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The complete guide to popular shoe brand logos and names
Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a shoe enthusiast, you can probably think of a handful of popular shoe brand logos and names with little effort. After all, there are countless options out there, ranging all the way rom iconic and eye-catching Dr Martens, to stylish shoes from Steve Madden.
Like any brand, shoe companies rely on their logo, personality, and overall identity to capture the hearts of their target audience. While the design of each shoe is important, the company behind the footwear is becoming increasingly important in today’s buyer journey.
Today, we’re going to be looking at shoe logos and the names best-known for reaching customers all around the globe. We’ll be looking specifically at famous shoe brand logos, rather than sneakers and trainers in this list.
Let’s jump in.
Top shoe brand logos and names
The best shoe logos and names have an immediate impact the second a consumer interacts with a brand. Over time, shoe companies become known not just for their iconic footwear designs, but for the unique personality they bring to the industry.
People buy shoes based on how they make them look, but also how a certain brand can make them feel. Buying shoes from Toms gives you a sense of altruism, thanks to the unique focus of the company. Purchasing a set of Jimmy Choo shoes makes you feel like a Hollywood icon.
Let’s take a look at some of the most famous shoe brand logos and the names associated with them.
Dr Martens
Probably one of the best-known show brands in the world, Dr Martens is associated most commonly with exceptional durability and comfort. The yellow ball in the Dr Martens logo, combined with the “AirWair” tagline reminds consumers of the bouncy and innovative sole of the shoe.
The design of Dr Martens’ logo is intended to convey flexibility and buoyancy, something shoppers didn’t always get in high-quality shoes. Even the bottom of the “Martens” wordmark includes a bold set of lines intended to represent the tread of a shoe.
Clarks
One of the better-known shoe manufactures from Britain, Clarks was first founded in 1825, making it an extremely well-respected, heritage brand. The company has over 1,400 branded stores around the world, and sells through a range of other companies too.
Clarks’ logo is simple and elegant. The wordmark design is intended to look like the signature of a real person, perhaps Cyrus Clark, or James Clark, the founders of the store. The green coloring is soothing, and reminds us of nature.
Hush Puppies
Easily one of the most popular shoe logos in the world, the Hush Puppies emblem features its own adorable mascot. Hush Puppies designs casual footwear for all genders and ages, so everyone can get a comfortable pair of shoes.
The design of the Hush Puppies logos conveys its universal approach to retail. This is a company capable of easily connecting with anyone, through a charming mascot, combined with a simple and effective sans-serif wordmark.
Steve Madden
Steve Madden is a company based in New York responsible for making and selling a host of shoes and fashion accessories for children, men, and women. Steve Madden actually has a number of sub-brands in its roster, including Report, Wild Pair, and Mad Love.
The official Steve Madden logo is minimalist and eye catching. Like many of the designs in this list, Steve’s wordmark is an example of shoe logos with names responsible for conveying most of the brand identity.
The simple type stands alone in this logo, using bold sans-serif font to show strength.
Red Wing
One of the better-known boot companies in the world, Red Wing Shoes is an American footwear company with a name based on its location in Minnesota. Within only 10 years of its initial inception, the company was already producing more than 200,000 pairs of boots per year.
The Red Wing shoes logo highlights the lofty ambitions of the company, and the lightweight design of the boots it produces. The red wing in the background makes customers think of speed, manoeuvrability, and flexibility.
Skechers
Another well-known American footwear company, Skechers was initially founded in 1992, and it’s now the third-largest athletic footwear brand in the US. The company also sells a range of casual shoes and performance shoes for adults.
The Sketchers logo looks bold and reliable, with a thick wordmark and a buoyant-looking capital “S” placed above it. The design of the logo tilts slightly towards the right, indicating a sense of forward-thinking development and growth.
Camper
A footwear company headquartered in Spain, Camper has a lot of history associated with it. The company was founded officially in 1975, but can trace its roots back to the introduction of the first sewing machines in Spain.
The Camper logo is bold and friendly. The curved element at the bottom of the banner makes us think of a rising sun, or the dawn of a new day while making the wordmark itself look more flexible and “comfortable”.
Jimmy Choo
If you’re a fan of designer shoe brand logos, you’re probably familiar with Jimmy Choo. The British high-end fashion house specializes in not just luxury shoes but fragrances and accessories too.
Launched in 1996, the brand is actually a lot younger than most people realise.
The Jimmy Choo logo gives the company a sense of timeless sophistication and elegance. Using the name of the business as the central focus, the wordmark is beautifully eye-catching, with a sleek serif font and slim letters.
Timberland
Timberland is one of the better-known popular shoe logos on the market for those in search of reliable outdoor boots. The American manufacturer and retailer has a speciality focus on footwear, commonly referred to as fans as “Timbs”.
The Timberland logo is excellent for reminding us of the outdoorsy nature of the company. Thick, bold lettering looks almost reminiscent of trees on a skyline, and the eye-catching emblem next to the wordmark adds to this adventurous image.
Sperry
Sperry, otherwise known as Sperry Top-Sider, is a footwear company founded in 1935 by an explorer and sailor. The adventurous spirit of the founder certainly shines through in the mage of the company, with its bold logo and unique approach to branding.
Sperry was the creator of the world’s first boat shoe, hence the boat-like shape in the company’s emblem. The Sperry logo also includes bold, sans-serif lettering, which conveys a modern and casual personality.
UGG
Easily one of the better-known shoe logos for fans of comfortable boots, UGG, or UGG Australia’s image has spread across the world in the last few decades. The American footwear company is a division of Deckers Brands, and it has a resounding presence in more than 130 countries.
