LOGO DESIGN AND ITS ABSTRACT
Branding is one of the most creative niches in design, it requires complexity yet simplified visuals, it requires manipulation yet original concept, it requires timeless effort yet timely delivery and all these can only happen from where it all begins, a logo is your visual identity and it requires deep thinking and abstract to make a distinctive emblem. We have different types of these logos depending on the niche you are designing for, these types are:
1) Monogram logos: Monograms are letter marks which means monograms are designs composed of one or more letters to make an icon, these mostly used with the initials of brands, monograms are widely used in so many industries like the fashion industry, tech industry and personal brands.
Examples of big brands with Monogram logos:
Channel, Lious Vilton, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Hewlett-Packard(HP) and Life's Good(LG) all used iconic monogram.
The Market Fit of a Monogram Logo
- Globalization
- Acronyms for brands with longer names e.g Hewlett-Packard
- Memorable e.g LV for Lious Vilton
Design Tips
- Long brand name
- Unique Typography: San Serif family
- Interlock Letters e.g channels logo
- Choice of colour e.g is red, blue, white or black, not more than two mixtures.
- Mirror or flipped letters e.g Fendi.
2) Wordmarks logos: Wordmarks are logotypes that comprise the name of a brand with special graphical treatment or manipulation in the name or special font treatment that carries the word of a brand, it can be likened to monograms with slight differences of not being iconic letters or initials but the full word(s) of a brand, these types of logos are widely used in the food industry and tech startups also adopt this style.
Examples of big brands with wordmark logos: Samsung, Drupal, Google, Coca-Cola and FedEx all used Wordmarks.
The market fit of wordmark logos:
- Popular and timeless
- Simplified and clean
- Strong brand presence i.e brand name is memorable.
- Choice across industries e.g food, tech, media, fashion and the likes.
- The most popular.
Design Tips
- Short brand names
- Right typeface e.g san serif and serif family
- A slight distinct or manipulation on certain letters or a letter like extended ligatures, embellishment or extra notches e.g the 'U' in Samsung or the 'V' in Vans.
- Single colour though Google holds an expectation of that e.g Cadbury or one distinct letter or character on a different colour for the sake of emphasis e.g the pink 'r' in flickr (blue) and the red 'o' in Mobil (blue)
- Reverse colour variation for a light colour logo e.g white can be reversed to blue just like what Facebook did.
- Pay attention to the spacing i.e well-spaced letters or clustered letters.
- Pay attention to the letter cases e.g Uppercase or Lowercase all through.
3) Pictorial mark logos: These types of logos are symbolic, these are Pictorial representation of a brand, it is always entirely different from the brand's name but focuses on the brand's representation it is widely used by fashion brands like Jordan, Puma and Nike, some powerful tech brands adopted this style as well e.g Apple, Snapchat and Twitter.
Market Fit
- An image representation of a brand
- Bad for new companies
Design Tips
- Identifiable and self-explanatory image e.g Twitter's Pictorial bird tells us about how tweet flies(trend) in split seconds and birds like parrots can be linked to a brand where so much is being said with little words.
4) Abstract logo marks: These are conceptual logos, it explains the essence of a brand with multiple expressions like line-drawn symbols, shapes, patterns, or illustrations.
Examples of big brands with abstract logos: Playstation, Xbox and Adidas.
Market Fit
- Communicate a brand’s message using non-literal imagery.
Design Tips
- Symbol and text variations
- Brand's Initials
- Typography
- Colour e.g deep colours
5) Mascots: These are animated types of logos with character symbols of greater Pictorial advantage. It speaks about the brand in an obvious way yet could be tricky in passing the message.
Examples of big brands with Mascots:
KFC and gaming brands like fairy tales
Market Fit
- Strong and memorable
- Emotional connection to the audience
- Versatility
Design Tips
- Animated letters
- Animated Animals
- Name representation
6) The combination mark: The combination mark is the combination of one or two logo types, You could combine a text and image.
Examples of big brands with the combination marks:
KFC, Mastercard and Burger King.
Market Fit
- Memorable visual brand
- Strong brand recognition e.g icons and brand names in one place
Design Tips
- Greater advantage of symbols
- Shape manipulation e.g circle
7) The emblem: Emblems are icons that represent your brand, it consists of fonts inside a symbol, these type of logos are mostly used as badges, they are mostly used for school brands, government agencies and organisations with the need for badges.
