The function of a logo, no matter what sector it is intended for, is to create an impression to anyone who is thinking of doing business with the company.The logo is the very heart of your company’s corporate identity and one of the key ways that you establish yourself as unique in the business world. Logos are often indistinguishable from the concept of branding and brand values and often logos can represent the entire brand image in themselves, without any additional or supporting information or material.The professional logo designer must remember that, although the job of a logo is to mark your business and brand out as unique, that expression should not be overly complex as it’s equally important your logo is easily identifiable.
Generally speaking, there are four types of business logo design to consider:Textual logos are devices that use text, i.e. easy to recognise word and letterforms that may be slightly modified, but are still recognisable as text and letterforms, in a logo format. The font type can appear in various shapes and sizes to put your message out there to the public. A thick font conveys the businesses’ power or strength while a more script-based font could really put foward style and elegance.For many, many years, any product that was Scottish or Irish in origin or had vague Scots or Irish connections used a typeface called American Uncial to reinforce the “Celtic” connection.A good example of a long lived and powerful textual logo is that for Walt Disney.
Illustrated logos are pretty much what they say on the tin - illustrations literally used as logos. These drawings can really be very simple or rather complicated but it is often better to keep things simple and to the point.A really good example of an illustrated logo is that of Pepsi which features the red, white and blue textual rendition as well as the bottle cap illustration.This is a significant development from the 1940’s, when the Pepsi-Cola logo was entirely textual and was almost a complete copy of Coke.
Symbolic logos are increasingly popular and have many positives to them.Using a symbol to portray an abstract representation of the company can work well across many international markets but a great deal of collateral and marketing or advertising budget has to be spent to successfully get that symbol associated with the company.When it works, it can work very well and a really good example of a symbolic logo is the Nike tick.Combination logos can be a mixture of any or all of the other things discussed. A really good example of a combination logo is America Online which features a symbolic device in the triangle and the textual device AOL underneath.Both of these are actually registered independtly so they can be used in separation if you need to. Whatever design approach you select for your company logo, remember that it will have to be carried through into all aspects of your brand communication, including custom stationery, advertising, packaging and online marketing.
Tags: Brand Image, logo, logo design