Studies have shown that the most effective logos are horizontal in shape. This is because of how consumers read. The vast population of the world reads from top to bottom, left to right, there is no reason to get fancy and try to change how consumers read
Not only is the shape of the logo important to the brands success, so is the font that you choose for the brands name. Anyone who has used a computer knows that there are literally hundreds of different fonts from which you can choose. Different fonts can project different meanings about your brand. Just by switching the font you can make your brand appear masculine, feminine, modern, antique, just to name a few. It is up to you to know your brand inside and out so you choose the proper font to convey the message that you want to send to consumers. When it comes to choosing the font for your logo make sure that you choose something that is legible.
You do not want consumers looking for your brand and not be able to read it on the package because you wanted to get too clever.
On the other hand, perhaps you do not want your brand to have a name and you only want a symbol to signify the brand. A good example of a company that uses a shape to signify its brand is Nike. Nike’s swoosh logo has become synonymous with the best sports equipment that consumers can buy. Many times Nike even leaves their name off their products and all you see is the swoosh logo. However, Nike is the exception to the rule; there are not many companies that have been successful by only using a symbol. Perhaps the only other company that has this type of success as Nike is Apple. The name Apple does not appear on the back on the iPad, iPod, or iPhone, there is just their logo, which is an apple. In this case, the logo and company name is the same so it has double meaning for the consumer.
The next time you go to your local mall or large shopping center take the time to look at the stores logos. You will notice that the vast majority of store logos are horizontal and easy to read. You will only see a few stores that have opted to use something different from the horizontal easily read option. Perhaps the most well known company to not use this format is Lord and Taylor who use a script style font, which makes it harder to read their name.