Selecting a Logo to Sell: 8 Examples + Mistakes to avoid

If you're starting your first eCommerce business, or thinking about an overhaul, one of the primary aspects of the process is creating an appealing, high-quality logo that conveys your brand's message. However, before starting to brainstorm your ideas, contemplate what makes an effective logo design and what type of logo will be ideal for the brand you're trying to establish and your potential customers.

In this article we'll discuss the significance of logos and the different types of logos, plus some practical considerations including the most effective practices to design logos, software options to design them and designing outsourcing strategies.

What's a logo?

We could get nitpicky about the definition of the word "logo", the phrase is typically used to refer to a simple graphic made of images, words, or any combination of the two to represent a brand or a company.

The importance of logos

Your logo will help customers quickly identify your company's brand, whether seeing your posts and ads on social media, browsing search engine results, comparing products in an online marketplace or shopping directly on your website.

If you want your ecommerce firm to stand out from the competition, having an effective logo is essential. There are a lot of online companies competing to attract customers' attention You'll need to choose an attractive, distinctive iconic logo that's a thoughtful image of your business.

An attractive logo can be instrumental in establishing credibility. Think of your favorite, trusted brands. The logos of their brands are likely to come to your mind. The mere sight of a specific form or color could bring back memories of the image of their brand.

Your logo will be an investment in your brand's success, so take your time and work to develop one that truly communicates your company's image and appeals to your target audience.

There are eight types of logos

Logos typically fall into eight different types:

• Logotype, Wordmark
• Brand mark, logomark, or graphic
• The combination mark
• Dynamic logo
• Emblems
• Letterforms
• Lettermark, monogram
• Mascots

Wordmark/logotype

"Wordmark" as well as "logotype" are generally synonymous and refer to"logotype" and "wordmark". They refer to a design that uses the use of typography generally the business name, or at least a part of the name of the business. These logos often use unique typography that makes the logo unique for the particular brand.

The most famous examples of a logo with a wordmark is Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola logo can be instantly recognized because of its iconic typography that has barely changed over the last 130 years. L'oreal and eBay's logos are another example of wordmarks or logotypes.

Brand mark, logomark or pictorial

"Brand mark"," "logomark," and "pictorial" are all used to refer to a graphic component of a logo. It could also include words or letters in addition to imagery, but which does not include the brand's name. It could be representative such as the apple, bird, and Shell marks used by Apple, Twitter, and Shell Oil, or they can be more abstract like those of the Atari and Dropbox trademarks.

The Atari brand mark suggests an A-shape without actually being an actual letter. The Dropbox branding uses a series of strategically placed diamonds to create an abstract appearance of boxes.

Combination mark

A combination mark can be described as your company's name paired with the more image-based brand mark. Often a company will use its combination mark for most circumstances, however it can also be used with the wordmark of its brand and in different ways depending on the context.

Dynamic logos

Dynamic logos are flexible contemporary logos with elements that alter depending on what the branding wants to portray in a specific use. Google is probably the most well-known example of this, with the Google Doodles. Dynamic logos may be animated, static, or even interactive.

Google puts all three types to use in the Google Doodles series. The only thing that stays the same throughout every Doodle is the fact that the company logo "Google" is featured in a specific way. Everything else about the logo may change.

For most brands, the Google strategy could not be the ideal fit - especially ones just looking to establish themselves. It may be confusing for potential customers to have multiple variations of the logo you've created in drastically different styles.

Be aware that Google does not apply this kind of flexibility in every use of its logo. The Google Doodle is specifically used to advertise its Google Search landing page. Otherwhere else, they adhere to the official brand name and wordmark mark.

If you're trying to develop a dynamic logo, think more along the lines of MTV.

In the majority of use cases, MTV uses the same shape of logo, but uses different color variations and sometimes it even co-brands alongside other businesses. The logo is clearly recognizable as MTV however the variations in the color and design helps viewers connect MTV with different concepts like ideology, brand names, and concepts to create different emotional responses and continually re-engage viewers.

