A logotype is a graphic element which uniquely identifies corporations, products, services, institutions, agencies, associations, events, or any kind of organizations in order to differentiate publicly the owner of the logotype from other competing entities.
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The uniqueness of a logotype is of utmost importance to avoid confusion in the marketplace, among clients, suppliers, users, affiliates and the general public. Therefore, once designed, a logotype should be registered as a graphic trademark, so that no other can use it, and no other can try to stop its use by the owner. Duly protected, a logotype can become an asset of great value.
Many people believe that a logotype is just a graphic symbol or sign. This is, however, not the way it is defined by graphic designers and by advertising professionals. A logotype consists of either a symbol, a name or both, symbol and name. The images at right show examples of all three kind of logotypes.
Sometimes a slogan is included in the logotype. If the slogan appears always in the logotype, and in the same graphic shape, it can be considered as part of the logotype. Otherwise, it should be seen as a different element, used to reinforce the identity of the owner, together with the logotype.
Often the word logo is used instead of logotype. In practice, both terms are synonyms, but the meaning of "logotype" is specifically what is defined in this page, while logo has other meanings.
The origin of logotypes goes back to the 19th century, when industrial manufacture of products became important. The new industrial procedures allowed a much higher output then that of the former handmade products. The new products were distributed in large geographical areas, even nationwide. New competitors appeared from time to time, and the offer of products of a same kind increased notably. At that time, a significant part of the population was still illiterate. The industrial leaders became soon aware that the public would not easily differentiate their product from the same product of their competitors. More and more manufacturers began therefore to include a symbol on their products, labels and packages, so that all the buyers could easily recognize the product they wanted.
As illiteracy decreased, the manufacturers began to add the name of the company or of the product to their symbol. The name being shaped often in a specific way by each manufacturer, these combined logotypes, which for the first time included symbol and name, became extremely popular. During many decades, when a new logotype was designed, owners, advertising professionals and graphic designers had always in mind to create a symbol which would appear as logotype together with the name of the company, the product or the service.
More recently, however, the situation has turned around. Today there are so many corporations, products, services, agencies and other entities using a symbol as logotype, that many of these have realized that of the thousands of symbols people are faced with, only few are recognized without a name. The consequence is that there is little sense to use a symbol as logotype, even together with the name, if people will not duly identify it. The trend in the last years has been, therefore, to remove the symbols from logotypes and to emphasize instead in the design of the name, making it unique by its letters, color and additional graphic elements.
There are certainly exceptions to this criterion. For example, the car manufacturing companies need a symbol to place it at the front and at the rear of their cars, and the airlines need a symbol to place it on the tail of their aircrafts. These companies use the symbol either alone, or together with the name, depending on where it is placed. On the other hand, some symbols have become so strong, because of the advertising efforts made or the popularity of the product, that they can exceptionally be used without a name, as they are easily recognized by the public. In non-profit areas, the Red Cross is an example of an extremely well known symbol which does not need a name to go with.
The following are a few examples of logotypes including only the name. The first table shows the names of six well-known companies in standard typeface in all cases. In order to recognize the companies, the name has to be read. This takes a little time. The name as graphic element is not memorized, so that is has to be read everytime it is seen or looked for. And, if all companies do the same, there is no difference between one or another, which again makes it necessary to read the name.
| Kellogg's |
Hyatt |
Bankers Trust |
| Pfizer |
Lancôme |
Hertz |
The next table shows a totally different picture. Each company has a specific design of its name, a logotype. Due to the design, the color, the shape and eventually additional elements of the logotype, each one is different from the others, especially from those of the competitors, so that they are easily recognized. For example, in a supermarket a box of Kellogg's cereals will be seen in the shelf from a certain distance, due to the unique design of its logotype. The same will happen when one is looking at the airport for the booth of the Hertz rent-a-car company. There is no need to read the name. The logotype will be recognized from far because of its shape and its color.
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