Select a Logo for Ecommerce: 8 Examples + Mistakes to Avoid

Whether you're just starting an online business or are considering the possibility of a brand rebranding among the primary aspects of the process is establishing the perfect, attractive logo that conveys your brand's message. However, before starting to brainstorm your ideas, contemplate what makes an your logo's design, and also what type of logo will be ideal for the brand you're trying to establish and your potential clients.

In this piece, we'll explore the importance of logos, the different kinds of logos and some practical considerations like best practices for designing logos, options in software to create them, as well as design outsourcing tips.

What is a logo?

Although we can be a bit nutty about the definition of the word "logo", the word is most commonly used to refer to a simple graphic made of images, words, or any combination of the two in order to symbolize a brand or organization.

Why logos are important

The logo you choose to use can allow people to quickly and effortlessly identify your company's brand, whether viewing your ads and posts on social media platforms, looking through search engine results or comparing items on an online marketplace or shopping directly on your site.

If you want your ecommerce business to stand out among your competitors, having the right logo is crucial. There are a lot of online companies competing for attention from customers it is essential to have an impressive, distinctive, memorable logo that is an accurate reflection of your brand.

A properly designed logo is instrumental in establishing credibility. Consider your most loved brand names that you trust. Their logos probably immediately come to your mind. Just looking at a certain design or color might bring back memories of the image of their brand.

The logo you choose to use is an investment in your brand's success, so take your time and work to design a logo that represents your business and speaks to your target audience.

Eight types of logos

Logos usually fall into eight different types:

• Logotype, Wordmark
• Logomark, brand mark, or pictorial
• Mark of combination
• Dynamic logo
• Emblems
• Letterforms
• Lettermark, monogram
• Mascots

Wordmark/logotype

"Wordmark" as well as "logotype" are basically synonymous and are used to describe"logotype" and "wordmark". They refer to a logo that is designed using typography only - usually the company name or a portion of the company name. These logos often use unique typography that makes it unique to the brand.

One of the most well-known examples of a wordmark logo is Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola logo is instantly recognizable, thanks to its iconic typography that has changed minimally over the last 130 years. L'oreal as well as eBay's logos are another example of logotypes, or wordmarks.

Brand mark, logomark or image

"Brand mark"," "logomark," and "pictorial" are all used to refer to a graphic part of a logo. They can also contain the letters or words as an the same way, but that does not feature the name of the business. These marks can be symbolic for example, as in the apple bird, or shell marks of Apple, Twitter, and Shell Oil, or they could be more abstract, like the Atari as well as the Dropbox trademarks.

The Atari mark hints at an A-shape without actually being an actual letter. The Dropbox logo is an array of carefully placed diamonds that create an abstract box appearance.

The combination mark

A combination mark can be described as your company's name paired with an image-based mark. A lot of times, companies will utilize the combination mark for all contexts but also use its brand mark and wordmark separately depending on the scenario.

Dynamic logos

Dynamic logos are flexible contemporary logos that change their elements according to what a brand wants to convey to a specific audience. Google is probably the most well-known example of this with the Google Doodles. Dynamic logos may be animated, static, or interactive.

Google puts all three types to work in their Google Doodles series. The only thing that generally remains the same in each Doodle is that the brand name "Google" appears in some way. Everything else about the logo may alter.

In the case of most companies, the Google method might not be the best fit - especially ones just seeking to make a name for themselves. It can be a bit challenging for prospective customers to have multiple variations of the logo you've created that have drastically different style.

Be aware that Google does not apply this kind of flexibility in the various uses for its logo. The Google Doodle is specifically used to advertise the Google Search landing page. In other places, they use their official wordmark and brand mark.

If you're looking to design an exciting logo, think more along the lines of MTV.

For the most part, in use instances, MTV uses the same shape of logo, but uses various color variants and it even co-brands with other companies. Its logo remains easily identifiable as MTV, but the variation in color and pattern can help viewers associate MTV to other ideas, ideology, and brands to create different emotional responses and keep them engaged.