Emblems

The word "emblem" is a reference to an emblem design which uses words and images to make an integrated logo. Emblems typically look similar to emblems, badges or emblems. This kind of logo most frequently with university teams, sports teams, and automotive companies, but plenty of other companies use emblems for their logos. Some companies such as Starbucks, Warner Bros., as well as Stella Artois all have emblem logos.

Letterforms

Letterforms use the first letter (or sometimes, the initials of a brand to create a basic brand name. While letterforms are usually simpler than monograms, the letterform could also be monogram, as in the above pictured New York Yankees letterform/monogram.

Lettermarks/monograms

Monogram or lettermark logos employ an acronym or initials for the company to create all or part of the design. The letters often overlap to form a pattern or could be set against the background.

Monograms first appeared in the early days of Greece to identify coins, marking what city it was issued by. They were later used as the signature of those with the most power and wealth, as well as by artists and craftsmen.

Monogram logos have a long tradition and are frequently employed by beauty and fashion brands to convey an element of sophistication and tradition. However, monograms aren't exclusively used by these industries. Just about every category of business makes the use of monograms. Monograms are a cost-effective and long-lasting way to create a logo, and are appropriate for virtually any business.

Mascot logos

Mascot logos make use of iconic characters that represent the brand. Lacoste's alligator, Cheetos' Chester Cheetah, Reddit's fictional creature Snoo as well as KFC's Colonel Sanders, and Wendy's hero, Wendy Thomas, are some of the famous examples of mascots used as part of a logo for a company.

Mascots can highlight a brand personality, and make it more casual and relatable. You can also use them to create unique ways of marketing. However, using a mascot as an image can be a challenge as it can be simple to change the character you chose to use (see: Ronald McDonald) however it is hard to eliminate them from the minds of consumers.

Therefore, you'll need to take time to consider your mascot and make sure it's in line according to the direction that you're planning to take your company.

Seven tips for designing an effective logo

Your logo can be the first impression a client experiences with your business. The logo must be memorable, easily identifiable as well as represent your brand identity, but there are established best practices in designing your logo to think about when deciding on a logo.

If your logo's design is eye-catching and unique, that doesn't always equate to good design. Even some of the biggest names have seen some doubtful logo launch events which led to negativity in the media.

Many businesses adhere to the old-fashioned adage that "any publicity is great publicity." However, unless your brand is intentionally controversial, it is best to stick to some tried-and-true design tips to avoid ending in a post on the blog that discusses the worst logo designs ever.

Simple is best.

It is possible that you have heard of the saying "less is better" which was invented by the Minimalist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1947. It gets thrown around frequently in business jargon and can sometimes be utilized as a justification for simple design tasks. The idea behind "less is more" does not mean to keep simple and dull.

It's a philosophy that values functionality as well as aesthetic. Ultimately, the goal is to use as few elements as are necessary to convey the intended message and supply the required function, while simultaneously creating an aesthetically-pleasing appearance.

This is an essential aspect for logos since it is important for your logo to be simple for viewers to grasp. The design should allow you to put it on backgrounds that have different colors and textures, make it adaptable to various spaces and aspect ratios, and use it in many different dimensions without becoming confusing or messy.

It doesn't mean you have to go with an uncluttered logo or anything else. It can be applied to any logo style that is traditional, contemporary, vintage, or any style that's trendy or modern.

Make sure that your style reflects your brand and your target viewers

If you run a business that makes antique or old-fashioned items it is possible to choose design elements that are retro and is reminiscent of the time the brand is a part of.

In particular, Big Chill appliances use an old-fashioned typographic design that evokes vintage appliance emblems from the 1930s-1960s.

The logo of Trader Joe's has a 1960s tiki art vibe as does Ben and Jerry's. The logo has a fun and playful 1970s vibe that is in line with their brand style. Altoids serif font that has a gold embossed design along the edges provides it with an old-fashioned and classic appearance.

