Jul
There are many ways to classify logos. One way to compare them is simple vs. complex. Simple logos are those that have a very basic design. Some simple logos have minimalistic wording applied in basic fonts and nothing else. An example is SONY. Other simple logos have a small abstract design. An example is Apple Inc. Going by just these two examples alone it’s easy to wonder whether companies with the simplest logos make for the best brands. Do they?
The food & beverage industry
The food and beverage industry in the US alone is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. It’s one of the largest markets and it has been for a very long time. Some of the giants in this industry include brands such as MacDonald’s, Pepsi, Tyson Foods, Hersheys, and Coca Cola. All these companies have very simple established logos. Coca Cola has a simple worded logo. Hersheys has an even simpler logo with just a basic font type. Tyson Foods has a very basic abstract and wording logo, and so does Pepsi.
The auto industry
The auto market is a huge industry and is one of the most capital-intensive. Some of the largest brands in this industry include Land Rover, Toyota, and Mercedes Benz. The Land Rover logo is a simple green oval with the words Land Rover inside. Toyota has a very simple abstract logo featuring two ovals crossed to form a letter ‘T’ and another large oval encircling them. And Mercedes Benz has a simple symbol logo showcasing a three-pointed star enclosed in a circle. Other examples include Honda, Ford, Audi, and Tesla.
The mobile phone industry
Phones are easily the most common and popular technology gadgets sold worldwide. Some of the leading companies in this area include Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Vivo, Oppo, LG, and Huawei. Apple has one of the most famous, and simplest custom logos featuring an apple with a bite taken out of it. Samsung has a simple logo featuring the letters ‘Samsung’. Lenovo, Vivo, and Oppo have similar design logos. The LG symbol logo is a play between the letters L and G to create a smiley in front of a red background.
Mobile app tech industries
Mobile app-based tech companies are probably the biggest industry of the decade. Some of the frontier companies in this industry include Uber, YouTube, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Airbnb. All these brands have simplistic symbol logos as well. The Airbnb logo is a simple abstract design. So is the Snapchat logo which represents a small ghost and a yellow background. The WhatsApp logo is a simple abstract rendering of a chat sign merged with a call sign. And the YouTube logo is a simple playback sign in a red background.
And there you have it. Is it a coincidence that some (if not most) of the top brands in the US, and probably the world, have very simple, minimalistic, and yet exclusive logos? It may not be. Maybe, just maybe, simple logos do finish last.