Some logos are so distinctive that you immediately recognize them. Think of Nike’s swish or the Coca-Cola script. A simple brush stroke or a single letter can hold so much information about a brand and over time, become recognizable anywhere.
Other logos stand out because of their design. According to Statista, about one-third of US adults purchase something simply because the brand has an interesting logo.
Here’s a breakdown of the types of logos you’ll see most often, with examples of each for inspiration.
What is a logo?
A logo is a graphic used to visually symbolize your brand. Logos can be simple or complex, but they should always be identifiable to your customers (or potential customers). Many companies have multiple versions of their logo to fit different needs and contexts.
For example, you might have a horizontal version for use on your ecommerce site and a vertical version for use on stationery. Some logos are merely the company’s initials, while others incorporate symbols or images.
Some of the most recognizable logos in the world feature a mix of styles. Apple’s simple depiction of an apple, Nike’s swoosh, and Coca-Cola’s flamboyant script font are all very different, but each one of them achieves the goal of building brand recognition.
11 types of logos
- Emblems
- Logotypes/wordmark logos
- Pictorial marks
- Letter marks
- Mascot logos
- Combination logos
- Abstract logos
- Dynamic logos
- Negative space logos
- 3D logos
- Letterform logos
Explore the wide range of logo types to inspire your own logo design:
1. Emblems
Emblems are types of logos that closely resemble crests, the symbols most often used in Europe to represent different (often powerful or rich) families. Emblem logos are more traditional in design and usually combine symbolic imagery as well as words, like the name of the company. They’re most often used by schools and universities (think: Harvard’s logo), but they’re also popular with auto companies and other groups looking to lend a sense of gravitas to their brand.
Emblem logos are often circular or crest-shaped and tend to feature classic color schemes, but you can easily mix old and new with a crested emblem logo in vibrant colors.
A well-known logo in this category is the one used by the beer brand Stella Artois, which is red and gold, centers around the brand name, the year the first brewery opened (1366), and has a border that represents gold filigree on an oil painting.
When to use an emblem logo
Use emblem logos if you want to give a hat tip to age-old traditions, add a hint of historic whimsy to your brand, or communicate prestige and heritage.
Examples of emblem logos
Harvard University

Stella Artois

As one of the oldest logos in the world, Stella Artois’s emblem depicts history and tradition in one design.
Warner Bros.

The Warner Bros. logo combines the classic emblem shape with clean, modern lines and bold colors.
Harley-Davidson

The Harley-Davidson logo uses classic colors in a modern emblem shape to convey its decades-old history.
Porsche

Porsche’s logo indicates the car manufacturer’s prestige and matches the caliber of cars it makes.
2. Logotypes/wordmark logos
A logotype, also called a wordmark, is a text-based logo that uses the name of a company, usually in a unique font, to represent a company or product. They’re sometimes called “wordmarks” because the term “logotype” is derived from the Greek words “logos” and “typos,” which together mean “word mark.”
You can create wordmarks using a variety of fonts, graphic elements, and colors. To be effective though, a logotype must be simple, easy to remember, and convey the essence of the company or brand it represents.
According to one study, the majority of brands use all uppercase text in their logos, with just 7% of the world’s top firms using lowercase logos.
When to use a logotype/wordmark logo
Use a logotype design to build recognition around your brand name—particularly if your business has a memorable and catchy name.
Examples of logotype logos
Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola’s famous logo is an excellent example of a logotype. The company used its name to create an instantly recognizable graphic that is now known throughout the world.
Flings

Canon

Canon’s sturdy, timeless font highlights the reliability and professionalism of its products.
Amazon

Amazon is a prime example of a brand that uses a logotype font. The simple text is partnered with a playful arrow to create a memorable logo.
Flaus

