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Logo

A logotype, commonly known as a logo, is the graphic element of a trademark or brand, which is set in a special typeface/font, or arranged in a particular, but legible, way.

Contents

Overview

The mark is an emblem.
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The Nike mark is an emblem.
The logotype is a name in special typeface or font.
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The Canon logotype is a name in special typeface or font.
The logotype is an emblem and a name.
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The United Airlines logotype is an emblem and a name.


Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation
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Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation

In recent times the term 'logo' has been used to describe signs, emblems, coats of arms, symbols and even flags. At the end of this article several examples of 'true' logotypes are displayed, which may generally be contrasted with emblems, or marks which include non-textual graphics of some kind. Emblems with non-textual content are distinct from logotypes properly so-called.

The uniqueness of a logotype is of utmost importance to avoid confusion in the marketplace among clients, suppliers, users, affiliates, and the general public. To the extent that a logotype achieves this objective, it may function as a trademark, and may be used to uniquely identify businesses, organizations, events, products or services. Once a logotype is designed one of the most effective means for protecting it is through registration as a trademark, so that no unauthorised third parties can use it, or interfere with the owner's use of it. If rights in relation to a logotype are correctly established and enforced, it can become a valuable intellectual property asset.

Many people believe that a logotype is just a graphic symbol or sign. This is, however, not the way it is defined by graphic designers and by advertising professionals. A logotype consists of either a name or a sign and name. The images at right show examples of two kinds of logotypes, and an emblem.

Brand slogan

Sometimes a slogan is included in the logotype. If the slogan appears always in the logotype, and in the same graphic shape, it can be considered as part of the logotype. In this case it is a brand slogan also called a claim, a tagline or an endline in the advertising industry. The main purpose of it is to support the identity of the brand together with the logotype. The difference between a slogan and a brand slogan is that brand slogan remains the same for a long time to build up the brands image while different slogans link to each product or advertising campaign.

Logo or logotype?

Often the word logo is used instead of logotype. In practice, both terms are synonyms, but the meaning of logotype is specifically what is defined in this article, while logo has other meanings.

History

The origin of logotypes goes back to the 19th century, when industrial manufacture of products became important. The new industrial procedures allowed a much higher output then that of the former handmade products. The new products were distributed in large geographical areas, even nationwide. New competitors appeared from time to time, and the offer of products of a same kind increased notably. At that time, a significant part of the population was still illiterate. The industrial leaders became soon aware that the public would not easily differentiate their product from the same product of their competitors. More and more manufacturers began therefore to include a symbol, sign, or emblem on their products, labels and packages, so that all the buyers could easily recognize the product they wanted.

The manufacturers later began to add the name of the company or of the product to their sign. The name being shaped often in a specific way by each manufacturer, these combined logotypes, which for the first time included sign and name, became extremely popular. During many decades, when a new logo was being designed, owners, advertising professionals, and graphic designers always attempted to create a sign or emblem which would appear as a logotype, together with the name of the company, product, or service.

Logos today

Today there are so many corporations, products, services, agencies and other entities using a sign or emblem as logotype that many have realized that only a few of the thousands of signs people are faced with are recognized without a name. The consequence is the notion that it makes less sense to use a sign as a logotype, even together with the name, if people will not duly identify it. Therefore, the trend in the recent years has been to use both logos and names, and to emphasize the design of the name instead of the logotype, making it unique by its letters, color, and additional graphic elements.

However, a small product with an emblem sometimes will grow in popularity, especially across areas with differing alphabets; for instance, a name in the Arabic language would be of little help in most European markets. A sign or emblem would keep the general proprietary nature of the product in both markets. In non-profit areas, the Red Cross is an example of an extremely well known emblem or vexillum which does not need a name to go with, though in Muslim countries it is the Red Crescent.

Logo design

Logo design is commonly believed to be one of the most difficult areas in graphic design. It's not just an image, it is the face of an organization, which is the visual representation of a brand. For brand continuity, and because of the expense involved in changing it, a "good" logo is expected not to be too trendy, but ideally last many years before needing a redesign.

A good logo:

  • is simple
  • looks good in black and white
  • looks good in small size
  • looks good appearing in a variety of situations (i.e. on products, in advertising, etc.)
  • usually includes the name of the company
  • communicates the image the company wants to project, as part of a marketing and brand management strategy

It is useful to use pantone colors - universal colors which are used by professional print shops. Ready logo design is usually provided in vector graphics format. You can see logos on all types of business stationery, advertising, products, etc.

In general there are 5 types of logos:

  • Text plus Image (Iconic Logo / Combination logo)
  • Only Text (Wordmark Logo)
  • Abbreviation plus Image (Iconic Logo / Combination logo)
  • Only Abbreviation (Lettermark Logo)
  • Only Image (Graphic Logo / Symbol Logo / Brandmark Symbol)

Examples

The following are a few examples of logotypes including only the name, actually brand names with the same font. The first table shows the names of six well-known companies in the same typeface in all cases. In these examples, recognizing the companies entails reading the name.


Kellogg's


Hyatt


Bankers Trust


Pfizer


Lancôme


Hertz

In the next table, each company has a specific design of its name, a logotype. Due to the design, the color, the shape, and eventually additional elements of the logotype, each one can easily be differentiated from other logotypes. For example, in a supermarket a box of Kellogg's cereals will be seen in the shelf from a certain distance, due to the unique design of its logotype. The same will be true when one is looking at the airport for the booth of the Hertz Rent-A-Car company. The logotype will be recognized from afar because of its shape and its color.



Kelloggs logotype



Hyatt logotype



Banker's Trust logotype





Lancome logotype


Hertz logotype

See also: Sound logo

External Links

Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04