Howdy! I'm the affable fellow that makes up the international design shop of Why, Hello There. I specialize in print, identity and environment work and am based outta Portland, OR. Questions / comments? Email me at whyhellothere (at) jonschafer.com
LOGOTYPE 101:
TYPES OF LOGOS & THEIR RELATIVE MERITS
Logo in Greek means word. While some logos are indeed based solely on the name of a company, the term has come to have a much broader meaning. There are perhaps seven or more different kinds of logo and some hybrids. The first thing I do with a new client is explain this and compare it to their needs in order to define the field of exploration.
- As soon as a company decides that whenever its name appears it will be in the same font, it is the beginning of a consistent identification. An example of this would be J.C. Penny.
- The name in an individualized style. e.g., Boston Pianos (Steinway)
- Initials such as PPG or a monogram, e.g., PSK (Pagano Schenk & Kay.) There are probably far too many initials out there to make that an appealing choice.
- The initial letter emphasized and made unique - Olin Matheson Chemical Company, which L&M improved by shortening to Olin.
- The initial abstracted and perhaps semi-legible. This now requires the name of the company appended to it, the first two-piece identifier, sometimes disadvantageous in tight spaces. Examples: Veri & Sharp and Angela Moore.
- An abstract, or better, non-objective mark such as Nike (which I didn’t design). Takes a lot of advertising but wonderfully effective when established. Only then can it be used without the name of the company.
- A pictorial mark like the mermaid I did for Clarke Cooke House, Newport. A hybrid might be a letter that also looks like a thing; a sort of visual pun as in the Newport Bay Club abstracted seagull and sail.
Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages. The name alone is immediate and unequivocal - good for new ventures but not really practical if the name is too long. The abstract mark, bold as a flag, easily reduces to small sizes, but takes time to establish. The pictorial mark, perhaps atmospheric and nostalgic, may not reduce well if too intricate. The strongly designed initial is removable for solo use or may be combined with the name, and so on.
Understanding these differences and the unique qualities of a company that distinguish it in the marketplace form the foundation of successful logo design.