Floss brand Flaus has created a logotype logo using a font that looks like teeth.
3. Pictorial marks
Pictorial marks are simple, clear graphics that represent a brand. Unlike logotypes—featuring the name of the company in a stylized font—pictorial marks are displayed without any accompanying text. This means they need to be immediately recognizable and distinctive enough to stand on their own.
Think of Apple’s logo, which is an instantly recognizable pictorial mark of an apple. It’s simple and clear and can be used on anything from business cards to billboards to marketing materials without losing its impact.
Pictorial logos can be fun and creative, but it’s important that they still reflect the essence of your brand and give consumers some idea about your products or services. This can be tricky to pull off in a single image, but when done well, pictorial marks can make great ecommerce logos.
When to use a pictorial mark logo
Use a pictorial mark logo if your brand is already well-known or you have captured a specific segment of the market and can reflect that in a single image.
Examples of pictorial mark logos
Apple

Apple is the most famous pictorial logo. The bitten apple motif is instantly recognizable all over the world.
Beardbrand

Shaving company Beardbrand has gone all in on its niche and created a simple pictorial logo that reflects the products it sells.
Beats

The Beats headphones logo not only includes the first letter of the brand name but cleverly takes the form of a headphone too.
Target

Target’s red bullseye logo has become synonymous with the brand; many people instantly recognize the pictorial logo without any prompting.
4. Letter marks
A letter mark is a type of business logo that uses letters—usually the initials of a company or individual—to create a memorable, straightforward symbol. Letter marks are often helpful for business names that are difficult to spell or pronounce. Unlike logotypes, letter marks usually feature one or two letters and not the whole name.
Letter marks adapt across marketing collateral and help turn a business name into a memorable brand.
The luxury brand Louis Vuitton uses a lettermark—LV—on almost all of its products. Other luxury brands that use lettermarks as their logos include Diane Von Furstenberg and Chanel. Letter marks are highly versatile and can be used in a variety of contexts, from print to digital media to direct placement on a product.
When to use a letter mark logo
Use a letter mark if your brand name is long or made up of two or more words.
Examples of letter mark logos
MVMT

Watch brand MVMT’s solid logo mirrors the prolific, luxury designs of its products.
Louis Vuitton

HBO

IBM

IBM’s logo is bold and simple, with the lines running through it representing the speed and dynamic nature of the brand’s services.
Financial Times

The Financial Times letter mark logo incorporates the first letters of each word simply laid on a brand-colored backdrop to add a bit of interest.
5. Mascot logos
Mascot logos are types of logos that feature a character, cartoon, or animal representing the brand identity. Mascot logos are great if you’re cultivating a fun, approachable brand personality.
Ultimately, mascot logos should create an immediate association between the character and the brand to help increase brand awareness. The friendly, smiling creature made from tires known as the Michelin Man is a great example of a mascot logo. A well-designed logo that features a mascot of some kind can increase brand recognition and recall. The Journal of Business Research found that brands with mascots had higher recall rates than those without.
When to use a mascot logo
Use mascot logos if your brand has a big personality or you want to add a bit of whimsy to your brand identity.
Examples of mascot logos
Michelin

The Michelin Man is a household name and the mascot logo is easily recognizable.
Wendy’s

Wendy’s logo includes a mascot of “Wendy,” harking back to the brand’s beginnings as a humble diner.
KFC

Colonel Sanders is synonymous with one of the world’s most famous food brands.
Pringles

The Pringles mascot has evolved over the years but has remained an integral part of the brand’s logo. Today, he’s a simplified logo style featuring a recognizable mustache.
Monopoly

Monopoly’s mascot is a crucial part of the company’s branding—his hat is even a playing piece in the game.
6. Combination logos
A combination logo combines both text and imagery. The most common type of combination mark logos features a wordmark logo, or text-only logo, paired with a pictorial mark or symbol. This makes it easier to adapt the logo for different materials, using the wordmark in some places and the icon where it’s most relevant.
When to use combination logos
Use combination mark logos if you want a more versatile option for your branding. They can also be good for new businesses introducing audiences to their brand name and pictorial logo.
Examples of combination logos
Adobe

Adobe’s abstract logo mark features a simple text depiction of the brand name alongside a more creative icon that represents the first letter of the brand name.
Wednesday’s Domaine

Wine brand Wednesday’s Domaine pairs a simple uppercase font with a hand-drawn image of a wine glass to add a playful touch to its logo.
Mastercard

