Text-Only Logos: Love Them or Hate Them?

Here at Diace Designs, we are passionate about text-only logos (also known as logotypes or wordmarks). But can text really be as good—or better—than an image at conveying a strong and distinct brand identity? In our opinion, it absolutely can. This post will look at why people naturally resist text logos and how text can convey just as much brand personality as an image.

Why Do People Resist Text-Only Logos?

In our experience, most people try to tell an entire brand story with just a logo. (Even though, as we’ve said in our Logo Design Basics and Advanced Techniques for Logo Design posts, your logo does NOT have to communicate everything about your business.) This tendency to tell a whole story in one image leads to the need for both text and iconography, rather than relying on text alone. The idea that you must fit everything about your company into your logo also indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of what a brand is. Your brand as a whole should communicate the specifics of your business, but your brand is so much more than just your logo.

Crafting an Exceptional Wordmark

Wordmarks imply rather than tell. They use nuance and subtly to convey meaning. A high-quality wordmark will suggest many aspects of a brand through seemingly minute design choices. These techniques include a careful choice of font weight (consider the slender font of the TIME magazine logo as compared to the chunky font used by Dunkin’ Donuts) as well as color (Coca Cola’s classic red and white palette vs. Vimeo’s soft “Vimeo Blue”). Other techniques commonly used are adjustments to kerning and the manipulation of individual letters. Even the choice between a serif and sans-serif font speaks to your company’s disposition: sans-serif fonts are seen as more modern, friendly, and unassuming whereas serif fonts are considered traditional and authoritative.

When evaluating logos that have withstood the test of time (the hallmark of a high-quality logo), many of them are wordmarks without accompanying symbols or illustrations. Vogue, Disney, Canon, FedEx, and Barbie are just a sampling of timeworn text-only logos. Even The Beatles knew the value of a strong wordmark. The “Drop-T” in their logo is as iconic as their original bowl haircuts. All of these examples are proof that text-only logos can be as good, if not better, than logos containing imagery.

Have we convinced you to consider a text-only logo for your business? Still set on crafting the perfect logo image? Either way, our team can help. Contact us for more information about our branding services.

About Kara Franco
Kara writes copy that speaks. She has a knack for creating clear, compelling messages without wasting words. She is passionate about digital marketing and believes that copy is the cornerstone of user experience.

Copywriter + Content Strategist
Kara@diacedesigns.com