo without a doubt! Remember that images are more memorable than words.
4. Abstract Logo
Abstract logos are image-based logos that use symbols, fonts, and colors that don’t represent a real object, as shown in pictorial logos, like an apple and a bird. Abstract logos are creative and highly unique logos. It is an abstract geometric form that speaks about your business.
Look at a few examples like the BP starburst-y logo, the Pepsi apart circle, and the strip-y Adidas flower. Abstract marks work well among all types of logos because they represent your brand in a single image.
Furthermore, these logos allow the creative use of shape and color to provoke emotional responses, which will be a powerful branding tool. Sports brands, financial institutions, and established tech companies use most abstract mark logos.
Examples of Abstract Logo are:
- Airbnb
- Chanel
- Nike
- Olympics
- Google Drive
- Adidas
- Pepsi
- Reebok
- Mastercard
5. Mascot Logo
Mascot logos are illustration characters that indicate visual representations or ambassadors for a brand. It can be anything from fictitious characters to real people that reflect the brand’s identity.
It is an excellent way to connect customers with the brand, as people like cartoon characters and appeal to other humans. Go with the mascot logo and create a fun, playful vibe that resonates with your audience. This is why companies target children and families using this type of logo.
Some Famous Examples of Mascot logos are:
- Michelin Man by Michelin
- Colonel Sanders by KFC
- Cap’n Crunch
- Tony the Tiger by Kellogg’s
- Mr.Peanut by Planters
When To Use Mascot Logo:
A mascot logo can be good for storytelling, animating, or character-based narratives. It is best for social media and marketing campaigns due to its friendly and engaging nature. Choose a mascot logo if you want a strong brand personality or are in a competitive market due to its uniqueness and recognizability that help your brand stand alone. The best examples are Fido or Geiko!
6. Emblems
An emblem logo comprises a font inside a symbol or an icon, including badges, seals, and crests. These logos have traditional appearances that make a striking impact and are most likely a great choice for many schools, organizations, or government agencies. Additionally, the auto industry is also fond of emblem logos.
Moreover, some companies and brands have modernized and rectified the traditional emblem look to fit the 21st century. For instance, Starbucks’ iconic mermaid emblem or Harley-Davidson’s famous crest.
However, these are less versatile than the logo above designs because the brand name and symbol are rigidly wrapped around.
Furthermore, an intricate emblem design cannot be replicated across all branding. In contrast, a busy emblem is so tiny because it is difficult to read, and it is for business cards.
Additionally, if you want embroidery-type logo styles on shirts or hats, you need to create a design that must be simple; otherwise, it cannot be possible to create. In short, the more simple the design, the better to make.
Examples of Emblem logo type:
- Starbucks
- Stella Artois
- Harley-Davidson
- NFL
- Warner Brothers
- Manchester United
7. Illustrative Logo
These types of logos are composed of complex designs, elements, and illustrations of the product and company and even use a mascot and character to reflect the company. In simple wording, it is a type of logo that is easy to understand, represents the company’s concept, and showcases its theme.
Examples of Illustrative logos are:
- Mailchimp
- M&M’s
- Pringles
- Planters
8. 3D Logo
Want to give an extra layer of uniqueness to your logo? Look no further than the 3D logo! Even more interesting is that you can make your wordmark letters pop out of the page and turn your emblem logo into a mind-blowing appearance as it looks like metal, and your brand’s shape looks like a real object.
But, making a 3D logo requires a few professional skills. All you need to add perspective, shading, doubling up on shapes, and some highlights in your logo. Similarly, like the emblem logo, it will require a few variations on touchpoints that won’t suit a 3D version.
Three-dimensional logos look mesmerizing in flat designs, even much better than animated ones. Furthermore, you can turn your recent logo into a 3D logo. What are you waiting for? Make a unique and attractive logo in no time!
