Designing a logo that is aesthetically appealing, beautiful, and elegant is relatively easy for a graphic designer. There are tons of typefaces that are very stylish and you just have to apply them over a name to get something stylish and attractive. Then it only remains to look for combinations of colors that favor you and little else.
What is more difficult is to find logos that in addition to being beautiful have details that denote ingenuity, intelligence, that there has been an analysis work behind to find that "click" that makes the logo stand out.
This concept of the beautiful and intelligent unified in a brand is generally found in those logos that can be defined as " minimalist ".
What is minimalism in Branding?
Minimalism in its most general concept seeks to reduce to the essential an object, a building or in our case, a brand. It is about stripping away any excess element and achieving with the minimum amount of image, transmitting the maximum information about the company that the logo represents.
Said with an example, if they commission us to design the logo for a dental clinic, it would be a matter of transmitting to the public that this company is dedicated to dentistry in the simplest way possible.
Do you just have to look for simplicity? The answer is No: If it were only to look for something simple in the example of the clinic, we can think that minimalism would be to put an icon based on a tooth, a very simple element formally.
The difference between minimalism and simplicity is that minimalism is smart, it achieves maximum functionality with the minimum amount of media. Continuing with the example, a logo whose icon is a tooth without more is not functional, because there are thousands of identical logos in the world, therefore we have achieved a boring logo, very little original, without personality, and very little representative of our clinic.
What is a smart logo?
For us, an intelligent logo is one that achieves with the minimum amount of means ( Minimalism ) to represent both the sector to which the company is dedicated and the specific name of the company. And there is no logo or icon that better associates the company that it symbolizes than one that is based on the initial or initials of the company (or product)
Therefore, as a general rule, our goal as logo creators should always be twofold:
- 1. Look for an icon that represents the activity of the company: Dentists, architects, plumbers, transporters, jewelers, etc ...
- 2. Search for an icon based on the initial or initials of the company: Vallejo (V), García Arrabal (GA), Montoya Soler (MS)
And always work on these two parameters under the "umbrella" of minimalism: With the minimum expression, seek maximum functionality and beauty.
Let's take an example that illustrates all this:
Marta Camus, Dental Clinic: In this case we have obtained the silhouette of a tooth from the union of the initials m + c. We have had to invert the "C", but the "m" we have obtained from the name as it is. So that it is not too simple, we have inserted the figure of the tooth into a circle that has the same thickness. The result is a simple logo, but not simple, since the icon has a foundation, a work behind it. It is not another tooth from another dental clinic, it is the tooth of "Marta Camus", since it arises from the union of her two initials.
More examples of minimalist logos?
This type of logos is a brand of the house in logo designhill USA . We love them! Naturally, it cannot always be done, since there are certain sectors that need another type of logo that is more ornate, more ornamental, more effective ... and the personal taste of each client also counts, but whenever possible we try to present at least some ideas minimalist because we think that minimalism contains all the beauty of simple things combined with ingenuity and intelligence. That's the kind of logos that attracts us, that we admire, and that we like to make.
As we have many minimalist logos in our gallery, we are going to present some examples dividing them into two sections:
- 1. Logos that contain an icon.
- 2. logos without an icon , that is, the text itself is the brand. Generally, this text has been modified in some detail or in some letter to make it original and at the same time reflect some representative aspect of the company.
1. Minimalist logos containing icon / isotype.
Gimeno Torregrosa: From the union of the initials G + T, we obtained a figure that evokes the idea of balance / justice.
Mecas: The initial "M" has been slightly retouched to simulate the typical white jacket used in martial arts.
Sibarissimus.com: We use the initial "S" to create a silhouette reminiscent of the typical "chef" hat.
Montoya Soler Abogados: The logo is based on the union of the "m" and the "s". For this we have taken as a base element one of the vertical sticks of the "m" and we have repeated it three times. The latter is lengthened and curved to create a lowercase "s".
Ildum: We have taken advantage of the shape of the "M" to create an image that recalls an altar made up of two columns that hold a cloth that falls from both sides.
Blessure: The icon is based on the semantic origin of the word (Bless: bless) that is why we have replaced the initial with some angel wings.
Isela: The logo uses the letter's own morphology to represent an angel: the "e" would be the head and the "S" would be the wings.
Cookú: we have reduced the “ú” to a semicircle to evoke different ideas related to the spirit of the place: Rest, a smile, or a container or glass to serve yourself.