Emblems

The term "emblem" is a reference to the design of a logo that incorporates images and letters to form an integral, single logo. Emblems often look like badges or crests. This kind of logo most frequently with sports teams, universities and automobile companies However, a lot of companies use emblems for their emblems. Some companies such as Starbucks, Warner Bros. and Stella Artois all have emblem logos.

Letterforms

Letterforms utilize the initial letter and sometimes the initials of a brand to create a basic brand name. While letterforms are usually simpler than monograms, a letterform can also be a monogram, like the one above. New York Yankees letterform/monogram.

Lettermarks/monograms

Lettermark or monogram logos use an acronym or initials for the company for the entire or a portion of the design. Often the letters overlap to create a pattern. They also can be positioned onto a background.

Monograms were first used in ancient Greece as identification marks on coins to indicate the city the coin was issued by. They later became signatures for those who had wealth and power and by artisans and artists.

Monogram logos have a lengthy tradition and are frequently employed by beauty and fashion brands to express a sense of elegance and tradition. Monograms, however, aren't solely employed by these sectors. Nearly every type of industry has made the use of monograms. They're a space-efficient and time-tested way to create the logo of your choice, and are suitable for almost any company.

Mascot logos

Mascot logos make use of iconic characters that represent the company's corporate brand. Lacoste's alligator, Cheetos' Chester Cheetah, Reddit's stylized alien Snoo as well as KFC's Colonel Sanders, and Wendy's character, Wendy Thomas, are the most well-known examples of mascots that are used in a corporate logo.

Mascots can highlight a brand personality, and make it more casual and likable. They can also be used in creative ways in your marketing. But using a mascot in a logo can be tricky because it is difficult to replace the character you chose to use (see: Ronald McDonald) However, it can be difficult to remove them from the minds of consumers.

So you'll want to carefully consider your mascot and make sure it's in line with the direction you intend in expanding your business.

Seven tips for designing an appealing logo

Your logo is often the first contact a potential customer is able to have with your company. We've already established it is important to be recognizable, memorable, and represent your brand branding, however, there are some proven best practices for designing your logo to take into consideration when selecting your logo.

If your logo's design is eye-catching and unique, that doesn't always equate to good design. Some of the most renowned brands out there have had certain unreliable logo launches which led to criticism from the media.

Certain businesses rely on the old saying that "any publicity is great publicity." But, unless your company's name is controversial, you'll want to stick to some tried-and-true strategies for designing to prevent ending in a post on the blog about the worst logo designs ever.

Simple is best.

You may have heard the saying "less is more" is a term that was coined by minimalist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1947. It gets thrown around frequently in business jargon and can sometimes be utilized as a justification for low-effort design work. The idea behind "less means more" should not be used to make things plain and boring.

It's a method of design that is focused on functionality as well as aesthetic. Ultimately, the goal is to use as few elements as are necessary to convey the intended message and supply the required function, while simultaneously creating an aesthetically-pleasing appearance.

It is a crucial element when designing logos because it is important for your logo to be easy for the viewer to comprehend. It should be possible to put it on backgrounds that have diverse textures and colors. make it adaptable to various spaces and aspect ratios, and use it in a variety of dimensions, without making it confusing or messy.

This philosophy doesn't mean that it is necessary to choose an uncluttered logo also. The concept can be used to any type of logo - modern, traditional and vintage or any new trendy design style.

Use a style that reflects your brand and your target viewers

If your business produces vintage or antique items You might wish to choose a retro-inspired logo design that is reminiscent of the time that your company represents.

As an example, Big Chill appliances use the look of a typographic style which evokes the look of vintage appliances in the 1930s-1960s.

Trader Joe's logo has a 1960s tiki art vibe, and Ben and Jerry's is a playful and fun 1970s vibe that is in line with their brand style. Altoids Serif font logo featuring a gold embossed look on the edges give it an elegant and timeless style.