Examples of 3D logos are:
- Chevrolet
- Firefox
- Porsche
- LG
9. Corporate Logo
A corporate logo is the brand identity of a whole company and conveys a broader message to potential audiences. But wait! The Entire company has many products, so what do you want to do? Simple as sugar, create a different logo for each product that conveys its message to a restricted customer of the product.
In simple wording, a corporate logo is a symbol that identifies and displays your business or your brand products.
Examples are:
Aquaforte
Magcor
Dark Horse
Blue Acer
Bashford
Khyber Capital
10. Calligraphy Logo
Calligraphy is an artistic lettering style that reflects the contrast between thick and thin strokes and looks hand drawn or painted with a brush. These types of logos are perfect for branding as they build a good reputation for your business and you get your calligraphy logo at your fingertips. Browse through Vince Logo Design and customize your logo as per your preferences. We guarantee that you never regret trying the mentioned site. Try it now and grab the latest deals on logos!
Examples of Calligraphy logos are:
- Greenleaf
- Coca-Cola
- Tim Hortons
- Kellogg’s
- Barbie
- Disney
- Virgin
11. Combination Logo
Do you want the image, text, and pictorial logo all together? Well! The combination logo is the perfect match for you. This type of logo comprises a combined wordmark or letter mark, a pictorial mark, an abstract mark, and a mascot. The picture and text can stand side-by-side while stacked on each other and joined together to create an image.
A logo combination with text and a mascot is an excellent and versatile choice to make a unique logo and reinforce your brand. The best examples of combination logos are Doritos, Burger King, and Lacoste. Hence, these types of logos are usually easier to trademark than a pictorial mark alone. More examples are mentioned below.
Examples are:
- Taco Bell
- Toblerone
- Dropbox
- CVS
- Dove
- NBC
12. Letterforms
Letterforms are the subcategory or you can say a minimalist cousin of monograms; they are just one-letter logos. These types of logos for branding must be bold yet beautiful. However, companies and brands that want to use complete brand names can go for a wordmark and logotype as mentioned above.
On the other hand, letterform logos are easy to make, small, and scalable. Even you can be used in minuscule dimensions. They are more recognizable and have a fairly simple design without mentioning too many details. Therefore, it turns out to be ideal for app icons, favicons, social media profile pictures, and much more.
Some best Examples are:
- McDonald’s
- Netflix
- Uber
- Beats
- Yahoo
- WordPress
13. Dynamic Marks
This logo style is a unique anomaly that changes and adapts depending on different factors or situations. It sounds strange because, as you heard, the general rule of logo design is consistency. However, this makes the dynamic logo so versatile and unique. These types of logos need a basic framework that will appear in every version of the logo.
For instance, when you navigate the Google browser, you can see the familiar wordmark, including historical figures, holidays, or celebrations, while you can easily recognize that it’s Google. This is because their brand has enough familiarity and recognition in different configurations to solidify their messaging frequently.
In short, Dynamic marks doesn’t have one standard font, color, or text; rather, these elements timely change whether on the internet or different brand products.
Examples of Dynamic logos are:
- MTV
- Hilary Clinton
- Virgin
- Nickelodeon
Conclusion
To set the foundation of your business identity on the market- a logo design is the go-to source for every brand. When you look for design ideas, think about your brand’s core values and how you want to represent and memorize your brand worldwide.
After setting the goals, go with the multiple design options for your brand’s logo, represent it to a few people, and look at their response. This must be a simple test you need to perform.
Hopefully, this blog post with thirteen different types of logo design was helpful and has given you plenty of ideas that fulfill your business and brand requirements.
Explore the Vince Logo design immediately and create the best logo at a discount!
Vince Logo Design is a distinguished digital marketing agency, specializing in crafting compelling brand identities and optimizing online presence. We are your partners in creating impactful digital strategies that drive results.
Get in touch.Get Free Consultancy
Fill the following form and receive a guaranteed response within 48 hours.
We have worked with world's leading brands
