Stars in the sky, a mermaid, an epic architecture, a monumental painting, and a reflection of the moon on an empty bottle. Now, most of us cannot see these things while reading this sentence, but it spreads a pleasant sensation amongst us as much as the next person. Having said that, it is understandable that aesthetics does not always have to be something tangible. In fact, elements that are truly aesthetic to us, live in our minds throughout time and can be visualized anywhere and at any given moment.
Running a company, starting a project, launching a product, and the focal point of it all: branding, are not any exceptions to this power of visualization.
Visualization. Branding. Logos.
It may not seem very obvious, but every company has a brand identity. Furthermore, with the world digitizing at such a speed, it has been simple – not easy – to communicate your brand message to the target audience. Be that as it may, with so many fishes in the pond, businesses in all industries are facing healthy yet tough competition, now more than ever. Additionally, most companies in a single industry have been facing an overlap considering the potential customers. Therefore, in order to stand apart from the crowd, it is crucial to be connected to as many potential customers as possible.
Today, one of the most prominent measures taken to do this is visual communication. It is the path on which the customers’ and brand’s preferences, in terms of consuming information, align with each other. With millions of companies bombarding the market with offers, information, advertising, data, persuasion, and so on… customers are getting more inclined towards brands with an easy yet descriptively connected approach.
Related: 15 Examples of Brands With a Bold and Beautiful Visual Identity
To get started with the right foot first, we must begin with the foremost element of visual branding and communication: a logo design.
Learning from the legend: Airbnb
Airbnb has been known for walking an extra mile to be careful with its branding strategies. If we dive a bit deeper, there is a core brand message that the brand tries to send with each branding measure: belong anywhere. As it provides quality and private stays offered by a wide range of hosts, it is displayed through the website, graphics, and campaigns. Moreover, it is best conveyed through its 4 symbols intertwined with each other forming a meaningful and unique logo.
When it comes to branding, Airbnb has certainly changed its course of action a few times. Nevertheless, according to the CEO, Brian Chesky, that is not what the plan was. “You cannot get this wrong, it is our brand identity. Hopefully, you do it once, and it stays for 100 years,” he states in an interview.
Related: The Art of Building Airbnb Rental Strategies Through Real Estate Branding
Alphabet Logos: A Tried and Tested Approach to Effective Branding
While logo design is not even remotely as wholesome as the idea of the entire brand identity, it is most definitely that topping on the cake that helps the audience guess and associate a flavor with the same.
Google, IBM, CNN, Cadbury, BBC; I could keep going on and on naming the legendary companies with alphabet logos to prove the effectiveness of the same, but it will mean nothing if we do not understand the reasoning behind such fruition squeezed out of an alphabet logo designs – be it by startups or well-established companies, here is what an alphabet logo brings to the table:
Profound Impression
If designed well, an alphabetical logo has the potential to attract potential customers solely based on the logo design. As an alphabet logo gives an effortless appearance to the design, it turns out to be a great tool when it comes to showing confidence in your business simply through your alphabet logo design.
Name Recognition
One of the objectives that a company wants to achieve through a well-designed logo is encouraging its target audience to associate the logo with the name of the company. Having said that, an alphabet design turned into a logo is an excellent way to ensure the same. While designing alphabet letters can be anything from initials of the company name, a signature, etc, it is essential to make sure that it provides relevant information concerning the brand.
Brand Awareness
Taking it a step further, an alphabet logo design does a lot more than simply helping the target audience associate the logo with the name of its respective brand. While designing alphabet letters to create a relevant logo, many companies try to include as much information about the company as possible; it could range from communicating through the color palette and typography styles to including that one right symbol integrated with the letters that speaks for the company itself. Moreover, an alphabet logo is an unquestionable way to create brand awareness and rule out the risk of not standing apart from the competitors.
Top 7 Companies to Learn From
As a logo designer – or a company in the need of an iconic logo – it is common to face challenges during the process of designing letter logos. Be that as it may, you can always brush off that creativity block or exhaustion by learning from brands with legendary alphabet logo designs.
