You found our guide to logo ideas.
Logo ideas are symbols and images that represent a company, organization, or brand. Examples of logos are the Nike swoosh, McDonald’s golden arches, and the Starbucks mermaid. The purpose of logo ideas is to create an identifiable icon that helps with brand recognition.
Logo ideas are useful when working with branded T-shirt companies and increasing your brand awareness. Choosing a logo can also make a fun company contest.
This list includes:
- logo ideas for businesses
- logo design ideas
- logo ideas for company clothing
- logo generators
- company logo ideas
- corporate logo ideas
- holiday logo ideas
- logo product ideas
Here we lo-go!
What is the purpose of a logo?
A logo provides a company with visual recognition through a symbol, an icon, or a stylized graphic. Logos help clients and customers identify a company more universally. For example, no matter what language you speak, you recognize McDonald’s golden arches, Apple’s bitten-apple icon, and the Starbucks mermaid. These logos stand in for the company name and allow branding across a range of markets. A logo can also reduce the amount of space needed for advertising on promotional materials.
When a logo becomes recognizable enough, the image can take on a life of its own. For instance, the Nike swoosh appears on apparel and accessories as its own design, even when not used to advertise Nike merchandise. Any viewer familiar with the brand ties the icon back to Nike, no matter where the shape appears. Having this level of brand recognition transforms a logo into an iconic shape that excites fans and captures the attention of new customers.
While most logos create a long-term identity for a company, you can also use logos for shorter-term projects. Temporary icons like holiday logo ideas let you brand events with their own special symbols. You can create a variation of your core logo for these occasions to maintain brand recognition while providing a promotion-specific twist.
Why do you need a logo?
A logo can add style to your company’s identity. When you capture the spirit or purpose of your business in a simple image, you communicate a great deal of information in a clean, concise package. It can be challenging to explain what your company does or the importance of your product or service. An effective logo can help convey these aspects of your enterprise without words. Logos are particularly effective in digital and online advertising, where screen space is tight and quick visual recognition means maximum impact.
For branding purposes, a logo becomes a time saver and a means of limiting expenses. Being able to stamp branded items, signage, advertisements, and communications with your logo lets you announce your company in a compact space. This compact advertising can save you ink and material costs that carry your branding. As your logo reaches higher levels of recognition, the need to use language in your promotions becomes less. If you think about how many recognizable logos you see daily, then you start to understand how valuable a logo is for a company’s overall brand.
In addition to promotional benefits, having a logo can create a sense of fun and style for your company. With a sharp, thoughtful logo, workers in your organization will proudly display the symbol that represents their company! You can use your icon on logo product ideas to create T-shirts, hats, and fashion merchandise, which becomes an entirely separate project supporting your core business. For example, a drink company that uses an image of a monkey in sneakers as a logo can launch a merchandise line using the logo as a design element. The merchandise becomes a second revenue stream that leads back to the company’s core business.
As a bonus, you can use your logo ideas for company clothing to give workers one-of-a-kind designs not available for sale. These items will help your team feel like insiders and key players in the organization while showing off your stylish branding.
How do you choose a logo?
Because logos are artistic in nature, choosing a suitable logo for your company takes a sense of imagination. Your company’s name can suggest a direction for your logo, as can your industry or product category. Compelling logos are clean and simple, capturing the spirit and function of the business in an icon that can scale larger and smaller without losing clarity. The symbol you choose should be recognizable in all sizes, whether your logo appears on a phone screen or a billboard. Verifying this flexibility means testing several logo options to find one that works best.
Some companies’ logos practically create themselves. For instance, Apple’s brand name instantly calls to mind the image of an apple, which makes a logical icon for the company to use as its logo. Similarly, Instagram’s logo features a stylized camera in the perfect size and shape for a photo-sharing app. Like Apple, Target’s bullseye logo is a literal interpretation of the company name, an easy choice for a powerful logo. However, your logo may take a bit more interpretation, which is where creative thinking will come in handy.
To choose your logo, look to established companies for inspiration, and apply their logic to your own business. For example, if you operate a handyperson business, then using tools or house shapes can get you started on design possibilities. For food delivery companies, a burger on wheels will humorously represent fast food. At the same time, something more plant-related will communicate freshness and natural ingredients for a whole-food recipe box business. Once you have a basic idea, an online search of themed graphics and clip-art designs can help you visualize your own finished logo.
How do you get a logo made?
Companies needing help creating a logo can use a graphic designer to make their logo. These artists will apply their creative skills to help invent an icon that captures your company’s mission and spirit. First, discussing what your logo ideas should represent will help your graphic designer zero in on some workable ideas. Next, your designer will offer several sketches to show you the possibilities, which may lead to even more ideas! This process will help you see your logo from an outside perspective, from a professional who can distill a company into a single icon. Once you decide on an idea, your designer will create final versions and provide digital files for you to use. Costs for hiring a designer vary greatly, so be sure to get bids for your logo creation project.
For companies with restricted budgets, logo generators offer a cheaper solution. These websites provide a collection of stock images, and graphics companies can use to assemble their logos. Users can test out logo variations and try the image against various background colors to ensure it works as intended. A bit of text and the company name added below or above the graphic will identify the business, even if the logo chosen does not fully reflect the industry or business function like a custom logo would. Some logo generators offer free versions of the finished product, though you can also find more premium options at different prices.
If a company has creative talent on staff, then offering the project as an employee contest is a fun way to develop company logo ideas while boosting worker morale. You can present a brief that describes what the logo should capture and provide guidelines for completing the challenge. This brief should include technical aspects, such as dimensions and resolution of the final image, as well as suggestions for the visual requirements of the logo. For example, you can explain that entries must include a business-specific symbol, should not contain any text, or can only be square or rectangular. These directions will help your creative crew narrow down their ideas.