Mastercard’s memorable logo symbol includes a lowercase text iteration of the brand name paired with two overlapping circles that symbolize the brand’s core values: unity, connection, and cooperation.
Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines uses a combination logo with an interpretation of the Greek letter delta and the brand name Delta. Not only is the pictorial portion of the Delta logo indicative of the company’s name, but it also points up, representing what that company does (flies planes) and where it operates (above, in the skies).
Pepsi

Pepsi’s logo is simple but memorable. The lowercase text part of the Pepsi logo is casual, while the image represents something a bit more complex—the earth’s magnetic field, feng shui, and geodynamics, among other things.
7. Abstract logos
Abstract logos convey complex emotions or are artistic representations of somewhat familiar shapes. These logos are often creative, unique, and have more depth than different types of logos.
Brands might choose an abstract logo because it allows them to pack more meaning into a small space than a letterform or wordmark might. While they might be one of the less popular logo forms, some of the most memorable logos take an abstract form.
Perhaps the most famous abstract logo is the Nike swoosh, which represents a stylized checkmark and has become as synonymous with the brand as its own name.
When to use abstract logos
Use an abstract logo when you’re looking to portray a specific emotion, vibe, or unique representation of your brand that can’t be expressed through a recognizable shape or icon.
Examples of abstract logos
Chilly’s

Water bottle brand Chilly’s logo reflects the brand’s name. The gradient color palette adds interest to an otherwise simple design.
Spotify

Meant to represent sound waves, Spotify’s abstract logo is instantly recognizable.
Figma

The Figma logo straddles the line between an abstract and letterform logo, using brightly colored shapes to create a stylized letter “F.”
8. Dynamic logos
Dynamic logos don’t adhere to strict color guidelines or forms; instead, they change depending on the context.
Brands often leverage dynamic logos to convey different product lines. For example, FedEx chose five different colors for the “Ex” part of its name to represent its Express, Ground, Freight, Office, and Trade Networks services. This makes identifying each line easy for customers, and differentiates them from one another, as they each operate in different ways.
When to use dynamic logos
Dynamic logos are great for brands that need multiple expressions. For example, FedEx uses different logo colors to communicate each service line.
Examples of dynamic logos
FedEx

FedEx leverages a dynamic rainbow of colors to differentiate its different product lines, making it easy for customers to identify which one they need.
Google Doodles

Google Doodles has become a famous phenomenon for the brand over the past 25 years. Using the logo space above the search bar, its artists have created more than 5,000 static and animated illustrations. The team uses Doodles to celebrate different cultural moments, like the one celebrating 2025’s year of the snake above.
Google Workspace

Google Workspace uses different logo styles in the same colorway to represent each of its products.

Free Business Branding Kit
Craft a powerful brand identity that stands out in the market. Use these free templates and tools to help you build a cohesive and memorable brand.
9. Negative space logos
Negative space logos create shapes by using whitespace within or around a shape or icon. Often, the shape within the negative space isn’t instantly recognizable to the eye but reveals itself through deeper observation.
Most negative space logos have an initial and secondary meaning to them. For example, the Bronx Zoo’s logo depicts two giraffes, but their legs form the New York skyline between them.
Because negative space logos often carry multiple meanings, they’re especially useful for brands looking to portray multiple images within a small space.
When to use negative space logos
Negative space logos are both creative and clever and can be a great fit for brands that want to incorporate iconography into their logo in a unique way.
Examples of negative space logos
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The Academy cleverly uses negative space, forming an “A” with the company’s iconic Oscar silhouette.
Bronx Zoo

New Jersey designer Caroline Madigan created the logo for the Bronx Zoo, saying, “In the logo, I wanted to definitively place the zoo in its Bronx, NY, surroundings, rather than have it be a logo for just any zoo.”
FedEx

10. 3D logos
3D logos can be modern or retro, with streamlined shapes or old-school letter shading and drop shadows. 3D logos are dynamic and jump off of the page, making them fun for sports teams, vehicle companies, and other brands looking to convey movement. They’re able to convey depth and trick perception.
When to use 3D logos
If you’re looking to add some dimension to your branding, using a 3D logo could be a great fit for you.
Examples of 3D logos
PlayStation

