What Is a Logo?

Logo: a distinctive symbol of a company, object, publication, person service, or idea.

This seems like an easy question. A logo is a mark on the bottom of the television screen, the top of a cereal box, or the side of a letterhead. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The word “logo” has multiple meanings, and to make the issue more complex, different words are used to describe this thing we call a logo.

Mark

A recognizable symbol used to indicate ownership or origin of goods.

Trademark

A name or symbol used to show that a product is made by a particular company and legally registered.

Signature

A distinctive mark, or combination of visual forms. A graphics standards manual may call for the “signature” to be applied to all brochures. This is simply a synonym for “logo.”

Wordmark

A wordmark uses the company name with proprietary letterforms.

Advantages

The proliferation of logos in the world has made recognition of symbols very difficult. Using the entire name sidesteps the problem of recognition. When asked if the Mobil logo belongs to Mobil, most people would agree that it does. When asked who owned the Pegasus logo, many people would name other oil companies such as Chevron or Texaco. Mobil uses the Pegasus in addition to the wordmark.

Disadvantages

If not handled skillfully, a wordmark alone may be generic and lack mnemonic value.

Symbol

The symbol is the iconic portion of a logo: The Chase Manhattan Bank symbol, the Cingular man, the Time Warner Cable eye/ear. At times the logomark may exist without the wordmark, examples being the Nike swoosh, Apple’s apple, and the CBS eye.

Advantages

The benefit of utilizing a symbol alone follows the idea that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” The eye/ear symbol is easier to read on an object such as a computer or hat, than the name Time Warner Cable.

Disadvantages

If the symbol is separated from the wordmark and the mark does not have equity it may be difficult to recognize.

Monogram

A design of one or more letters, usually the initials of a name, used to identify a company, publication, person, object, or idea.

Advantages

The monogram solves mnemonic and legibility issues. Fitting Wisconsin Energies on a one-quarter page newspaper ad is much harder than using the WE monogram.

Disadvantages

Monograms are often masquerading as logos. Generic initials, treated in clever ways may look better on towels or glasses than on a corporate business card. Initials woven together have very little meaning. Most monogramatic logos depend on large-scale audience contact and repeated viewing for recognition.

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Halfords
Lippa Pierce

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Mobil
Chermayeff & Geismar

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Time Warner Cable
Chermayeff & Geismar

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Chase Manhattan Bank
Chermayeff & Geismar

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Wisconsin Energies
SamataMason

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Evans Foden
Ph.D

Identity

The combination of the logo, visual system (typeface, colors, imagery), and editorial tone work together to form a unique and cohesive message for a company, person, object, or idea.

Brand

The identity is not a brand. The brand is the perception formed by the audience about a company, person, or idea. This perception is the culmination of logo, visuals, identity program, messages, products, and actions. A designer cannot “make” a brand. Only the audience can do this. The designer forms the foundation of the message with the logo and identity system.

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Rococo is a software developer specializing in blue-tooth enabling technology.

According to Damian Cranney, of Dynamo, “We adopted a very light friendly approach more akin to a retail brand than a technology company. Basically, the market was flooded with very similar looking technology brands—making it harder for new organizations to distinguish themselves. These companies also seemed to present themselves in a very similar fashion—masculine, pumped-up, and aggressive with verbose promises and tired visual themes.

“We decided to design a brand that was friendly, that made people smile, and crucially, that presented a very complex offer in a way that wasn’t scary, overly complex or patronizing.”

A logo is not a brand, unless it’s on a cow.