A logo is the epitome of any brand which strives for longevity and loyalty. Over time, this image is stuck in a consumer’s mind and becomes synonymous with the ‘brand identity’ globally. Hence it is crucial to know what makes the most effective and striking brand logo which resonates with audiences all around. Let us take a look at a particular family of logo: The Wordmark.
What exactly is a Wordmark Logo design?
Keeping things as simplistic and minimalistic as possible, Wordmark (or logotype) refers to fully textually based logos which omit any illustrations, symbols, mascots or thematic elements. The only tools at work here are the vibrant or graceful colors and the font that do the job of typographically displaying the name of the brand itself.
Using a Wordmark type logo design for your business, regardless of the nature of the service it provides, hosts a number of benefits. Thanks to their simplicity and minimal design, these logos are easy to remember and identify your brand with. Since there is not much complexity involved here, the production and modification of these logos over time require less creativity, thinking or effort. Thus little variations will keep the brand’s logo intact and flourishing for years to come.
Lastly, it might be very intuitive to think that Wordmark logo designs are especially visually appealing for one-word or short-named business brands. This is because as we add more elements and concepts into the logo, it can become cluttered however some businesses with long string of characters in their logo have made it successful too, like the New York Times. So all in all, it shows us the versatility and the universal ease of use of the Wordmark Logo design.
Some popular examples
It is no doubt, Wordmark logos are preferred by titans in the industries around the world with the likes of Disney, Coca Cola and Nintendo utilizing them. This idea further cements their neat design and effective approach at enamoring and capturing the observer’s interest and curiosity.
In every field and category of products, the Wordmark logo is prevalent. A glimpse into electronic families show no shortage of this design as companies like Sony, Haier, Toshiba, Panasonic and Phillips have stuck to this approach for years.
Moving over to social media and e-commerce giants like Facebook, Amazon, eBay and Google, we can see the same pattern of Wordmark logo designs. Among clothing retailers, the trend continues with Marks & Spencer, Zara, Prada and Calvin Klein, brands which have made a huge impact and influence in terms of fashion around the world.
Part of their appeal comes from the sense of promoting professionalism. This is ideal for respected and credible editorial and financial sources including New York Times, Forbes, JP Morgan and TIME all of which boast a simple Wordmark logo approach.
Designing your Wordmark Logo Design
Now that we have looked at the pros of Wordmark logo designs and some inspiring examples to go along with them, it is time to shed some light on good practices when designing the logotype.
Font size and color
Right off the bat, it should be apparent that color palette and font are the most crucial elements to an effective Wordmark logo. Striving for excellence in both of these aspects will result in the creation of an ideal logo. The typeface or font matters a lot to not just the overall look, but feel and vibe of the logo.
Its’ boldness/thickness determines how valiant of a picture it needs to strike while the space between the letters indicates a stylistic choice and further plays into the elegance of the logo. A narrowly spaced logo can strike a sharper image while widely spaced kerning can muddle viewers. Thus, it is good to strive for the perfect balance when it comes to kerning.
The font type itself also varies from businesses to businesses with most preferring the Serif type. Experiment with some fonts and their stylistic elements until the tone and personification of your business aligns with the outlook of the logo.
For colors, the theme of “what suits your business best” is reiterated. For a more vibrant and lively approach, especially when it comes to toy brands, toddler products or fast-food chains, a diverse spectrum of colors mean the real deal. For a professional touch, especially in terms of media giants or tech-related disciplines, it might be more fitting for a monochromatic color scheme. A good mix-and-match would also be to blend different colors for a single name, like FedEx.
Again, your color choice should take into account the demographic of the audience you are targeting, including their gender and age stats.
Letter casing and shapes
Modifying certain characters of your business name string either by upper or lower casing or accentuating them can make a lot of difference too. What this does is highlight certain parts of the text and brings them to spotlight, so an observer can readily make out the brand logo just by a few letters. Mix-and-matching between upper and lower cases for the Wordmark logo is a stylistic choice and will often work.
Lastly, you can further highlight or put emphasis on certain characters in a logo by enclosing them in a circle, rectangle or any other shape for that matter. BBC is a great example in this regard, almost resembling a simple, timeless clock or calendar whose dial will keep switching but never cease.
Some tools to look out for
Shopify’s Hatchful is a good starting point for creating brand logos, which is free but has additional extensions for $8.99. Meanwhile, Designhill also has an extensive library of tools to work out and experiment with various tools, starting out at $250. Wix.com has been an emerging talent in this field too, so they can also cater to tailor-made business logos where you can hire a professional designer too.
Conclusion
A Wordmark logo design can do wonders for your minimalistic approach to promoting your brand image. It is the working of many careful factors like font weight, color, spacing, casing and playing around with shapes. Keeping your audience in mind while designing these logos and resorting to current examples of big brands and feedback from audience is the ideal way towards an effective Wordmark logo.