Established in the year 1998, the logo of this esteemed organization was created simply to state the name of the company. For more than a decade, the logo remained unaltered. Be that as it may, the logo was changed in the years 2014 and 2015 in terms of spacing and typeface, respectively.
Takeaway: While designing an alphabet logo, simplicity is something that has to be the core of the same.
Chanel
The well-recognized luxury brand, Chanel, has been known for – and benefited from – its various efforts to offer a hint of personal touch to its customers. Be it the packaging design or personal branding of the creator Coco Chanel, it all comes down to providing value to the target market. Through its 2 opposite intertwined C’s, the brand’s logo represents the name of the founder, initials of the company, and the elements it offers through the products: prestige, wealth, and sophistication.
Takeaway: The logo is a great example of how it is essential to balance the “out of the box” and “belonging in an industry” elements and integrate both in a logo design.
Also, read: Brand Identity and Lettermark Logos: Top Brands With Extraordinary Letter C Logos
FedEx
Originally, the iconic logo of FedEx was one of the loudest designs a person would come across: a plain blue alphabet logo on a patterned background of the same color. While there have been many changes over the years, its current logo is one of the most recognizable logos with a hidden arrow created using the letters E and X, symbolizing the speed and accuracy provided by the brand to its users.
Takeaway: It is about everything at once while highlighting the one single thing that aligns most with your brand identity. Understanding by the above-mentioned example, color and typeface surely play their roles, but a hidden and relevant symbol within the logo is what makes it stand out.
Amazon
The company worth more than 1$ trillion is not only known for its disruptive entrance into the IT and e-commerce sectors, but also for its subtlety when it comes to branding. One of these measures is its straightforward logo where the name of the company, Amazon, is combined with a smiling arrow that goes from letters A to Z, representing that the brand promises it all – from a to z.
Takeaway: With FedEx, we learned that a hidden meaning can pique interest. However, Amazon shows how being obvious with these symbols can go a long way.
McDonald’s
Well, when a logo has a name for itself, we best believe that it has a lot to teach. The ‘Golden Arches’ of McDonald’s are known to be one of the first logos to prove the sole effectiveness of color combinations in terms of a logo design. Not only does the brand’s logo is recognized by all ages, but it also plays a big role in terms of McDonald’s packaging design as well. With some complaining about the limitations of an alphabet logo, McDonald’s proves that a logo can be designed with what you got, as long as you have the creative spin, market research, and knowledge of psychology’s role in deciding a color for a logo.
Takeaway: There is no other way to say this: color psychology is underrated. As a designer, it is something that shall be prioritized more often.
Related: The Best Color Combinations for Logos
Disney
Launched by one of the most successful and creative artists: Walt Disney, the brand under the same name has been a household name for decades. Starting from rotating and flipping the logo during television shows, to aligning the logo with what the company brings to the table: magic and a fantasy world, the brand has exhibited the potential of alphabets in a logo more than its competitors.
Takeaway: Symbolism and letter logos can go hand-in-hand. As Disney includes a whole fantasy world into its logo, it still does not omit the name of the company. After all, it is not simply about the name, but the power of symbols and alphabets combined to form an iconic logo.
Coca-Cola
In the year 1886, the well-known red and white logo was actually black and white; this is something that was a part of that era. While there have been a few changes made to the logo, we remember one that was made during all the marketing campaigns: the addition of a white wave underneath the name of the brand. However, what most of the users do not realize is that all these changes were somewhat surrounded around similar script-writing and style.
Takeaway: Throughout the time, you will want to reinvent your brand identity, starting from the logo. Nevertheless, the catch is to remember that reinventing does not mean a 360° flip. It is important to change with time, but equally crucial to carry on with your roots.
To Wrap Up,
If you look into the life of one of the most visionary people on the earth today, Elon Musk, you will undoubtedly believe in the power of learning from the experts. While I truly believe in the effects of exploring, we cannot possibly dismiss the fruition that results from implementing the lessons learned by legendary players into designing a brand identity – starting from a logo that conveys all about your brand but is created for your target audience.
PJ has a background in management consulting and software development. At DesignBro, he combines both. Personal favorite brand of PJ is Jeep.