Types of Logo Design

CGR 115

Types of logos:

1. Abstract - interestingly designed logo that is abstract and hard to see.
2. Representational - image in logo that represents what the company does
3. Font Based - based mostly on font, but other elements working with the font.
1. Iconic/symbolic - item in logo is symbolic of name, not the actual company or what they sell
2. Logo type/word mark - font based logo, only type, no graphics
3. Combination Marks - type, but some graphical element but still mostly type

Examples of each type of logo:

1) Abstract - This is the logo for AJC & Associates Mining Consultants. The reason this is a sort of abstract logo is because the brown lines on the side aren't an actual illustration of anything, they are abstract, you have to look at it and think about what it is. 

2) Representational - The reason this is representational is because Brickman is a tree/landscaping company, and the leaves in the logo represent what their business is about. If they had used lawn mowers it would have also been representational because it shows what they do as a company, giving you a clue as to what the business is about. 

3) Font Based - This logo is font based because most of the logo is nothing but letters and font, but there is one very simplistic graphic included to represent the o. This counts as font based because the entire design is based on the font and writing, with just one graphic used to enhance the 0 and bring in the idea. 

4) Iconic/Symbolic - This is symbolic because the company name is Apple, but the company doesn't sell apples nor do their product have anything to do with apples. They put this as their logo symbol because it represents the company name without any font. It shows Apple, without using font or text elements to show it. 

5) Logo type/word mark - This is a font based logo because, obviously, there is nothing but the font in the logo, no graphical elements in the logo at all. This is a very popular logo because of its font and popularity, and yet there is nothing to it but the letters.

6) Combination Marks - Mercedes-Benz logo is a combination mark because it has font elements but there is also a graphic inserted to bring more interest to the logo. This is a very simple combination logo, it has one graphic element and just font based at the bottom. This is usually the most common type of logo because it has focus on both the font and graphic.