The logo is one of the most important elements composing the image of a company, brand or even individual. The main purpose of a logo is to represent the values and the image of the company/brand/individual in a form easy to remember and recognizable.
There are five basic types of logos, so let’s take each one and show some examples to understand better their characteristics. You can check out the examples in the featured image.
Text logos
Text logos, also known as wordmark or logotypes, are the simplest logos. They consist only of text that is usually made of custom fonts and styled in a unique and original way. Apparently this kind of logo is the second most popular among the top 100 brands in the world, about 35% of them being wordmarks (continue reading to find out what type of logo is the most popular).
Some of the most famous logotypes include Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Coca Cola.
Lettermark (brand initials)
The lettermarks are similar to the wordmarks but they are formed only from the initials of the company or brand name. This is the best solution when the brand name is long or difficult to pronounce. A long and complicated name is hard to remember so a lettermark is the best choice in this case.
CNN, P&G, HP and HBO are some of the most famous lettermark logos.
Brandmark (symbol or icon)
Sometimes, the ideas and concepts that a company wants to transmit to the clients are easier to represent using a symbol or an icon. The symbols have two big advantages in branding: they are easier to remember and they can be recognized regardless of the language of the clients.
This type of logo is preferred by global brands such as Apple, Shell, Mercedes, and Nike.
Text and symbol combination
More than half of the top rated brands are a combination of text and symbol, so this is the most popular type of logo. This combination of icons and logotypes side by side, it’s considered the best because it has the whole name of the brand a visual symbol associated with it.
Some of the best examples of a combination logo are: Adidas, Mc Donald’s, NASA and Pizza Hut.
Emblem
An emblem logo consists of a text inside a symbol, making the two inseparable. They usually look like an official seal or badge, so they are preferred by governmental organizations and sports teams, but we can also find them in other fields.
Famous emblem logos are: NFL, Harley-Davidson, UPS and Starbucks.