Jack Daniels whiskey has not significantly altered their logo since 1947 and it is still very similar to its earlier logo from the time of Prohibition. In contrast to brands such as Levi Strauss that massively changed their logos over the course of time, Jack Daniels has only made small updates to their logo throughout the years, reminding people of the brand's extensive history.

If your business sells software as a service (SaaS) or offers technological-based products, or would prefer the appearance of a logo that's simple minimalist, simple, and contemporary it's possible you'd like something more minimalist. These businesses all employ sleek, modern designs.

Certain of them incorporate logos, while others solely type-based, and employ distinct letterforms in order to communicate their identity, while other designs have badges or emblem-like look.

If your online store is targeted at niche consumers You'll need to pick the right logo to resonate with the target customer base. Whether it's organic food, toys, comic books and women's clothing, or hunting gear, it's possible to achieve an effective, genre-targeted logo, without going over the realm of childish or cheesy.

Examples of niche market logos include Walt's Comic Shop, Nelson Rare Books, KiwiCo, and Chewy.

Walt's Comic Shop makes use of a mascot style design however employs simplified lines and two colors, as well as the clean sans serif font. The design is fun and evokes the industry, but it's not cartoonish, and the typography and graphic elements work well both together and in isolation.

Nelson Rare Books uses an elaborate illuminated initial on their logo. It's like the one is found in the first chapter in an old book. Contrasting with the embellished serif typeface, they employ a clean, wide sans-serif font in every uppercase letter for the company's name. This provides visual balance and expresses the nature of the brand's image as the seller of rare and antique books, and the shop is built on modern technology and organizational systems.

KiwiCo delivers science and art kits for children as a subscription service. The company has chosen a contemporary, simple logo but have they've kept it fun with its kiwi mascot and large serif font. The logo's simplicity allows them to grow their business in various direction without the need to redesign the logo when they do so.

Chewy is a pet supply delivery service. It is evident that their logo isn't comprised of any imagery and is only type-based. They've used a rounded sans-serif style that's scattered, creating a playfulness that we associate with our pets.

Don't use clip art

If you think you can choose a logo from a clip art free site - think again. Technically, you can use clip art if you'd like. However, it is likely that many other companies have utilized it. Some people may be able to recognize it, and mistake it for another company's logo, or it might give an unprofessional appearance.

Additionally, not every clip art works are accessible to the public. If you see it on the web does not mean it's legal to download. You don't want to end up the subject of a lawsuit!

This doesn't mean you can't make use of a graphic that has been designed by a professional as an element of your logo. You can find royalty-free images available on marketplaces like IStock Photos and Creative Market which are where you can find higher-quality, already-designed graphic elements to use for logos, or completely-designed logos where all you need to do is replace the placeholder on the design by putting your name on it.

If you decide to utilize a pre-designed feature within your logo, bear in mind that other people could be using the similar element for their logos too. Make sure that you're using the appropriate license to your purpose. Some stock image sites have various types of licenses that you can purchase for different uses, like printing, web and editorial use.

Beware of cliché and overused images and fonts

Searching for "worst logo fonts" as well as "worst logo design" can give you ideas of what to avoid. You should ensure sure your image elements and fonts are not used by other companies. In addition to helping keep your brand from being confused, but it also will encourage you to create a more distinctive and innovative design you can be proud of.

There's no wrong option to utilize a popular symbol or image in your logo design when you can relate it to your particular industry. The logos for veterinarians are a wonderful example of this. What are the most common veterinarian logos that use a combination of either a dog or cat or paw print an medical + symbol and even a heart?

Perhaps the majority. It doesn't mean you're not allowed to use that type of imagery It's simply that it's a lot more challenging to think of an original idea while using the same subjects.

Here are some great examples of common logo image options that are well-executed:

To design Aurora Veterinary Hospital, the artist used a simple palette that features an abstract representation of dogs... perhaps it's a cat. It's wide enough to be able to convey the two animals. It's charming without becoming cartoonish. It's modern, clean and simple to read, while being an original rendition of the popular motif of cat and dog in the logo of veterinary medicine.

