Lowercase logos: Well-known brands with lowercase logos
Have you ever noticed how many lowercase logos are floating around today? While there are still countless brands using standard sentence case logos, or even wordmarks in all caps, many have evolved.
In the last decade or so, several companies have begun to embrace the slightly softer, friendlier appeal of a lowercase logo.
From adidas, to amazon.com, lowercase logos are everywhere, often matched with a soft sans-serif or modern typeface. Companies with lowercase logos choose their brand image for many reasons.
These organizations aren’t just trying to be quirky by dropping the capital from the front of a “proper noun”. Rather, they’re playing with the visual balance of their design.
Today, we’re going to be looking at some of the better-known examples of lowercase logos in the current market and offering an insight into why each company chose their new design.
Here’s your guide to brands with lowercase logos.
Why use all lowercase letters in a logo?
Technically, if you’re using the name of your business as the heart of your logo design, you should really be using a capital letter. Company names are “proper” nouns after all.
However, as anyone with experience in visual branding will know, following the rules with upper and lowercase letters isn’t always the best idea.
While some logos, like the Ferrari logo, look phenomenal with a capital letter at the front, others wouldn’t have the right visual appeal. Imagine the Ford logo without its bold, eye-catching capital letters, for instance.
When companies switch to all lowercase logos, they’re usually trying to accomplish two things:
Visual balance
A great logo should look amazing in any context. Rather than focusing exclusively on grammar, logo designers need to think about letters in a logo as a collection of shapes trying to fit together harmoniously.
Certain letters, like “T” and “A” are difficult to “kern” when written as capitals.
Certain letters don’t look right when placed together with the appropriate balance of upper and lowercase. When this happens, the designer needs to decide whether to use all capitals, or all lowercase.
This takes us to the next consideration when choosing upper or lowercase characters.
Brand personality
If the balance of the word looks unusual in its typical upper and lowercase balance, logo designers can switch to a new design featuring just one option (upper or lowercase). An all-uppercase logo looks bold, powerful, and authoritative.
Think the Michelin logo, for example.
Alternatively, an all-lowercase logo will feel more friendly, casual, and accessible. Lowercase letters in any typeface generally feel more informal. They’re a great way to give your organization more emotional depth.
As customers have grown less trusting of major corporations in recent years, we’ve seen many companies making the switch to lowercase logos. For instance, look at the difference between the old Fisher-Price and new Fisher-Price brandmarks:
The ideal brand logo shouldn’t just give customers the name of your company, it should also provide an insight into your business and what it stands for.
The use of lowercase letters where most customers would expect to see an uppercase character can provide some useful information about your brand.
Companies with lowercase logos: Lowercase logo examples
Ultimately, choosing all lowercase letters for your logo means thinking about the image you want to create for your organisation, and how you want your company to “feel.” Something as small as removing the capital letters from your logo can transform your entire brand personality.
Let’s take a look at some brands with lowercase logos.
Adidas
A phenomenal example of a brand with a lowercase logo, adidas uses all lowercase letters to create a fantastic visual appeal in the company’s design.
The use of the lowercase “a” at the beginning of the word helps to balance the overall appearance of the wordmark, thanks to the numerous circular shapes and curves throughout the brand name.
Adidas just wouldn’t look right with a capital “A”.
Find out more about the Adidas logo here.
Amazon
Amazon is one of the many companies on this list using the lowercase logo as a tool for making their design seem friendlier. The use of a lowercase letter here is great for a company already heavily focused on an informal image.
It also helps to create a sense of balance in the use of the arrow pointing from “A” to “Z” when depicting the variety of products the store has to offer.
Android
Technology companies can often benefit from using all lowercase logos. Most consumers still consider technology to be a complex and inaccessible thing.
The use of a lowercase logo makes organizations like Android feel less threatening. The decision to leverage a fun mascot-style character alongside the lowercase logo makes Android even more appealing.
Airbnb
Another excellent example of a company using their lowercase logo to make their concept feel more accessible, Airbnb’s design is naturally a lot friendlier than it would be if it were in all capital letters.
The idea of renting your home out with a company or borrowing someone’s property for a vacation would be nerve-wracking to most people. Using lowercase letters makes the brand feel more approachable, laidback, and friendly.
BP
BP is one of many companies which actually used an all-capital design for its logo for many years. However, as the need to be seen as “friendly” replaced the demand for a sophisticated image, BP decided to make a change.
