5 Effective Logos

#1 World Wildlife Fund


WWF's logo encompasses all of the great logo basics. First, it's not too detailed so as to be recognizable at any scale. Secondly, it's extremely relevant to what the company stands for and is striving to protect. Lastly, it's effective even without color to distract from the message. I like how it always appears black and white with a white background because I think adding color to it can get too subjective. The fact that they chose a panda as the symbol of their company was smart because it touches viewers of any age, and adding a variety of animals would have been overwhelming and not as personal.

#2 Disney

Disney's logo has proved to be timeless due to it's consistency over the years. The logo works because the image is a castle that almost anyone can understand symbolizes the real castle seen at Disney World. This ensures an automatic sense of happiness when people of all ages see this logo. It's also unique because its a stylized version of Walt Disney's actual signature.

#3 Nike


Nike's logo is effective because it's one of the most simplistic logos out there. I once heard that the man who created Nike asked a girl in one of his college classes to draw him a logo and since she was in a bad mood she scribbled down this check on a piece of paper, little did she know she had just created a symbol that would represent a multi million dollar company and be recognizable worldwide. It may not have been intentional, but this logo doesn't need anything else to it- no color, no detail. It's scalable and straightforward.

#4 Toys R Us


Toys R Us' logo is fun, silly, and ultimately age-appropriate to their targeted audience. I think it wouldn't be half as effective if it was in black and white. Further more, I like the colors the company chose because they aren't geared towards one gender in specific. It's playful and appeals to all children. I think it was a smart decision to reverse the R and put a star in the center to make it not as boring. Also, since the R is backwards it almost looks as though a child wrote it which adds that much more uniqueness to it. 

#5 Playboy

Playboy's logo has also shown it's effectiveness in how memorable it is. I think the number 1 criteria for a logo is that it be good enough that a consumer will be able to spot the icon anywhere and know the name attached. What is interesting about the playboy logo is that they took an everyday animal and added a bow tie, yet today the playboy bunny image is iconic. I assume this is also the reason logos of rabbits are incredibly rare. Companies understand that Playboy has branded themselves so well that any other picture of one might trigger a connotation to Playboy instead.