Logo ideas
To begin considering logo ideas for businesses, consider what your company represents and how you can best communicate your function or mission. It may be helpful to start with broader aspects and zero in on specific logo ideas within those categories. Some suggestions for logo categories include industry, function, product category, and company names.
1. Industry
Symbols that represent a particular industry can go a long way in helping you create your logo. You can begin with general images, such as car and engine shapes for an auto repair company or books and pencil shapes for a tutoring business. These symbols might seem overly simple, but they will get you thinking about visually representing your company in a way your target audience will recognize.
Some possible industry-based symbols to use in corporate logo ideas include:
- Animal shapes for a pet supply company, animal groomer, and veterinarian office
- Food and kitchen utensil shapes for restaurants, food delivery companies, and personal chefs
- Plants and tree shapes for gardeners, landscape artists, and yard maintenance companies
- House shapes for real estate agencies, interior design companies, and home renovators
These symbols may sound obvious and simple, but beginning simply is the best way to get your logo ideas underway.
Once you can picture familiar icons within your industry, you can start visualizing how this imagery will serve your logo. For example, an auto repair company focusing on bodywork might begin with a simple car shape but add a crinkled bumper or cracked windshield to represent their specialty. Likewise, a tutoring company focusing on math may choose a calculator or a series of math symbols to depict their particular services.
By considering symbols representing a company’s industry, you can explore common themes your audience will recognize. Using these symbols playfully to communicate your company’s purpose within that industry will let you hone your logo to suit your needs. If you use a graphic designer, then you can create an inspiration board by taking screenshots of symbols you think would work best in your logo design ideas.
2. Company Function
The function of a company is an ideal starting point when considering logo ideas. This aspect of a business helps keep the logo ideas appropriate for the work or service provided. For example, logo ideas for a medical supply business will differ wildly from those for an energy drink company. Letting your business function lead your logo creation process will help you maintain the proper tone and presentation for your finished design.
When using your company’s function for your logo ideas, consider:
- Images representing giving, caring, and helping make the best logos for nonprofit organizations and charities. Consider options like open hands, heart shapes, and faith-oriented symbols.
- Images representing wellness, peace, and comfort are great options for health and self-care companies. Consider options like lotus flowers for yoga instructors and minimalist human figures in relaxed poses for meditation studios.
- Images representing performance can inspire ideal logos for theater companies and entertainment agencies. Consider options like comedy and tragedy masks, stage curtains, and lighted marquees illustrating aspects of the entertainment business.
These examples are basic for representing different company functions, which makes them a perfect springboard for reaching more direct logo ideas to suit your specific business function. Expanding on the simple images will allow you to customize a final logo idea that is right for your operation.
Representing your company’s function in your logo can communicate something deeper than just your business brand. With recognizable visual cues, your logo ideas can bring to mind the quality and standard of your business. For example, a logo representing a holistic healing business will instill a feeling distinctly different from one representing a wedding DJ business.
3. Product Category
The category your company’s product represents will suggest an array of logo ideas to get you started. To start, you can think of the function your product serves. Creating this type of recognition within a logo can make your company branding stand out in a crowded market and give your firm a competitive edge. If your product shares a category with bigger-name brands, then having a logo with a visual punch can help draw customers’ eyes in a new direction.
Possible product category logo ideas to explore include:
- Companies providing wedding supplies can get inspiration from traditional wedding shapes, such as tiered cakes, wedding bands, and bridal gowns.
- Beverage creators can begin with bottle, can, and glasses shapes. Or, these firms can take cues from the ingredients or places of origin of their products.
- Sporting goods companies will find a rich supply of logo ideas from gaming shapes like balls, clubs, jerseys, and workout equipment.
Though these shapes display only an aspect of the products they represent, simple shapes work nicely for companies seeking quick and easy logo ideas.
For a more sophisticated logo, these icons can be the starting point of something that incorporates more meaningful aspects of a business into the finished logo.
4. Company Names
Using a stylized version of a company name provides a logo with both visual and verbal recognition value. Choosing a distinctive font can create enough branding power to allow a name to become a logo without further design. Companies like FedEx, CNN, and Disney use their names as logos to great effect. By adding a bit of style to lettering, you can choose a logo that keeps your company’s name in the spotlight.
Ways to incorporate a company name into a logo include:
- Using the name typed in a specific shape, like The Home Depot’s stenciled letters in their trademark orange square
- Adding a color aspect to branding, like Google using primary hues for each letter in their name
- Creating flourishes that add fun hidden meaning, like Amazon and their sneaky orange “a to z” smile-shaped arrow
- Altering letters to form a unique shape within the name, like eBay’s colorful, overlapping alphabet
Using a company name as a logo lets you combine brand recognition with the verbal representation of your company. By adding a simple symbol to your name, such as Mastercard’s interlocking circles, you can use the name, the symbol, or both when placing your logo on products or in marketing. This technique triples your brand recognition and provides options that make sense for each format.
When using a font-specific logo, ensure the font is available for commercial use. Many fonts require a license for use on products, something you can determine with a simple Google search. If your font requires a license, then you can read the terms and decide if your logo is worth the expense.
Conclusion
Exploring logo ideas helps you add visual branding options to your company and provide an artistic dimension that identifies your business. Once you have a finalized logo idea, you can begin using it to help build a broad presence for your company. With an effective finished logo as part of your company’s brand identity, you have a powerful tool representing your enterprise at a glance.
Next up, read about corporate swag and retreat gifts to learn how to put your logo to use.
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