Jack Daniels whiskey has not significantly altered its logo since 1947. It still looks like its early Prohibition-era logo. Unlike brands like Levi Strauss that massively changed their logos over the course of time, Jack Daniels has only minor changes to their logo over the years, and has been able to remind people of the brand's extensive tradition.

If your business is a provider of software as a Service (SaaS) or offers technological-based products, or prefers an identity that is clean, uncomplicated, and modern, you might want something more minimalist. These companies use contemporary, minimalist design.

Certain of them incorporate logo marks, some are solely type-based and utilize distinct letterforms in order to communicate their brand, and other designs have badges or an emblem-like appearance.

If your ecommerce shop is geared toward niche demographics, you'll want to select a logo that will resonate with that group of customers. If it's food that is organic, toys, comic books and women's clothing, or hunting equipment, you'll be able to make a strong, relevant genre-specific logo, without going over the world of childish and cute.

Some examples of niche audience logos are Walt's Comic Shop, Nelson Rare Books, KiwiCo, and Chewy.

Walt's Comic Shop makes use of a mascot-style design but uses simplified lines and two colors, as well as the clean sans serif font. It's fun and references the business, however it's not too cartoonish and the typography and graphic elements are a good match both in isolation.

Nelson Rare Books uses an intricate illuminated initial in their logo. This is similar to what is found in the beginning of a chapter from an antique book. As opposed to the decorated serif initial, they utilize an uncluttered, broad sans-serif font that is used in the uppercase letters of their company name. This provides visual balance and conveys the brand's image as the seller of rare and old-fashioned books, as well as the shop is built on modern technology and organizational systems.

KiwiCo provides science and art kits to children through an online subscription. The company has chosen a contemporary, clean logo, but made it playful by using a kiwi-themed mascot as well as a the serif font that is chunky. Making the logo less generic will allow them to expand their company in many different direction without the need to change the logo every time they do so.

Chewy is a pet-related delivery service. It is evident that their logo isn't comprised of any imagery and it is purely based on type. The font is a round sans-serif type treatment that is jumbled, lending it a fun-loving look we usually associate with our pets.

Do not use clip art

If you think you can simply pick a logo from a clip art free website, you need to think twice. You technically are able to use clip art if you'd like. However, chances are lots of different businesses have also utilized this technique. People may recognize it and think it is a different business' logo or it may simply give an amateur appearance.

Also, not all clip art works are publicly available. Simply because you can find it on the web doesn't mean that it's free to use. You don't want to be the target of legal action!

It doesn't mean you shouldn't use a pre-designed graphic for part of your branding. You can find royalty-free image marketplaces, such as IStock Photos and Creative Market which are where you can get higher-quality ready-made graphic elements to use to use for logos, or completely-designed logos where all you need to do is replace your placeholder with the name of your business.

If you decide to employ a pre-designed component in your logo, keep in mind that other people may be using that exact similar element for their logos as well. Make sure that you're using the appropriate license to your intended purpose. Certain stock image websites have various types of licenses that available for purchase for different reasons, including print, online, or editorial usage.

Beware of cliché and overused designs and fonts

Searching for "worst logo fonts" and "worst logo designs" will give you a few tips on how to avoid. However, you must also take the time to make sure that the elements of your design as well as typography aren't being employed by any other company. In addition to helping keep your brand from being confused, but it will also push you toward a more distinctive and innovative design will be a source of pride for you.

It's not always the wrong choice to use a common logo or symbol in the design of your logo if it's appropriate to your business. Veterinarian logos are an excellent illustration of this. Do you know how many vets utilize a combination of either the cat or dog or paw print an medical + symbol as well as a heart?

Perhaps the majority. However, that doesn't mean that you're not allowed to use that type of imagery but it does mean it's much more difficult to come up with something unique while using common themes.

Here are a few great examples of common logo image choices done well:

In the case of Aurora Veterinary Hospital, the design team used a minimalist palette with a somewhat abstract representation of a dog... perhaps it's a cat. It's just wide enough to be able to convey both animals. It's adorable without appearing cartoonish. It's clean, modern, and easy to read, while being an original rendition of the popular themes of cats and dogs in the logo of veterinary medicine.