Advanced Veterinary Care Center's logo is really original, with hints at a cat's tail while using the traditional medical + symbol in the shape of the letter A for "Advanced." This is a more corporate-feeling mark while still speaking to the industry that they are representing. It's a very different interpretation than Aurora the Veterinary Hospital's logo. It's much more abstract and minimalist while nevertheless utilizing common themes.

Making your own font or modifying a font's appearance substantially to fit your company's branding, could be an effective method of creating an effective and unique logo. However, if you're interested in typography or graphic design but not your primary background, it is advisable to learn about basic typographic principles before beginning work in creating your own custom fonts, or modifying existing ones.

Don't go overboard on color or visual effects

You should limit your choices only to a minimum of four color choices. If your logo calls for more than four colors, try not to exceed the color limit of one graphic element in the logo.

In this case, for instance The NBC logo has an image of a rainbow for their peacock symbol and their logo, however their font is black. Each element is easy to read by itself. The simple colors and the tiniest variety of shapes makes the peacock's element in view despite using a rainbow of colors.

However, if you start applying different colors to every alphabet, the logo will begin to lose impact. When you further apply drops shadows, rainbow gradients, and glow effects, it starts to look pretty chaotic. It's certainly unique, but it's pretty difficult to stare at.

Make sure your design can be easily read across all platforms.

For an ecommerce store it is essential to make sure that your logo is attractive and can be accessible on your site particularly on mobile. However, you should be sure that your logo looks great in print, can translate effectively to horizontal and vertical layouts, and includes colors that are different for backgrounds and textures.

Don't squish or distort the aspect ratio of your logo to make it fit into a specific space. You can rearrange your logo elements or make your logo smaller or larger while keeping its aspect ratio, but expanding or squashing your logo's design will cause it to be less easy to read and less professional.

Use a vector-based design program to design your own logo

There are two different types of images that you can make using design software: vector and raster. Images that are vector-based are created based on mathematical formulas that enable them to scale without losing clarity or becoming blurred.

The images in a raster format however comprise the same amount of pixels. When you reduce the size of the image the image isn't able to be scaled back up again without losing the quality of your image or distorted image in any way.

As your logo is likely to be utilized in a range of sizes and in a variety of situations in your marketing collateral, you'll want to make certain that the logo is able to be scaled without losing quality. The use of a vector design makes editing your logo later easy and allows you to maintain the image's quality regardless of how often you downsize or upsize your logo.

You should also save versions of your logo in multiple vector (ai pdf, eps, and pdf) format as you can export both high-resolution raster formats (png TIFF, jpg, etc.)) as well as lower-resolution web-optimized file formats such as webp.

Are you interested in knowing more about logo file types? The Mean Creative provides a handy guide.

Logo design software

Are you looking for the perfect software for creating a fantastic logo? With the many options available on the market, it's tough to know where to start. If you've got some knowledge of graphic design, you might want to make use of a desktop or an online design program which gives you total freedom in creating your own logo.

If you don't have a design background then you may want use an online design software. Even if you can't create a logo that is exactly what you're looking for, it could serve as a great start if you do choose to employ graphic designers.

If the logo you've created is close to what you're looking for however, it still requires some tweaks, you could make money by offering the designer you hired to create your logo which is 90% of what you'd like it however it needs some tiny adjustments.

Design software for desktops and online options

    Adobe Illustrator  

• Pros:Illustrator is an industry leading vector design software. Versions for iPad and Desktop are offered and feature-rich.
• Pros:Illustrator uses a subscription-only model for its software, meaning that it will have a continuous monthly cost. It can have a steep rate of learning, which means this software may not be suited for those planning to perform a significant amount of graphic design work.

