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THE LOGO ISSUE
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Is the wordmark era fading?
For the last few years, the safe answer to almost every rebrand was a clean wordmark. No symbol, just the name, set well. It looks great at the top of a website, but in a tiny app icon it needs help, and a lot of those wordmarks started to look the same.
Lately I see it changing. More studios are drawing marks again: symbols with some character, that can live on their own on a tote bag, a favicon or a sticker, while the wordmark does the talking somewhere else.
So I counted, in the work I collect. I went through all 228 identities on BRRRANDING and sorted every logo into one of four types. It’s my own selection, so take it as a signal, not a census.
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206 LOGOS ON BRRRANDING, BY TYPE
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| Symbol + wordmark, locked together |
30% 61 |
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| Symbol and wordmark, used separately |
20% 41 |
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The other 22 of the 228 projects are left out: campaigns and events without a fixed logo, or too few images to tell.
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THE SHIFT: SHARE OF WORDMARK-ONLY LOGOS
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2023 AND 2024
52%
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2025 AND 2026
39%
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In the newest work, 61% of identities come with a symbol. Still a small sample (38 projects so far this year and last), but the direction is clear.
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1. WORDMARK ONLY
The name is the logo |
48%
100 of 206 |
It works best when the letters themselves have a voice. Look at Tutu's bouncy lowercase, Fanta's tilted caps or KEEN's cut-up letters: you can't confuse them with anyone else.
Tutu by Shuka Design | |
Fanta by Jones Knowles Ritchie |
Public Pool by Perky Bros | |
KEEN by Zeal Studio | | |
2. SYMBOL + WORDMARK
Locked together |
30%
61 of 206 |
The classic setup. Symbol and name sit side by side, and the symbol steps out alone only where space is tight, like the app icon or a social avatar.
Instacart by Wolff Olins | |
Chester Zoo by How&How |
MUBI by Spin | |
Altiro by Hunt | | |
3. USED SEPARATELY
Never in the same room |
20%
41 of 206 |
My favourite group. The symbol and the wordmark never sit next to each other. Each gets its own space, so the symbol has to carry the brand on its own, and it usually ends up with more character. Food and drink brands love this: 30% of them on the site work this way. Vayda by Motto Brewser Beer by Studio Chong | |
4. SYMBOL ONLY
No name needed |
2%
4 of 206 |
Rare, and usually earned. A cockerel that has been on the shirt for over a century, or a name so short the number says it all.
Tottenham by Nomad |
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12 by Base |
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Art on The Mart by Firebelly |
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THE BEST LOGOS ON BRRRANDING
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Want more? The Logos page collects the marks and wordmarks I keep going back to, from new identities on the site to classics from the 60s, 70s and 80s. 67 so far, each one picked by hand.
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CALL FOR ENTRY
Get your logo into LogoLounge Book 16
LogoLounge has opened its call for entries for Book 16, the latest edition of its international logo design competition and the last LogoLounge book as you know it. Don't miss your opportunity to get your work in front of a star-studded panel of design giants.
A $100 USD annual membership covers unlimited submissions, plus access to LogoLounge’s database of more than 430,000 logos. Uploads close December 1, 2026.
A few of my own logos have made it into LogoLounge books over the years, so if you have a mark you're proud of, this is a good place for it.
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YOUR BRAND HERE
Sponsor a Thursday issue
One themed issue, one sponsor, 4,700+ designers reading.
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Which type do you enjoy designing most, and which one do your clients usually ask for? Hit reply and tell me, I read every email.
Vadim
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See all 228 projects →
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BRRRANDING is a curated collection of the best branding projects from around the internet. No algorithm. No AI. Just great work.
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