29 most common square brand logos and their psychology

When was the last time you saw a square logo? Give your mind a little push? Well let me tell you, you see them daily if you are an avid social media user, Instagram, Facebook or even BBC all these leading companies have square logos. It may be pretty surprising for you, but it is true. If you are looking for the design that can be easily managed and speak volumes about your brand, then you can never go wrong with the square corporate logo. There is just something about square symbols that most people ends up attracted to it.

You can convey a lot of meanings in graphic designing through shapes; you would be surprised to see how a mere square logo have a whole story behind it. A graphic designer and the ones who are aware of the logo making techniques can quickly grasp the meaning. Logo shapes tend to trigger emotional reactions based on our link with the things in the real world. Shapes do not change the look of a logo, but it completely changes its perception and how people comprehend it.

Everybody is aware of the fact that square logos are a popular choice among various famous brands. If you are planning to go with a square logo, then you must understand the message that it communicates. Squares are strongly linked with the structure and stability, while the circular logos mostly represent nature the squares are more often found in the humanmade structures. They are the society’s building blocks, and we do not realize, but we interact with them regularly.

Square logos provide organizational sense and framework to the businesses. If you wish to represent your brand as a reliable and authoritative brand, then you may consider going with the square logo. Organizations that use square logos are seen professional, well established and secure. The logo’s sharp corners and strong edge make a bolder statement than any other shape. Who does not like to appear strong and courageous? Everybody does, right? So why not go for the square logo and show the strength of our brand in the market?

Square company logos are versatile, which means you can use them to represent organization, discipline, reliability and strength. But have you ever wondered why do square logos has such a powerful psychological impact on most of the brand’s audience? Let me explain you the secret.

The psychology behind square logos

You may not realize, but there is individual psychology behind every logo shape, and it is as essential as the time an individual spends on creating the colour palette that reflects their brand. With regards to the harmony and energy of the circular shapes or the strength delivered in powered triangular designs, the square and rectangular shapes tend to convey trustworthiness, stability ideas and order, all credit goes to the sharp edges of both square and rectangle. The perfect example of these values in a brand logo is the BBC.

The square company logos can feature in various stunning humanmade forms, from art to the clinically precise in architecture, engineering and design. While the square design of the emblem perceived as a “safe and secure” choice for a logo designer de-constructed, the shapes’ vertical lines are used to reveal the competitive edge. The perfect example of it is the world’s famous logo of Cisco.

However, do not be misled into thinking that your overall logo needs to be square. You will see in some of the below examples that you can incorporate square icons inside your logo to spread positive vibes about your brand. Enough about that, let’s get your creative juices out and check out the 29 famous square company logos to make an impact.

BBC

The British Broadcasting Centre, widely known as BBC, has an extraordinary yet efficient logo design; however, it was not always the classic design we are all so familiar with. In the late 80s, BBC updated its logo with a fresh and edgy look. It was a perfect decision taken at the right time.

The current design of the BBC has three black squares with white letters inside. Since BBC broadcasts and advertises on various mediums, a simple looking design allows them to adjust their logo readily to different sizes and situations.

GAP

The square logo of GAP is so iconic that there was a massive outcry by the public when the company decided to change the logo. Only after one week, the new logo was scrapped; even after changing its logo in 2016 again people still link the brand with its old classic logo.

This logo is effective because GAP has all the characteristics of being impactful and robust. Its decision to use a serif font creates the establishment, age and traditional philosophy. As a long-standing retailer, it matches the brand personality perfectly. The most exciting part is, the new GAP logo which is an upturn of the original logo hugely depends on the Spire typeface.

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American Express

The square logo represents strength and reliability, which is perfect for financial organizations; American Express is the best example of square logos. The simple blue design, along with the sans serif fond, has not much changed since its inception. These elements help in expressing the personality of the organization seamlessly.

The logo shows three solid elements. The square shape contains and secures the emblem; its blue colour offers reliability andresponsibility. Finally, the bold slab font is assertive and gives the impression of fortitude and strength. When we combine all three elements, it communicates the perfect message for a banking corporation.

Lego

Everybody has a strong association with Legos; it is one of the many long-established household names, which was established in 1932. In 1950 the company finally added a yellow square to its logo. However, later in 1960, they changed the logo for one final time that we still love and adore.

The colours of the logo, red, white and yellow are identified globally and serve as a more playful square logo inspiration.The Lego logo is pretty impactful because it retains the security feel along with reliability with its geometry while still appearing playful enough to attract the children.

The flashy colours, along with the catchy font, are appealing to the young eyes while the association with the square logo reassure parents.

