Symbolism and Logo Design - Compare and Contrast.

Symbolism works by creating a symbol that represents more than the thing itself. Symbols are meant to be understood in all languages so that it's message is more easily understood.

 The Christian cross can represents the whole several thousand year history that the religion has gone through but is mostly be associated with the crucifixion and reincarnation of Jesus.


Logos work by creating an identity for a company or group. Logos work best when they are memorable, simplistic and demonstrate the group's personality easily and quickly.

I don't even have to tell which fast food empire this goes to because of how world-wide and famous the double arches have become. They are the perfect example of easy to remember and simple in design.


The difference between the two is that symbols can represent a whole lot more than the image itself. Symbols could be  as simple as national flags or as complex as things in stories that are meant to create emotions. Logos are meant to be easy, quick reminders as to which company made a certain product, which company is advertising to you, etc.



The value of learning the process of logo design is that, without this training, some people might create a company or a business with a hard to read, easy to forget, or just down-right ugly logo. Then, this person's business would have a harder time being successful. Some companies, for example, likely make a lot of money off of having a famous logo i.e. the golden arches of McDonald's or the "swoosh" of the Nike logo.