In the year 2000, the arrival of a new logo image signalled a massive evolution in the company’s personality.
Dyson
Dyson wants customers to view its products as an everyday accessory to have around the home. The use of all lowercase letters in the logo helps to convey a sense of comforting trustworthiness.
The lowercase logo for Dyson is also excellent for giving the company a more modern appearance. The image blends in well with similar technology brands.
Find out more about the Dyson brand here.
Ebay
For years, Ebay experimented with its logo, using a variety of uppercase and lowercase logos, placed in various locations throughout the design. For most of its history, Ebay was better-known as “eBay”, with the large capital “B”, helping the brand’s image to stand out.
Eventually, the company switched to an all-lowercase logo, to convey ideas of simplicity.
Find out more about the eBay logo here.
Citibank
Logos with capital, serif-style letters are extremely popular among companies trying to convey a sense of heritage and reliability – making them ideal for banks. However, Citibank wanted to create a different kind of image with its logo.
The Citibank wordmark is simple, modern, and friendly – a great choice for a bank trying to be more accessible to the masses.
Hulu
This example of an all lowercase logo is a great insight into how the use of lowercase letters can create a more modern image for a brand. The careful use of a bold, friendly typeface matched with a bright green coloring helps to build an image of modernity, forward-thinking innovation and growth.
It’s a great overall image for an innovative streaming brand.
Intel
Similar to Android, Intel wanted to step away from the inaccessible image often associated with big technology brands. Intel’s modern all lowercase logo is fantastic for making it seem more friendly and accessible.
It also allows Intel to draw attention to the little dot above the i. Depicted as a blue square, this simple element represents the iconic chips in intel products.
Mastercard
Mastercard updated its logo with a focus on all lowercase design trend to reflect a journey towards a more “digital” future. According to the Mastercard team, the decision to switch to this simplistic logo was based on a desire for a more seamless, modern image.
The brand wanted to create the kind of visual customers could associate with having a friendly source of support in their pocket at all times.
Macy’s
One of the most memorable companies with lowercase logos, Macy’s chose an all-lowercase logo to create a more amicable, welcoming image for its brand. The supermarket brand wants to attract shoppers from all kinds of environments, making the choice of a genial and modern brandmark essential.
While not everyone agrees with Macy’s choice of font here, it’s fair to say the lowercase letters are a good pick.
Logitech
Logitech used its transition to a lowercase logo as an opportunity to showcase its modern, innovative side. Not only do we get an eye-catching sans-serif wordmark here, but we also get a little creative flair in the use of the disconnect between the upper and lower parts of the “G”.
The overall visual is a wonderfully balanced image with an outgoing and contemporary edge.
Beats by Dr. Dre
For the most part, the “Beats” Company uses just a lowercase “b” in a red circle, designed to look like the can from a pair of earphones as its brand mark.
However, there are cases where you might see the “beats by Dr. Dre” tagline. Notably, in this tagline, all of the letters are lowercase, both for the name of the company, and the designer.
This is intended to create an air of contemporary simplicity for the viewer, and give the logo a “Cool” edge.
AT&T
Most companies using only letters in their logo, like AT&T, would automatically choose capital letters, to represent each letter standing for its own designated word.
However, the AT&T brand decided it was time to experiment with a more youthful image and decided to implement an all-lowercase logo instead.
This design ran through 2005 – 2015 and certainly makes the company seem friendlier.
Bitcoin
As mentioned above, lowercase logos are frequently associated with not just friendliness, but modernity too. We see these logos often in the technology world, to make complex concepts seem more approachable.
It seems only fair the world’s leading cryptocurrency would want a lowercase logo. While the icon for Bitcoin features a capital “B”, the name itself is usually depicted in all lowercase letters.
Pepsi
Pepsi made the switch from an all uppercase letter logo to a lowercase logo in recent years. The design shift aims to make the company seem more sympathetic and welcoming, which is important for such a huge, world-conquering company.
The lowercase letters on the Pepsi logo also allow the designer to experiment with the shape of the “E” to replicate the flow of liquid.
Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins uses a combination of upper and lowercase elements in its logo. The “BR” emblem is in capital letters, to help highlight the “31”, which represents the initial number of flavors offered by the Baskin Robbins Company.
However, the wordmark itself is written in all lowercase, in a funky, playful font designed to create a sense of familiarity with the audience. The overall image is fun and accessible, just like the brand.