Advanced The logo of Veterinary Care Center is really original, with hints towards a tail-like cat, as well as using the standard medical + symbol to create the shape of the letter"A" for "Advanced." It's a more corporate-feeling mark while communicating to the business that they are representing. It's a very different interpretation as Aurora Veterinary Hospital's logo. It's less abstract and minimal, but nevertheless utilizing common themes.

The creation of your own typeface, or altering a font's look in a way to match your brand's branding, could be a good way to create an effective and unique logo. However, if you're interested in typography or graphic design but not something that you have a background in, then you'll need to read up on the basics of typography before beginning work on creating custom fonts or changing existing fonts.

Don't go overboard on color or visual effects

Try to limit yourself to a maximum of four colors. If your logo calls for more than four colors, you should try not to exceed the color limit of one graphic element in the logo.

For instance, the NBC logo features a rainbow theme on their peacock mark, but the text on their logo is black. The elements are easy to see on its own. The simple colors and the tiniest number of shapes keep the peacock element readable despite using a rainbow of shades.

But, when you begin applying different colors to every letter, the logo begins to fade in impression. When you further apply drop shadows, rainbow gradients, and glow effects, the logo begins to appear chaotic. It's certainly unique, but it's pretty painful to look at.

You must ensure that the design you choose to use is clear across all platforms.

When you're setting up an e-commerce site You'll want to ensure that the logo you choose to use looks fantastic and is easily readable on your website and especially mobile devices. But you'll also want to be sure that your logo looks great when printed, is able to translate easily to horizontal as well as vertical layouts and has the color options for various texture and colors for your background.

Be careful not to distort or squish the proportions of your logo to fit a particular area. The logo can be rearranged elements or make your logo smaller or larger while keeping its aspect ratio, but stretching or squishing the logo can make it more difficult to read and less professional.

Utilize a vector-based design software to create your brand logo

There are two kinds of images that you can make using design software: the raster and vector. Vector images are created using mathematical formulas which enable them to scale without losing quality or becoming distorted.

Images in the form of raster On the other hand they are composed of a fixed quantity of pixels. When you reduce the size of your image to a smaller size the image isn't able to be scaled back up again without losing quality or altering the image in some manner.

As your logo is likely to be employed in a wide range of sizes and in a variety of situations in your marketing collateral It is important to make sure your logo will be scaled without losing the quality. Utilizing a vector-based format makes editing your logo later much easier and helps to preserve the image quality regardless of how often you scale down or increase the size of the logo.

You should also save versions of your logo in multiple vector (ai pdf, eps, and pdf) file formats as you can export both high-resolution raster file formats (png or tiff), jpg,) and lower resolution web-optimized documents like webp.

Do you want to learn more about logo file types? The Mean Creative provides an helpful checklist.

Logo design software

Do you need the best software to create an awesome logo? With the many options available there, it's difficult to decide which one to choose. If you've got some graphic design experience, you might want to make use of a desktop or online design software which gives you total freedom in creating your own logo.

If you do not have a design background then you may want to consider an online program for creating logos. Even if you can't create a logo that is precisely what you're seeking this could serve as a great base to start from if you decide to decide to hire graphic designers.

If your logo design is close to the style you'd like and still requires a few tweaks, you could get a better price by offering your freelance logo designer something which is 90% of what you'd like it to be however it needs some small changes.

Online and desktop design software alternatives

    Adobe Illustrator  

• ProsIllustrator is a market leader in vector design software. The desktop and the iPad/Surface Pro versions are offered and feature-rich.
• Pros:Illustrator uses a subscription-only software model, which means it will have a continuous monthly expense. It can have a steep level of learning, and it's not recommended for people who plan to complete a large amount of graphic design.

