Logos may be considered the “face” of a company, but a logo cannot and should not be assessed separately from the name it represents.
The dynamic interplay between name and visual representation is what sets some logos apart and makes them impossible to forget. A logo by itself may be a beautiful work of art, but it is the addition of a name — a name that has been carefully selected to resonate with an audience — that gives it meaning and impact. To better understand how the brand name selection influences logo design, we can uncover why some brand identities stay with us over time while others are quickly forgotten.
Associations Between Names and Imagery
One of the primary functions of a name is to ground and contextualize a logo. A logo is an abstract symbol without a name to anchor it — it often doesn’t have much meaning or relevance on its own. When a brand’s name and its logo are designed in tandem (as they always should be), each element not only supports but also strengthens the other. People recognize certain shapes, colors, or typefaces — not for the elements themselves, but because of the accompanying name.
Simplistic Names Lead to Memorable Logos
Short names that are easy to pronounce and don’t harbor unnecessary extraneous factors help influence the creation of a more simplistic logo. Simplistic names play an integral role in shaping the type of logo that ultimately accompanies them. When a name is simplistic, the logo can afford to be as well. Oftentimes, simplistic designs are easier to remember. When the brand name selection is either long or difficult to pronounce, the logo is then associated with a series of difficult-to-understand visual identifiers.
Emotion and Its Influence on Design
Names may often be rich in emotion by nature. Such emotion can be further segmented into playfulness, seriousness, technicality, natural qualities, etc. When certainly characterized by a certain emotion, logos will be devised with that very notion in mind. With a playfully defined name, perhaps cheery colors and rounded typography are common themes. Similarly, more technical names or high-level professional service providers are typically accompanied by sharp edges and muted color palettes. When a name does not relate to its industry, consumers may take a pause when conducting business with this particular company.
Memorability and Relevance Through Consistency
A name and logo that work in tandem will reinforce each other over time. Exposure through packaging, on-product messaging, environmental graphics, online, and other marketing materials drills the combination into customers’ minds. And if a name is easy to remember and a visual is compatible and inextricably linked to its namesake, the result is that it’s easier to recall and easier to retain that recall over the long term. That’s why branding done right has the name and logo working hand in hand, with their strengths in one area or another compounding to deliver the most significant business impact.
Culture/Language
Names that are difficult to translate from one language into another can complicate how you interpret a logo. Words that have a particular meaning in one culture may, when translated to another, have a very different interpretation, and affect the efficacy of the logo to be used overseas. Proper name understanding ensures that the logo will give any consumer the same visual cues regardless of where they are in the world.
Sound & Shape
Another consideration is how the name may present a logo’s typography. Hard-edged consonants are going to have a different visual than a logo name that has much softer sounds and syllables. Even if the rest of the brand is largely the same, a company or organization that has harder sounds or a longer name might necessitate a more detailed drawing to support that name than would otherwise happen. And when you have a two- or three-word name, that’s more of a push for a wordmark than a symbol to help the name be remembered. The point is that how one hears and interprets the name will help define what they see or desire to see in what the name embodies and presents to the world.
Why It Matters Most Now
When people are competing for finite resources, whether that attention span be money, time, focus, or anything else, it’s important for marketers to succeed at being in the conversation of which wins out. One way to do that is with a strong name and logo. And if everything else is part of the brand language, it can easily take over, going so far as to say that if you are a remarkable site or see something that is worth remarking aloud about, that’s either a terrible or wonderful thing about losing your imagination as you see every brand for what they are becoming. Either you retreat to get away from the noise, or you are inspired by all the things worth experiencing, buying, or thinking about at some other point.
