Design
From cave dwellers carving their stories on cave walls and creating group identities to royal families in the Middle Ages who held their crests as a sign of pride, symbols that represent a group’s identity have been an inseparable part of human history. And here we are in the 21st century where your brand image defines who you are as a company. The success of a business is often determined by how memorable its brand is, and this is where logo design proves its vital importance.
The monogram logo is one of the main types of logos that companies use. As simple as it might seem, making logo designs that combine the initials of a company or person takes effort. Possibilities are endless when considering a monogram logo that fits your specific needs and company values.
If you are working on the development of your logo but are unsure if a monogram is a right choice for you, we’ve got you covered. Check out some cases when you should choose a monogram logo for your company and discover the best monogram logo fonts and styles.
- When to Choose a Monogram Logo
- Best Monogram Logo Fonts
- Monogram Logo Styles
What is a Monogram Logo?
It’s a design consisting of one to three letters, mostly the initials of a company or an individual, used as a business logo.
When to Choose a Monogram Logo?
Louis Vuitton, Warner Brothers, EA Sports, HP Computers, H&M, and many other international companies have cracked the secret to branding success with monogram logos. The reasons for their choice may differ, but the goal is the same — to be unforgettable in the eyes of their customers.
Let’s discover some of the main reasons why companies choose to employ monogram logo designs. If at least one of the points listed below applies to your business, it’s a big sign a monogram logo might be just what you need.
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Your Company Name is Too Long
Many companies find it challenging to turn a long brand name into a memorable logo. This is where the monogram logo design comes to help. Singapore Symphony Orchestra found an ingenious way of turning their company name into a minimal monogram logo design.
Or think of PriceWaterhouseCoopers — an advertising agency that incorporated the three founders’ names in its brand name. How would they effectively translate their company name into a compact logo if monogram logos didn’t exist? 
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Your Local Brand is Going International
Yves Saint Laurent chose to commit to the name of the company’s founding designer. The authentic French flair can be felt in the logo design as much as in the fashion of the iconic luxury brand. Not everyone knows how to correctly spell nor pronounce “Yves Saint Laurent,” and that is why the “YSL” initialism is a perfect solution for the international company.
Caterpillar Incorporated is a challenging phrase to understand and pronounce for the general public. However, it didn’t stop the company from creating one of the most recognized construction logos in the industry. 
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Abstract Logos Won’t Work for You
Many multi-profile companies choose to go with more than one defining characteristic for their logo designs. It is easy for Burger King to have burger-shaped imagery. But not all businesses are as easily defined by a single item.
HBO (Home Box Office) chose to switch to a monogram logo due to its brand expanding into more than just television broadcasting and adding services of production and streaming.
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- How to Choose Your Logo Colors?
Best Monogram Logo Fonts
Similar to wordmark logos, monogram logos are typography-based. You want the letters in your monogram logo to collaborate, which is why choosing the right logo font is crucial. As there is no handbook on which ones to choose and which to walk away from, many brands alter existing fonts to fit their branding needs. It takes a little looking around to find what speaks to you. Any font can be an inspiration for your monogram logo.
Sans-Serif is the lettering that many big brands turn to for inspiration. It is a typeface where letters don’t have extensions to their features. Choosing a Sans-Serif font keeps your logo simple, easy to read, and understandable to a wide range of audiences.
Source: SiloCreativo
Using a Sans-Serif font gives monogram logo designs more definition and makes it easier to leave a strong impression. Below are some fonts in the Sans-Serif family that can be an excellent fit for your company and work wonders for your monogram logo.
- Futura
Louis Vuitton, IKEA, and Volkswagen are companies that took Futura and turned it into remarkable monogram logos. Since the 1970s, it has been the main font for print and digital mediums. Futura is simple, sleek, and clear to the eye.
- Helvetica
Also known as Neue, Helvetica, designed in the 1950s, shortly became the most popular lettering of the 20th century. It marches forward into our day and age with brands like LG Electronics, 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company), and BMW.
Helvetica was originally envisioned as the font for underground and public transportation signs around Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, so even the least sharp eyes would be able to detect it.
- Gill Sans
Named after its creator Eric Gill, Gill Sans is one of the longest-standing Sans-Serif typefaces in the design industry. Gill Sans is the predecessor of many modern fonts, including Futura. Described as a metal type, Gill Sans is very sharp and to the point, as seen on the monogram logos of BBC and Advanced Micro Devices.
Recommended Reading
- 16 Important Logo Design Tips to Avoid Mistakes
- How to Trademark a Logo: Top Questions Answered
- What is a Vector Logo and Why You Need It
Monogram Logo Styles
Deciding on the font is not the only challenge on the way to a great monogram logo. You also need to find a logo style. With logo design trends changing and evolving all the time, you should focus on finding the type of logo that best suits your corporate identity.
Mirrored
You can’t go wrong with a symmetrical mirrored logo; Givenchy seems to agree. They took a straightforward logo style and turned it into an iconic staple in the fashion industry. Mirrored monograms give your logo an elegant, put-together look without requiring much effort or thought.
Stacked
This style allows you to create a unique image with your company initials, taking a more creative approach to monogram logos. Squarespace used the stacked style to make a memorable statement icon with its company name.
Interlocked
Taking two or three letters and turning those into a story is all that monogram logos are about. The interlocked style can work wonders, and most importantly, it doesn’t limit your imagination. The very distinct yet simple New York Yankees monogram logo shows everyone that it is not necessary to go over the top to create a memorable icon.
Conclusion
Monogram logos take one to three letters (usually the initials of a company) and arrange them in aesthetic, memorable ways to create an attractive icon for the brand. There can be many reasons for a monogram logo design to be the right choice for a company. Among those reasons are the lengthiness of a company name, a small business going international, and more.
Your logo tells a story, and a monogram logo can say what elaborate words and images can’t. A monogram logo makes your brand memorable, approachable, and straightforward.
Wherever you land on your creative journey, make sure you stay in line with your company’s true self. In this day and age, it is easy to learn from real-life triumphs and use online branding tools to make the creative process more comfortable.
Ready to start creating your monogram logo or looking for some logo design inspiration? Click the button below, and you’ll be directed to our logo maker tool that will help you build professional logo designs in a matter of minutes.
Select a template you like and play with the text, fonts, and colors to find what works best for you!