    CorelDraw  

• Advantages:It offers a one-time purchase option as well as a subscription option. There's also a less expensive Corel Vector online software with an initial trial of just 15 days.
• Cons:The one-time purchase price exceeds $500, and the online vector software is a strictly a subscription. Similar to Illustrator, the learning curve could be quite intimidating for those who are new to the field. In addition CorelDraw iPad app CorelDraw iPad app has an average of 1 1/2 star rating in the Apple App Store.

    Canva  

• Benefits Canva includes a free account option so you can design a logo as well as different designs without cost. Canva also has an option to create a logo if you're not satisfied with your own design efforts. Canva is a hugely loved and popular design software that simplifies the process for both non-designers and creative professionals, and you can rest assured it's well-supported with regular updates and innovative features. The program also provides free access to some stock images of Getty as well as other content suppliers.
• Cons: Premium content and functions are only available to customers who have different pay-per-use accounts. It is a software that can only be used online. The search function to search for images from stock, in particular it's a bit clunky and it can be difficult to locate the exact image you're trying to find.

    Vectr  

• Pros: The Vectr program is basic, free vector design software that's pretty simple to master.
• Cons:It's online only and could be not enough easy, based on what kind of design work you want to create. Additionally, it displays ads inside the program, which could be annoying.

Online logo creators

In addition to Canva's logo creation option that was mentioned previously There's also an online program which is focused on only automated logo creation.

The Looka and Smashing Logo Both offer low-cost automatic logo design services. It's free to create as many logos as you'd like. However, should you wish to download vector files as well as brand packs, you'll need to buy one of their premium tiers.

The online logo creator software could provide a fantastic method of locating the perfect logo for what you want at a low cost, but you're not necessarily guaranteed to get exactly what you're hoping for. As these two services are free to experiment with and test, they could at the very most help you consider how to design your logo, and think about the things you like and don't prefer, and then present that concept to a graphic artist or an agency to get a start point.

Outsourcing logo design

Not interested in designing your own logo? Or endlessly generating iterations in the logo creator program? Sometimes it's just better to get an expert from the beginning.

Employing a designer who is a freelancer or an agency to design your logo is a wise investment in your brand's future. Professional designers will bring ideas that you would not otherwise have considered. They are capable of creating all necessary design versions and file types.

However, it's also crucial to know the potential risks when outsourcing your logo design work. You want to make sure to choose a designer with experience designing logos for brands within your field, who has received good reviews from previous clients, and who can stay within the budget you have set.

Some people have good success finding freelance designers through marketplaces on the internet like Fiverr and Upwork. Some prefer working with local people or has been referred via a family member, colleague, or your local chamber of commerce. Each of these is perfectly acceptable avenues to pursue when searching for a designer to work with.

If you're a customer, you'll be required to ensure that you're prepared to collaborate with a professional. It is important to conduct some research on logos you like, think about what you'd like to achieve with your logo, and clearly convey your requirements.

Designers thrive when given both clear parameters and some creative flexibility for their designs. If you're rigid about what you'd like your design to look like, or your design is too abstract this could result in the logo not meeting your expectations.

In the end, forming your logo together with a graphic designer is like a conversation, and you may go between two or three times on sketches before you arrive at a design that is perfect.

Make your mark visible

If you've got some logo design tips to look up, it's time to start creating and putting your logo to the test. Study other logos. Find a logo colour scheme and overall aesthetic concept.

Decide if you prefer to design your logo yourself, use the software to design your logo or employ an experienced designer. After you've found a design you like, be sure that you've got all the appropriate file types for web as well as print before implementing it on your website and social media channels, as well as marketing channels, and products.

It's also a good idea to review your logo carefully and pass it by trusted sources for feedback before you go live. Be aware that your logo serves as a visual representation of your business. You may not get a majority of opinion on whether your preferred logo is a good design, but you should at least avoid all obvious flaws that might make it into blogs about the most unprofessional logo designs ever.

Logo design may seem daunting however, by focusing on your research, planning, and the right designers or tools for design, you can create a beautiful, impactful logo which represents your business that inspires trust and confidence among your customers.