Logos are a part of our everyday life, we see them from our breakfast table till we sleep at night. In total there are seven categories of logos, and each type of logo has unique advantages. For a company or brand, it is important to take time to consider what kind of logo they want before they even begin designing the logo itself.
Let’s look at all the kinds of the logo out there to help determine what logo is the best fit for your brand.
Emblems
One of the oldest forms of a logo, an emblem is the type of logo that includes text inside of a symbol. Also known as seals or crests, it gives a classic look to make everything feel nice and official. You’ll often see them used by schools and government agencies. The logo of Harley Davidson is a very simple example of an emblem logo.
Wordmark
The logos which are built entirely of the word or words that make up the company’s name are known as a wordmark. Also known as a “Logotypes,” obviously the main focus here is typography. The shape, style, and color of the font all play a major role in forming Logotypes. A very prominent example of Logotypes is Google.
Monogram Logos
Monogram logos are commonly used to represent the initials of a company or business. The decorative design made up of a combination of one to three letters (traditionally three) to create a single symbol forms a Monogram logo. The initials used in the logo should make a cool, simple and easy word like Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing is more commonly known as 3M. Everyone probably refers to HBO as HBO, rather than Home Box Office.
Pictorial Mark
Also known as Brandmark, the Pictorial mark logo is an imagery icon or symbol with or without the company or brand name. Images are often more memorable than words or letters, that is why many companies use brand mark logo to communicate additional information about their company or brand, particularly when their company name doesn’t offer enough details about what they do.
For example, the brand name Apple and Starbucks are so well known, that they don’t need to include their name with their logo at all.
Abstract Logo Marks
An abstract mark is a specific type of pictorial logo, which is an abstract geometric form that represents the business or brand. A well-known example includes the Pepsi divided circle.
What’s great about these types of logos is, once you’ve got your brand logo out there, no other can easily use a logo quite like yours.
Mascots
Mascot logo is simply an illustrated character that represents a company or brand. Adding a custom mascot design into your advertising efforts is a great way to catch the attention of consumers. Used to personify the values and characteristics of a brand or company to their niche, mascot logos are often colorful, unique and sometimes cartoonish.
Famous mascots include the KFC’s Colonel and McDonald’s Ronald McDonald. Some Famous Indian mascots include Amul’s Amul Girl and Vodafone’s Zoozoo.
Combination Marks
When the logo is comprised of a combined wordmark and a pictorial mark, abstract mark, or mascot then it is known as the Combination marks logo. The picture and text can be laid alongside, stacked on top of each other, or incorporated together to create an image. Sometimes a logo needs the support of text to describe what the brand is about, and then you can adopt a Combination mark logo. Some renowned combination mark logos include Burger King & Lacoste.
