Designing a Logo for your Brand

A Step-by-Step Guide to The Creative Process of Branding: Part 2

When you think of logos, what are some of the memorable ones that come to mind?

Take a look at these iconic logos, even without the names of the company, you would not have much trouble figuring which companies these logos belong to right?

This tells us that a well-designed and memorable logo is almost synonymous with the brand. Beyond an image that represents your business on promotional collaterals, uniforms, merchandising, and more, a good logo can also convey the brand personality, the essence of the business, and what it stands for.

To help you along with the design of your new logo — whether it is from scratch or a revamp of an existing logo — we will be breaking down the 5 most common types of logos we see out in the market!

Read on to learn which might be the most suitable for your brand!

MONOGRAM LOGOS

Monogram logos, also commonly known as lettermarks are one of the most common types of logo designs around.

Design-wise, they incorporate letters, usually the initials of the brand into a simple compact arrangement or unique monogram design.

The emphasis of this type of logo is usually on simplicity and distinction.

While simple, the monogram logo can evoke different impressions of the brand depending on the design, as well as font choice — see article

Reasons to choose this logo style:

• Your brand name is long or contains multiple words. (e.g. YSL instead of Yves Saint Laurent)
• Your brand name has an easy to pronounce and easy to remember acronym (e.g. MoMA instead of Museum of Modern Art)
• Works well for a global audience — acronyms translate better globally instead of local names (e.g., LV instead of Louis Vuitton)

WORDMARKS

Wordmark logos are simple typography-based logo designs that are predominantly text and made up of the full brand name.

Compared to the monogram logo, wordmark logos are suitable for brands with a catchy enough brand name that can be spelled out in full without being too wordy.

Some global brand names with wordmark logos include: Google, FedEx, ToysRUs, Canon, and more.

Since it is heavily text-based in design, the key to creating a wordmark that conveys the correct impression of your brand relies heavily on typography as well as the choice in color palettes. For example, traditional or established brands tend to prefer serif fonts or conventional color palettes, whereas new start-ups or cutting-edge companies might opt for more unique font-types and bolder choices in colors.

Reasons to choose this logo style:

• You are a global brand — symbols transcend barriers more easily than words do
• Your brand already has a certain level of recognition

BRAND MARKS

Also commonly known as a logo symbol, brand marks are just what the name suggests — a recognizable visual emblem of the company.

Unlike the two examples above, brand marks are predominantly focused on the icon that represents the company — and less on typography.

The challenge in the design of such a logo is in choosing a representative symbol that will embody the brand for all time:

• Will it be a direct representation of the brand name? E.g. Target or Apple
• Does it want to convey a special meaning behind the logo? E.g. The overlapping rings of the Olympic Games logo representing the unity of the world
• A play on the service that your brand is providing. E.g. Spotify’s brandmark resembles soundwaves

There are many ways you can go about creating a brand mark, but the definition of success? The ability of consumers to recognize the company just by looking at the image.

Reasons to choose this logo style:

• You are a global brand — symbols transcend barriers more easily than words do
• Your brand already has a certain level of recognition

ABSTRACT MARKS

Like the brand mark, abstract marks are also images — but of abstract form.

So instead of an immediately recognizable image of a target (a brandmark), you may have an abstract design or form that represents your brand (e.g. Mitsubishi’s diamond and two parallelograms, or colorful fan-like design for NBC)

Compared to an instantly recognizable image, this allows your company’s logo to stand out from the crowd with something unique to your brand and your brand only.

And because of that, it requires more effort in designing something that symbolically represents the company.

Reasons to choose this logo style:

• You have a unique product or service that you want to represent with a unique symbol
• You want your brand to stand out from the crowd

THE COMBINATION MARK

If you cannot decide on any of the above styles, why not combine a few of them, making it a combination mark.

The idea is that by combining the text elements of a wordmark or monogram or abstract logo with the brand, you can get a more comprehensive logo that has both the benefits of the visual as well as a text component.

Some examples of combination marks used in global brands include Mastercard, Adobe, Puma, Pizza Hut and more…

Reasons to choose this logo style:

• You want a versatile choice that works on all forms of media
• You want a more distinct and unique logo
• Your brand is new, and you would like people to associate the symbol/mascot with your brand name

Now that you have learned about the various types of logo styles, which do you think is the most suitable for your brand?

Need a template to guide you along? Download our standard template of a creative brief for the development of a logo here. In there you will find relevant and guiding questions to help you determine what is essential and relevant to your brand and bring you one step closer to the logo of your choice!

What is next? In the next article, we will continue to delve into other essential elements of developing your brand identity. Stay tuned!

Visit our website for more relevant content on branding and design or check our instagram page @sergiolaskin for most recent projects.