UniqLo

The name of the brand was supposed to be the abbreviation of “Unique Clothing”, however, someone confused the C for a Q hence Uniqlo was created. The brand has managed to gain a massive share in the universal clothing market despite being a Japanese company.

 Their square logo establishes the element of reliability and trust moreover; its red colour shows passion. UniqLo logo is the perfect fusion of passion and reliability; just what is needed to have a strong logo.

Microsoft

Who is not aware of the famous Microsoft, everybody uses this software regularly, but how many of us knew about the philosophy behind its square logo? Not many of us, right? Nevertheless, the Microsoft logo combines the brand name with the square logo to represent its branches of the business.

The red colour shows Microsoft, yellow shows Bing, green shows XBOX and blue shows Windows operating system. You can absorb a lot of information from the logo, and since squares are symmetrical, it is comparatively easier to connect them and create attractive shapes.

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Dominos Pizza

Only looking at its logo makes you want to order the pizza; this is the kind of impact the logo has on its audience. The logo is used consistently everywhere, so it does not matter how you see the logo, you know it’s your favourite pizza when you see it. It is such a well-known brand that does not need to add the word “pizza” in its brand name; this is what perfect logo and branding do to your business.

AXA

AXA is a French insurance company which is known for its steadiness and constancy. The pictorial representation of AXA company is a demonstration of stability and fundamental approach as in was created since its origination. The brand did not really change the elegance and recognizable badge, only a few colors were switched to make the logo brighter and more modern.

T-Mobile

T- Mobile logo is the best example of more murky square designs, yet it communicates trust to the audience. Since the wordmark is not contained, it conveys the freedom intimately linked with the mobile networks. Only the T from the logo is enough to speak for the brand. Moreover, the magenta colour has also become the defining factor of the brand.

7-Eleven

7- Eleven is the best administrator for the square logo; the logo plays with the people’s emotional responses. It draws attention with the square but then purposefully involves the softer characters like the rounded edges and small n.

The unique addition of lowercase n changes the look of the logo. Moreover, it also provides an exciting talking point that enhances the word-of-mouth marketing for 7-Eleven.

Cartoon Network

There is no denying to the fact that the cartoon network has made our childhood quite memorable. However, what most people do not know is that the black and white logo was not this simple, earlier it consisted of 3D cubes before they modified the design. Today it is much simpler with only two contrasting colours, black and white with the company’s initials. The playful font style brings the logo to life and makes it friendlier for its audience.

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LinkedIn

LinkedIn is our go-to-place for the job queries, it was initially created as a social network for business, and its online portal allows the professionals to stay connected to each other all over the world. The logo speaks itself that it was designed for the current age.

The “in” is inside the blue square by itself, which lets LinkedIn separate the logo and use it in crowded places, particularly for displaying it on the smart gadgets.

Swatch

Who does not like classy branded watches? Everybody does, right? However, let me tell you one fact about this brand: the name Swatch and the square Swiss flag are the two main elements of the logo. You may not know that already, but Switzerland is the King of watchmaking, and the flag acts as the approval stamp communicating the message of high quality to its customers.

The Home Depot

It is the one-stop-shop for all the home improvement needs of the customers; whether you are looking for the tools or the construction equipment, they have it all. You may think, their logo design does not make much sense, and it is the way it is because of some accident, which is not the case. The orange background of the logo conveys the message of affordability and action.

The weather channel

The weather channel logo is pretty simple, which has a square background with the white lettering. The brand wants their audience to know that can be trusted and the blue colour symbolizes excellence, strength and reliability.

The Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs’ logo is pretty similar to The Weather Channel; it has a square background too with the white lettering. This simple logo aims to send over the message to the viewers that their brand is trustworthy, and the blue colour speaks for the brand’s reliance, excellence and power.

Bank of America

The name “Bank of America” is enough to speak for its strength and reliability. However, the brand’s logo has been changed quite a few time which is pretty hard for the banking industry. The new and stunning logo of Bank of America uses a square to show the American flag and combines it up with the modern design logo.

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Facebook

Facebook needs no introduction; everybody today is aware of this platform and uses it all day long. Nevertheless, its logo is one of the most recognizable square symbols on the internet. It is pretty simple F in a blue square sends a strong message of reliability and strength. Moreover, the tech companies also love square logos as you can scale them up quickly and work on any media or device.

GM- General Motors

The “blue block” of GM logo has been used for decades. In 2010, the founders of GM updated the logo and removed the blue block, but the lettering still unconsciously implies a square.

National Geographic

This brand uses a yellow rectangle with its brand name as their logo. The shape represents the photo frame, and the color yellow represents the sun and is linked with wisdom and knowledge. The logo is perfect for the environmental journal.