New Balance
Similar to Baskin Robbins, New Balance uses a set of capital letters in its logo, followed by the full name of the company in lowercase. The image is beautifully simple and compelling, with a great sense of visual balance.
Using both capital letters and lowercase in the wordmark helps to define the company as one with strength and confidence, but also a friendly and welcoming personality.
Nutella
Nutella is one of the better-known brands with lowercase logos. The Nutella brandmark has leveraged an all lowercase image for quite some time, helping to create a friendly and modern image for the brand.
Rather than relying on complex typefaces or designs, the Nutella Company uses just the different coloring in the “n”, to pull attention to the character which should be capitalized.
Xerox
From an auditory perspective, the word “Xerox” is quite harsh, with a lot of sharp sounds. Brining all capital letters into the logo builds on this sense of strength and power, but it may make the company’s image a little too overwhelming for some.
To create a friendlier, more comforting image, Xerox decided to switch its all-uppercase logo to a lowercase alternative. This icon makes the technology brand seem much more accessible.
Wacom
If you’re familiar with graphic drawing tablets, you’re probably also quite familiar with the Wacom brand.
This company has chosen an all-lowercase logo to create a more creative, artistic image for the company. The sleek, modern characters in the wordmark work together perfectly to make the brand look fun and creative.
You can almost imagine drawing the letters yourself with one of the company’s pens on a touchscreen display.
Nickelodeon
Like many companies, Nickelodeon once used an all uppercase version of its logo to highlight its bold and confident nature. However, as the organization evolved, it decided a friendlier, more youthful image would be best.
The new Nickelodeon logo features all lowercase letters, with fun elements, like the dot of the “I” being connected to the lower segment. The same classic Nickelodeon orange coloring remanded during the rebrand.
Tumblr
Tumblr is one of the few companies on our list of companies with lowercase logos to use a serif font with a lowercase design. This helps to create an image similar to what you might expect to see typed on a typewriter.
This could be Tumblr’s attempt to create a brand visual which draws the mind to things like news or media. The Tumblr logo is also one of the few which uses its own punctuation – a full stop at the end of the word.
Target
The Target logo is often depicted with nothing but a bold red circle, with a red dot in the middle. This unique image has become one of the most memorable designs in all of logo history. However, you may also occasionally see a lowercase wordmark underneath the Target logo.
This is the company’s effort to build a familiar and friendly image for customers.
Find out more about the Target logo here.
Deezer
Another excellent example of a logo with all lowercase letters, the Deezer logo is beautifully simple and eye-catching. In the past, the company did experiment with all capital letters.
However, the new logo makes the brand seem so much more friendly and accessible, ideal for a business trying to reach music lovers all around the world.
The combination of the lowercase logo with the use of a gradient of colors creates a wonderfully creative image.
Xfinity
Another excellent example of a lowercase logo taking advantage of the friendly and modern appeal this trend can offer is the Xfinity logo. Created to make the tech-driven brand seem more accessible and less daunting, the Xfinity logo is great for capturing the eyes of customers.
The use of lowercase letters also creates a sense of beautiful symmetry in the logo, particularly with the way one part of the “X” has been elongated to mimic the “Y”.
Celebrating lowercase logos
There are certainly plenty of lowercase logos out there from many leading brands all around the world. Some companies only experimented with their lowercase logo for a short period of time, like the Dyson brand, or the Google logo.
After all, sometimes it takes implementing lowercase logos into your branding before you can see if the design really works for you.
A lowercase logo might have seemed like an odd choice for many companies around 20 years ago. However, in recent years, these designs have become increasingly common, as designers learn more about how to engage customers with the right use of carefully-chosen letters and spacing.
Today, lowercase logos can be a powerful tool for business leaders hoping to create a more engaging, friendly, and appealing brand image.
You might choose a lowercase logo because you want to make your company look more modern and cutting edge. Some brands switch to an all lowercase logo because it makes their company seem more youthful, friendly and approachable.
If you’re planning on using a wordmark for your logo, it might be worth experimenting with using different capital and lowercase letters, to see what works best for your image.
Fabrik: A branding agency for our times.
As Fabrik’s creative director, Stephen oversees complex branding programmes. He advises our clients on their tone of voice, creates logos and visual identities and crafts names for companies, products and services. Writing for Brand Fabrik Stephen reflects his love for logo design and visual identity.
