WHAT KIND OF LOGO— ICONIC, TYPOGRAPHIC, OR A COMBINATION?

Now that you’ve thought about the ideas that your product or service can represent (last

chapter—if you missed it, click here), you’re ready to start thinking about the design

of your logo. 

THREE DIFFERENT KINDS OF LOGOS

Your logo has two basic purposes. The first is to represent your product and associate it
With the idea your product represents. The second is to help your customers recognize you
Product, which happens every time they see your logo.
Of course, there are millions of logos in the world. All of them can be categorized into one of
Three groups: iconic, typographic, or combination marks. Let’s take a quick look at
The differences.

ICONIC LOGOS

Iconic logos (also called symbolic logos) are simply shapes or icons that are easily
Recognizable and represent a company or idea. An iconic logo either literally or abstractly
Represents your product, or the idea your product represents.
Because an icon alone doesn’t include any text to clarify its meaning, if a consumer isn’t
Familiar with the logo, they may not associate it with the product it represents.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
The Nike swoosh is among the most recognizable
Abstract iconic logos in the world. It represents a wing
And speed, but it isn’t either of those things. Today
when we see the Nike swoosh, we think of shoes,
athletic equipment, competition, and athletes like
Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

The Shell logo is another good example of an icon,
this time it’s a literal representation of the company’s
Name. When you see the Shell symbol on a sign, you
immediately know what kind of gas/service station you
are at and the kind of service you can expect from
The company.

Lastly, let’s take a look at the VW logo. It’s a symbol
Made up of the company’s initials. It doesn’t include
the name Volkswagen, but it quickly conveys the
ideas associated with the company and name:
Irreverence, fun-to-drive, affordable engineering, etc.
All of these logos say something about the product or
company they represent, but they do it with a symbol
That doesn’t literally “say” anything.
Iconic logos are generally best used by organizations
with large marketing budgets that can spend the
money required to make these logos familiar, through
Big ad campaigns and repeated exposure. For this
reason, we discourage most of our customers from
using a logo that only consists of an icon

TYPOGRAPHIC LOGOS

Typographic logos are also known as logotypes or word marks. These logos are uniquely
styled type or font treatments of the product or
Company name. Because there are thousands of
fonts, there are literally thousands of options available
When it comes to creating a typographic logo.
When it comes to typographic logos, choosing the font
Makes all the difference. Take a look at
these examples:
Disney’s word mark uses a font based on Walt
Disney’s handwriting. It is whimsical, fun, and creative,
which are the ideas the Disney brand represents
To its customers.

FedEx is a great example of a typographic logo
that uses color to separate the two word parts
(representing Federal Express, the company’s original
Name). Also, note that the spacing in the type creates
a subtle arrow shape between the E and the X that
Points forward.

Another great example of a word mark is the easily
Recognizable Coca-Cola logo. This is simply the
company name in a unique script that has come to
Represent “the real thing” around the world.
Logotypes or word marks are often a good option for
small business because they include your product or
company name, so customers don’t have to think too
Hard to remember it. With the right font, you can create
a mark that is both recognizable and represents the
ideas you brainstormed

COMBINATION LOGOS

This is the most common type of logo we see. It combines a unique icon with a type treatment
Of the product or company name, hence the name combination mark. Combination logos
Have the advantages of both icon and word marks. They include a symbol that can represent
The ideas your product represents. And they include your product name in an appropriate font
So customers easily remember who you are. Again, let’s look at some examples.
McDonald’s is a great example of this. Their mark is
the easily recognized Golden Arches, but they also
include their name in the logo, either in red, or in
white when printed against a red background, making
the whole logo so easily recognizable you know it in
An instant. Notice that the McDonald’s logo doesn’t
include a hamburger, fries or any of the other products
that McDonald’s sells

The  NY logo is another great example. By
using the  as a graphic stand-in for love, it forces
your mind to “think” about the logo, making it more
Memorable. The simple type treatment of the rest of
the letters make the logo easy to apply to all kinds of
things that New York has to offer

Another example of a combination mark is the Red
Lobster logo. By combining the restaurant name with
a graphic depiction of a red lobster, you immediately
recognize the sign (before you can even read the
words) and know exactly where you are and what kind
Of food, you can expect.
Combination marks are the most common logos
used by small businesses because they offer the
advantages of both symbols to help represent a
business’s main idea, and the potential to create a
Great type treatment with the product name. This is the
Kind we generally recommend to our customers.
Incidentally, the Logo maker tool makes it easy to choose an icon from a catalog of about
10,000 and match it with one of almost 50 fonts to create an awesome combination logo. But
More about that in the next topic.

SO WHAT KIND OF LOGO IS BEST FOR YOU