PlayStation’s inventive 3D logo makes the “P” feel like it’s standing on top of the “S,” providing depth while remaining a streamlined modern design.
Takis

Takis takes a funky, retro approach to its 3D logo, using shading on the letters and drop shadows to make them pop.
11. Letterform logos
Letterforms are stylized single letters—usually the first letter of a brand’s name.
Take Netflix as an example, which uses the letter N as its letterform logo. “There is power in owning a letter of the alphabet: it’s universal and instantly identifiable as shorthand for our brand,” writes Netflix.
Letterform logos don’t always make sense for smaller brands without instant recognition, but they can be effective in terms of scale. Letterforms often work just as well in large-scale environments as they do in favicons in a web browser or social media platforms like TikTok.
When to use letterform logos
Letterform logos are particularly helpful if you often use your logo as an icon. Leveraging a single letter helps with brand recognition even in a small space like on a phone screen or as a favicon.
Examples of letterform logos

Pinterest’s logo is a stylized letter P that evokes the shape of a pushpin, similar to the pinning action a user takes when saving an image to one of their boards.
Thumbtack

Similar to Pinterest, Thumbtack leans on its name to create a simple––yet memorable––letterform logo.
Netflix

4 popular online logo makers
Some online logo makers are free, while others charge a fee. Some AI logo makers can whip up a design in seconds, while others take more input. Explore these popular options to jumpstart your logo creation process:
1. Shopify’s free logo maker
Shopify’s free logo maker includes hundreds of logo templates and doesn’t require any design experience to get started. In addition to easy-to-create logos, it also offers social media assets and is available even if you don’t use Shopify as an ecommerce platform.
Pricing: Free.
2. Canva
Canva is a user-friendly graphic design app that provides thousands of graphics and templates to help create and customize your logo. Its templates make it a good option if you have some design experience.
Pricing: Canva offers free plans and paid plans with AI features and high-quality creative assets starting at $15 per month.
3. Squarespace
Squarespace offers a free logo maker with a small database of icons to help you create minimalist logos for your company quickly.
The logos are easy to integrate with Squarespace sites, but customization is extremely limited, which makes it difficult to create unique and eye-catching logos.
Pricing: Free.
4. Wix Logo Maker
The Wix Logo Maker starts with a series of questions and then uses AI to generate detailed logo designs based on your answers. It then lets you customize the options that it presents, using its database of icons.
It’s a good option if you already have some idea of what you’re looking for in a logo and are prepared to customize it.
Pricing: Free, but you need to sign up for a Wix account.
Read more
- Unlevered Free Cash Flow Definition and Formulas
- North Dakota LLC: How To Start an LLC in North Dakota in 11 Steps
- What Is a Joint Venture? Definition and Guide
- How To Start a Business in Louisiana in 8 Easy Steps
- What Is Crowdfunding? Definition and Guide
- South Carolina LLC: How To Start an LLC in South Carolina in 11 Steps
- What Is Venture Capital? Definition and Guide
- What Is Organizational Structure? Definition and Guide
- What Is a Business Incubator? Definition and Guide
- Website Builder & Website Maker by Shopify
Logo design FAQ
Can I design a logo myself?
Yes, you can design a logo yourself. There are both free logo makers and paid logo generators online to help you create a unique logo.
What software can I use to create a logo?
Some of the best logo makers include Shopify’s free logo maker, the Wix Logo Maker, and Canva. You can also use professional design software like Adobe Creative Cloud, but it will require a subscription.
What is the best place to make a logo for free?
Shopify’s free logo maker includes hundreds of templates and doesn’t require any design experience to get started.
What types of logos are most popular?
According to research, combination logos are the most popular choice for Fortune 500 companies, with 60% choosing them.
How do I choose the best logo type for my business?
The best types of logos are those that are simple and memorable: Think of Amazon’s a-to-z arrow or McDonald’s golden arches. When designing a logo for your brand, consider your brand identity, the meaning you’re looking to convey, and where you plan on using it.
How much should I invest in logo design?
It can cost anywhere between $0 and several thousand dollars to design a logo. It really depends on the level of quality and skill you’re looking for, what your budget is, your brand guidelines, and the type of logo you’re looking for.