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There is no doubt that a logotype is the face of the company; that‘s why each element of some of the most iconic and well-recognizable logos is carefully thought out, even though they might seem simple. Often, simplicity is the key. Selecting the right typeface and font for a logo is crucial and combined with size, color, and graphic elements can help you stand out in a competitive environment. Each font can communicate a specific personality and tone—this is why it‘s particularly important to go with something that perfectly represents the brand‘s identity. Some brands use well-known and time-approved fonts such as Helvetica, Arial, and Gotham, while others create their custom designs often based on or inspired by classic fonts.

The Italian graphic designer, or logo guru, as one might say, Emanuele Abrate, runs an Instagram account all about logotypes. Last time we featured the artist on Bored Panda, he fixed the "World’s Worst Logos" (disclaimer: some of them are pretty ambiguous) by redesigning them in a more appropriate and sleek way. This time, he shows what fonts some of the most popular brands chose to represent them by replacing names in logos with logo fonts.

More info: Instagram | behance.net | Facebook | emanueleabrate.com

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Pan Narrans
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Always wondered why Adidas had the chimneys of the sinking Titanic as their logo.

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This personal project called “Logofonts” is a simple and fun way to learn about some of the world’s best logos. In fact, there is no such thing as a good or bad font—it always depends on the story you want to tell and the voice you want to use for this purpose. And graphic designers exist to masterfully balance all the elements of the logo to achieve the best result.

Bored Panda reached out to Emanuele to find out about the idea and the process behind this project.

“The idea came spontaneously by observing the most frequent questions of graphic designers. I noticed that the most common question when looking at a logo is: ‘which font was used?’ So I decided to create a project that would answer this question in a simple and immediate way,” said the artist.

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Martz Migraña
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ha! What an appropriate font name! (Pico in Spanish means "beak", among other stuff. If you ask a Chilean you may have a faaar different translation, haha!)

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“Most famous logos use a custom typography (designed from scratch, or from a font to customize it). My goal is to find out which font is used at the start and then modify it to get the final result. For this, I do a search by consulting the brand manuals and then visually comparing the original font with the logo. I also often use tools like 'whatthefont.' I always try to be as precise as possible.”

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Caroline Driver
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And is this the same font that was used on the cover of Needful Things as well?

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The main goal of “Logofonts,” which has 45.1K followers on Instagram, is to show how a typographic choice can be extremely identifying when designing a logo.

“The font is very important because typographic forms are able to generate emotional sensations in the observer and can represent a highly distinctive element in a logo: think of the Coca-Cola logo or the Instagram logo.”

For everyone who might think that using only a font in your logo is cheating and doesn’t require much knowledge, the artist says that the subject is not as easy as it may seem.

There are some basic tips on how to choose the perfect font to represent the tone of your company. In one of his Instagram posts, the graphic designer explores the importance of colors and typography in logos that, even without the use of images, can convey messages and feelings.

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“Do you want to express luxury? Then better a serif font or an elegant script. Do you want to express innovation? Then a sans serif and neutral typography may be the right choice.”

Abrate says that the biggest mistake a brand can make when selecting the right font for a logo is to rely exclusively on their own taste or following the customer’s taste: “I love Futura, but when I design, I put my personal tastes aside in favor of the concept I want to enhance.”

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Kyoshi Becker
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This designer is wrong... It looks like Knockout HTF-49 Lightweight. Look at the weight on the lowercase e and o...

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Stewie'sTalented
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My current favorite font. I think the Obama presidential campaign used this font. It symbolizes modernity, clarity.

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Daniel Buckland
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Google created product Sans, so does that really count? Also it was based off Futura with a few minor tweaks.

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b l a n c
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

interesting enough, billabong ISN'T actually the font used in instagram. if you search it up, you'll find that it's actually a handwritten script SIMILAR to billabong. but of course here you can easily see they are not the same

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James Mills
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The kerning is made so all the letters are the same width apart. but how much incline?

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Kris Bunda
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not exactly. Klavika a top curves downward, k shows daylight between strokes.

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Zack Bartlett
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Um... no its not. I feel like FedEx is pointed to as one of the best examples of Helvetica in logo usage.

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Al Christensen
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No, it's not. The GoT logo has heavier serifs, with serifs at the top of the M and N.

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tima
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

no it's not the same at all: see the R, the weight of the serifs..

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