Instagram

Who does not know about Instagram it is one of the widely known applications used today, it has also become a massive source of small businesses, and even the big business organizations are using Instagram for their marketing. Instagram has two different logos, first is the Instagram “script” logo, and the other one is used as the logo for their application.

It is an orange square with the rounded edges and a stylized camera that is presented in the square. The camera in the square represents the purpose of the application, which is entirely based on the images. 

Adobe

The designers and the marketers are well aware of this software; it is widely used for the editing of the professional pictures. The stylized red and white A in the square is one of the most identified logos among tech users. People all over the world, even amateurs who get their hand on this software can even earn through it. 

Nevertheless, if you see it through your graphic designer eyes, you will see how the logo of Adobe is a perfect example of utilizing the negative space along with the colour red. The shape and loud red colour demonstrate strength and power. When you get the skills of Adobe, you have control in your hands to earn and most importantly, to make a mere picture timeless through its extraordinary effects. The logo of Adobe implies that the software unleashes the power of design, which most of the graphic designer readers would agree with.

Ritter Sports

Ritter sports is the perfect choice for the mid-day snack or late-night munching, kids and adults of all age love this chocolate. All the chocolate freak people must be aware of the Ritter sports, but not many people know the psychology behind the shape and the logo design.

Ritter Sports are the perfect example of the square logo. To echo the shape of the company’s chocolate bars, they use a square logo for the container putting into an appealing and attractive package.

Visa

The colours of Visa logo was selected to demonstrate the sky colour i-e blue and Californian hills which are golden in colour, and this is where the Bank of America was founded.

In the year 2005, the founders of Visa altered its logo and removed the horizontal stripes to show more of a simple white background displaying the name Visa in blue with an orange flick on the V.

Later they removed the orange flick from the logo and left a stable blue gradient only, in the year 2014.  Later in the year 2015, they resorted the golden and blue stripes as they branded the cards as Visa Debit and Visa Electron; however, the company logotype remained the same.

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Nestle

Nestle is one another well-known brand with the square logo; everybody is now pretty much aware of what square symbols means, seeing the Nestle logo we can comprehend what strength and power feel like. Nevertheless, the primary trademark of Nestle was based on a family’s arms coat which showed a bird sitting on a nest.

It offers a reference to the family name, which means nest in German. The founder included the coat of arms by adding three young birds and a mother feeding them to create a pictorial association between his name and his organization’s infant cereal products. The trademark was first used in 1868, and today everybody sees this familiar bird’s nest logo all everywhere as the Nestle brand.

Marlboro

The pictorial identity of one of the most famous brands of tobacco has always been pretty straight forward and strict. The best thing about this logo is it was not redesigned much, since the origination of the company and till this date the founder redesigned the logo only three times. All of the previous logos were more or less the same as today’s, a simplest and conventional label in a decent colour combination.

Formula 1

The founders of Formula 1 designed its logo in 2000, and till today it is one of the most creative logos ever made. But surprisingly nobody has ever paid substantial attention to the message hidden behind the logo. Most of the fans of Formula 1 think F in the logo means Formula and the red colour shows 1.

 However, the reality is pretty different, the red colour does not signify one, but the white space between black coloured F and red coloured design shows 1. The red colour in the logo shows passion and energy, whereas the black colour shows determination and power.

YouTube

YouTube is our go-to-place for most of the video streaming links, and apart from it, this website also serves as the best search engine. Nevertheless, in the logo for the first time, the red play button with the white triangle was featured in the regular logotype. The colour of the play button is pure red, and along with it, the brand name is written in bold in the black letters.

 The logo shows three colours, white, red and black a perfect fusion which results in creating an attractive mix. The colours emphasize optimism, purity, excellence, passion, elegance and perseverance. These qualities have allowed YouTube to reach where it is today.

AVG

The symbol of AVG comprises of four elements which forms a perfect square; each of the components has one of its sides cut in five stripes and shows a different colour. Red, green, yellow and blue is a traditional basic colour combination which is entirely meaningful.

Yellow signifies idea creation, blue shows draft, green demonstrates the process of opening the ide to people and red shows the importance of solving the problems immediately. The AVG logo is powerful and everlasting created on the basic principles. The emblem is meaningful, robust, safe and trustworthy.

Conclusion

While most of the logos are circle in shape and most commonly found in nature, the square symbols are predominantly found in objects that are human made like buildings. The square figure shows a robust identifiable logo for any organization.

The shape demonstrates the sturdiness of the business and is instantly recognizable and found all around us. The square logos can deliver the message of trust and structure and is a perfect elemental shape that can be an iconic symbol for any organization.