The logo design process is one that requires research on the logotypes available. Like most everything else, logos also come in a wide variety of types to choose from. These give you an extensive option to choose from when designing a logo. Firstly there are a basic group of logo styles. These include:
Wordmark
This is the most basic and simplest form of logo design style. It is solely based on writing a company’s name in text only usually in the form of handwriting, signature, custom, and existing fonts. They are of a wide variety of styles, shapes, and sizes all designed with the intention of instilling different impressions about your brand to your target market. A study on the most successful businesses’ logo style has shown that logos of 37% of the overall top brands consist only of word marks. It is, therefore, a popular choice for not only established companies but also start-ups. Common examples of these include the coca-cola logo, FedEx, Disney, etc. just to name a few.
Monogram
Quite similar to the wordmark, a letter mark is also solely made of text. It, however, differentiates itself in that while the wordmark is made up of the whole name of a company, a letter mark is made up of the initials of the company name. This is especially preferred if a company name is too long or complicated in pronunciation to be worked in other logo styles and media. With a letter mark, it becomes easier for your target market to recognize your logo. When choosing this as a preferred logo style, it is important to ensure that the logo is unique and easily distinguishable even on a size-reduced platform like a business card or mobile device. A monogram is an interwoven letter mark. Some of the companies that use this logo style include Chanel, Gucci among many more.
Brandmark
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that is what a brand mark tries to incite in a person. Unlike the first two styles, a brand mark does not have any texts but is a pictorial, icon, or image representation of a company or brand. It allows your target market to connect to your brand on a psychological level. Famous examples include the Apple logo, twitter’s bird, and target’s bull’s eye.
Combination mark
As the name suggests, this style is a combination of a word mark and a brand mark. The text complements the image to clearly and concisely relay the exact image you want your brand to be known for. Examples include Reebok, Starbucks coffee emblem, and Domino’s pizza.
Flat
A flat logo design style conceptualizes logos in a two-dimensional way. It is simple and minimalistic in the way that it strips down an image to the basics. Examples are Netflix, Pepsi, and Microsoft.
3D logo design style
A 3D logo is designed to seem as though it is lifting off the surface. This is in contrast to the flat style as it utilizes the third dimension to give the image ‘more life’. This style produces visually attractive logos that will look good on a variety of media. Some examples of 3D logos are the CNN letter mark logo, aba training center logo, etc.
Negative space logo design style
This style creatively utilizes the negative space of a logo by infusing hidden details into the logo. This acts to show off the personality of the brand and company while also creating a unique and memorable logo. Examples are the FedEx logo, waterproof structures logo, etc.
Crest logo design style
This style is very historic and medieval in its concept. Examples are Porsche, Harvard, Tesla’s badge, etc.
Outline logo design
This style adds an outline around letter marks. It is outlining letters therefore effectively changing them into vector-based artwork. This style produces logos that are very clear and visible across a wide variety of media. Examples of outline logos include Rolex, Intel, Sony, etc.
Line art design style
This logo design style is fundamentally images of objects created by a series of straight and curved lines. Logos depicting this style are tastefully simple, but that does not take away the fact that coming up with a good line art logo requires a lot of creativity on the part of the graphic designer. Nestle and wanderlust are examples of companies whose logos are line arts.
Vintage logo designs
These logos use styles reminiscent of older times and movements like the hipsters. These logos feature badges, hand-drawn aesthetics, logos with depictions of the industrial revolution, animal horns, land, and sea, etc. Examples include pixelfy, lavender, fastener company, etc. Creative logo design is an art form. Choosing the right one for your company can make it or break it. Choose wisely.