Creating a logo design is an exercise in communicating a company’s or product’s core principals. There are countless combinations of colors, letters, illustrations and styles used in logo design, but all logos can be sorted into five categories. Understanding the strengths of each type of logo will help you select the best approach for your next logo design project.

Logo Design Categories

Wordmarks

A wordmark is a text-only design that illustrates a brand’s message, philosophy or position. Effective wordmarks often feature a unique typographical style or custom typeface to create a brand that is simple yet distinctive.

Advantages of Wordmarks
• Simplicity
• Adaptability
• Non-representational
• Name Recognition

Letterform Marks

A letterform mark uses one or more letters as an iconic symbol to represent a brand. Often, these symbols are highly stylized so the mark is distinctive enough to stand alone.

Advantages of Letterform Marks
• Iconic
• Simplicity
• Independent

Pictorial (Iconic) Marks

Pictorial marks, often referred to as iconic marks, are an illustration of a brand metaphor or its product. It is common for companied with pictorial marks to select a tangible item, such as an animal, as the basis for their illustrated brand.

Advantages of Pictorial Marks
• Promotes Brand Culture
• Tangible
• Anthropomorphic Potential

Abstract Marks

Abstract marks use non-representational symbols to convey a brand’s message. Abstract symbols are often the best way to illustrate complex or intangible products,  issues or services. These marks are reliant upon the emotive qualities of shape and color.

Advantages of Abstract Marks
• Ambiguity
• Emotive
• Interpretive

Emblems

Emblems are a sole entity comprised of a marriage of inseparable pictorial elements and typography.

Advantages of Emblems
• Perceived Strength
• Distinctiveness
• Unity

Need inspiration?

Check out Pivot’s design portfolio.

If text is your message, then your use of text is your tone. Typography is the art and technique of arranging type and type design and modifying type glyphs. In fact, the aesthetic you create through the use of typography often goes further in creating an atmosphere of professionalism, credibility and organization than the content of the text itself.

This article will help you achieve better results in your designs by highlighting a few aspects of typography in web applications. Read more »