A logo is the visual representation of your brand: it should show the world who you are and what you do. And hopefully it inspires people to buy your product or service. The best logos become iconic; they’re clever, creative, beautiful, witty and memorable. To design a creative logo for your company, you want to spend some time thinking and researching. Look at the latest logo design trends. Make sure you have a deep understanding of your brand. And, of course, get inspired!
To help you with that last step, we dove deep into our design database and pulled a list of the 1,000 most-liked logos (based on user voting) of all time. From there, we used a little bit of science and a little bit of art to narrow it down to the 99 best logos, created by our top designers. And, of course, we grouped them by logo type, to help make your inspiration binge a little more manageable.
Pictorial logos create meaning by associating an easily-identifiable image with your business. Sometimes these images have built in cultural meaning—like a tree standing for growth, or a fox implying wits—and sometimes they become symbols in their own right—like the iconic Apple apple or Twitter bird.
Pictorial logos have the ability to be cute and playful, modern and sleek, or classic and elegant. Many of the best of these logos have creative visual puns, or use design style to create layered meaning in their designs.
Abstract marks are a specific subset of pictorial logos. Instead of using easily-identifiable, representational imagery, they use more subtle, geometric shapes to create an iconic image for a brand. Sometimes these images hint at something representational—like the Alo logo below alludes to a bird—but other times they create completely unique images that come to represent a brand (think Pepsi’s circle, or the Nike swoosh).
Going with an abstract logo is a bold move, as you will be forging a path all your own. But it will also be truly unique, and uniquely you.
An emblem is a seal, badge, or crest, and creates a classical or vintage feel. They can be intricate or simple, but either way their shape is something customers will immediately associate with tradition, which goes a long way in creating trust. Here are our best logo emblems:
A mascot is both a logo and a character. It brings a fun personality to your company. Here are two of our favorites:
Wordmarks and lettermarks are all about detail. Done poorly, they are simply fonts. But done well, they are nuanced and sleek, and create meaning through typography. These types of logos have a reputation for being more traditional, but done right they can be fun, quirky and modern. And many of the best logos are surprisingly clever, creating shapes and images in their letters. Which, of course, adds meaning and makes them memorable.