4 Types of Logos That Express Your Brand's Vision

The importance of a quality logo is obvious: it's the first thing people associate with your company. Despite this, many companies have messy, confusing logos that don't attract attention. A base knowledge of 4 types of logos can help you understand how different styles function. More importantly, it can help you decide which logo type will express your brand's vision.

These are 4 logo styles that are most commonly used. While you look through the list, think about what styles stand out to you the most, and how each style might change how you brand your company.

1. Character Marks: Consist of single alphabetic characters, abbreviations or numbers

   This is one of two styles that exclusively uses text. Because it only uses characters, this style tends to lean towards the conservative. The issue with many character marks is that they look too much like the other text we see every day. It's easy to overlook a logo's random set of characters when it looks exactly like every other random set of characters.

2. Wordmarks: Corporate or product names

   Wordmarks are very similar to character marks, but instead of strung together characters, this style uses names. This style emphasizes typographic subtleties, specifically horizontal spacing (the distance between the individual characters).

3. Figurative Marks: Symbols or pictures that are associated with a specific brand

   Because this style doesn't use language, pictures or symbols (ranging from natural objects to abstract depictions) attract the viewer. The challenge with figurative marks is that the image must immediately be associated with the brand. This is only done through time and extended association with the brand. In this way, the viewer "learns" that the logo belongs to a specific brand.

4. Combinations: Using elements from multiple styles at once

   A combination of text and figurative marks is what viewers tend to understand the fastest and remember the clearest.

   However, combination logos have a whole new set of challenges: how the text and the image interact. Even if the text is great and the image works perfectly, the elements of these logos have to build off each other and create something more effective than when the elements are introduced separately.

An effective logo can attract new followers and help to convert them to clients. A simple, memorable design can be all that you need to instantly express your ideas. Beyond these 4 categories, there are almost no other stylistic boundaries. With this in mind, go out and create a logo that represents your company.