    CorelDraw  

• Pros:It offers a one-time purchase option, in addition to a subscription option. Additionally, there is a lower-cost version of Corel Vector online software with an initial trial of just 15 days.
• Cons:The one-time purchase price is over $500 and the online Vector software is subscription only. As with Illustrator it is a learning curve that is a bit intimidating for those who are new to the field. Also CorelDraw iPad app CorelDraw iPad app has an average 1 1/2-star rating on the Apple App Store.

    Canva  

• Advantages The Canva website offers a cost-free account option so you can design a logo as well as different designs without cost. Canva is also able to provide an option to create a logo if you're not satisfied by your design work. Canva is a hugely popular simplified design software designed for creative and non-designer pros. You are assured of its support with ongoing updates and additional enhancements. It also offers freemium access to some stock images of Getty and other stock content providers.
• Pros: Premium content and features are gated for users with different levels of paid accounts. The software is online-only. The search feature of stock images, particularly, is a little clunky and may be challenging to pinpoint precisely what you're looking for.

    Vectr  

• The pros: The Vectr program is easy, no-cost vector design application that's simple to master.
• Pros:It's online only and could be too simple, depending on what kind of design work you'd like to accomplish. The software also displays advertisements within the program, which could be annoying.

Online logo creators

In addition to Canva's feature to create logos, which was mentioned previously, there's also online software which is focused on only automatic logo design.

The Looka and Smashing Logo each offer low-cost automatic logo design services. The cost is free for creating as many logos as you want, but should you wish to download vector files and brand packages it is necessary to buy one of their higher tiers.

The online logo creator software could provide a fantastic method of locating the perfect logo for what you want at a low expense, however you're not necessarily guaranteed to get exactly what you're hoping for. As these two services are free to experiment with and test, they could at the very the very least assist you in thinking about the direction of your design, think about the things you like and don't want, and take that design to a graphic designer or an agency to get a start place.

Outsourcing logo design

Are you not interested in creating your own logo or endlessly making iterations using a logo creation program? Sometimes it's just best to hire a professional from the get-go.

Hiring a freelance logo designer or a company to design the logo for your business is an excellent investment for the long-term success of your company. Designers with experience will provide ideas that you would not have otherwise considered and are capable of generating all the necessary files and designs.

It's important to be aware of the potential risks when outsourcing logo design. You want to make sure you select a designer who has expertise in creating logos for businesses that are in your sector, with favorable reviews from customers, and who is able to meet your needs within the budget you have set.

There are some who have had success hiring freelancers through marketplaces online like Fiverr and Upwork. Some prefer working with a local person or who has been recommended through a relative or colleague, or even a the local chamber of commerce. Each of these is perfectly acceptable avenues to pursue in the search for a designer to work with.

If you're a customer, you'll also need to make sure you're ready to work with a professional. Do some study on logos you like, consider what you want to achieve by your brand, and then be able to convey your requirements.

Designers are most effective when they have the right guidelines and a bit of creativity in their designs. If you're too rigid in the way you'd like your logo to look like, or you're too vague the result could be a logo that doesn't meet your requirements.

Ultimately, creating your logo with your graphic designer is like a conversation which can take back and forth a few times on sketches before you arrive at a design which is just right.

Put your logo to work

Now that you have some ideas for logo design to look up, it's time to get creating and putting your logo to work. Look up various logo designs. Find a logo colors and general design.

Next, you must decide if want to create your logo on your own, employ an application to create logos or employ an experienced designer. When you've got a logo you like, be sure you have all the right files for both web as well as print before implementing it across your website, social media, marketing channels, and products.

It's also an excellent idea to examine your logo thoroughly and pass it by trusted sources for feedback before it goes live. Keep in mind that your logo is the visual representation of your company. You may not get a consensus on whether or not your preferred logo is a great design, but you can at least prevent any glaring problems that would make it into blog posts about the worst logos of all time.

The design of your logo may be daunting, but through careful planning, thorough research, and the right tool or designer to create stunning, memorable logos that represents your brand and creates trust and loyalty to your clients.