UGG uses a bold and pioneering logo design to help showcase its confident and playful personality. The company’s use of bold capital letters in a serif font gives the brand a sense of heritage, while still contributing to an accessible, universally-approachable image.
Tod’s
Otherwise known as “Tod’s Group”, Tod’s is an Italian company best known for producing luxury shoes and other fine leather goods. The company is more than 100 years old, and has one of the most recognizable shoe brand symbols in the world today.
Though simple, the Tod’s logo is instantly eye-catching and brimming with authority. The bold serif letters highlight the company as a sophisticated and professional entity in its space. Each of the letters are perfectly balanced, to convey a sense of class.
TOMS
TOMS has built a name for itself as one of the most thoughtful and sustainable companies in the world. Founded in 2006, the brand designs and markets a host of shoes, as well as apparel, eyewear, and handbags.
What makes this brand special is its commitment to giving back to the world.
The TOMS logo is approachable, eye-catching, and friendly. The use of blue and white stripes gives the company a more welcoming vibe, while the sans-serif font creates a sense of modernity.
The logo also sometimes includes the promise of the brand “One for One,” representing one pair of shoes donated for every pair purchased.
Crocs
Another of the most popular shoe brand logos and names on our list, Crocs is an American company responsible for manufacturing and marketing the world’s leading foam clogs. The company has established a considerable following with younger customers, hence its youthful branding.
The Crocks logo is simple and playful, with a lowercase sans-serif font and a bright green color palette to attract a younger audience. The company also sometimes uses an emblem design with the image of a crocodile mascot.
Kenneth Cole
Otherwise known as Kenneth Cole Productions, Kenneth Cole is the name of a fashion brand responsible for selling a huge range of shoes, accessories, and other clothing items. The company focuses heavily on shoe production.
Like many of the classic shoe designers on this list, Kenneth Cole maintains a simple but authoritative image with a bold sans-serif wordmark. The design is very minimalist, but it also has a timeless appeal ideal for a fashion company.
Merrell
Founded by Clark Matis, John Schweizer, and Randy Merrell in 1981, Merrell is a company best associated with hiking and the world of outdoor adventure. The company sells athletic shoes, sandals, and some of the top hiking boots worldwide.
As one of the top shoe logos and names on this list, Merrell has a wonderfully eye-catching and unique brand image. The design features a wordmark depicted in a bold orange color, often associated with adrenaline and exploration.
Tory Burch
Another top fashion brand well-known for producing a huge range of shoes, Tory Burch was first launched in 2004, by the entrepreneur of the same name. The mid-luxury fashion label produces a host of different styles of shoes for modern consumers.
Tory Burch combines a stylish wordmark with an eye-catching emblem in her logo, to highlight the sophisticated nature of the brand. The emblem between the two words in the logo is actually designed using various interconnected “Ts”.
Ben Sherman
One of the few popular shoe brands on our list focused specifically on men, Ben Sherman produces a wide variety of different clothing items, sometimes featuring the Royal Air Force roundel. The company is best-known for producing casual fashion items.
Ben Sharman recently updated its logo to suit a slightly more modern audience. The previous image featured a script-style wordmark created to look like handwriting. The more recent design uses all-capital sans-serif font.
Gucci
One of the best-known fashion companies in the world, Gucci produces some of the most sought-after clothing and accessories for men and women alike. The Gucci brand also has a wide selection of footwear options to offer, often featuring the iconic Gucci emblem.
Gucci’s logo combines a beautiful minimalist wordmark in sleek serif font with an emblem designed to look like two G’s facing eachother and overlapping. Gucci’s image is one often associated with high class and luxury.
Find out more about the Gucci logo here.
Bearpaw
Bearpaw is an American brand of apparel, footwear, and accessories, often targeted at younger customers. In 2018, the company also acquired Flip Flop Shoes, a company previously owned by Cherokee.
The brand is well-known for producing vegan-made boots.
Bearpaw’s signature products are its sheepskin boots and hiking boots. The company’s outdoorsy image blends well into its logo design, which uses a funky custom-made font in all capital letters, alongside the image of a minimalist bear’s paw.
Johnston & Murphy
Another leading American footwear and clothing company with a strong presence around the world, Johnston & Murphy are known for producing high-quality leather goods and shoes. The company also traces its roots back to the William J. Dudley shoe brand from 1850.
The logo for Johnston & Murphy highlights the sophistication and mature nature of the brand. Bold capital letters create a rather lengthy looking logo, but the overall image is one of heritage and stability, ideal for a shoe brand.
Moon Boot
Probably one of the more niche companies in our list of shoe brands, Moon Boot is an Italian footwear company committed to creating a specific kind of shoe. The “Icon” moon boot is a voluminous boot shoe designed to offer a striking alternative to most modern ski shoes.
The Moon Boot Company’s logo is just as unique and endearing as the shoe design itself. The custom lettering of the company is intended to look bubbly and fun. It also has a sense of otherworldly or futuristic appeal about it.
Birkenstock
One of the best-known companies in Germany, and a brand many people are familiar with around the world, Birkenstock is most famous for the production of its own unique brand of sandal.
Birkenstocks are notable for their cork soles made with layers of jute and suede which conform to the user’s feet.
The Birkenstock logo is confident and strong, like the shoe company, depicted in a deep blue to demonstrate trustworthiness and reliability. The company also shows its founding date in its logo, which helps to convey the history of the brand.
Red or Dead
Started in London in 1982 by a married couple, Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway, Red or Dead is a fashion designer known for producing “alternative” style shoes, spectacles, watches, and bags. The company first started as a stall in Camden.
Today, the Red or Dead logo champions the quirky nature of the footwear and fashion company, with a scratchy typeface using a combination of capital and lower-case letters in unusual placements. The design is playful and interesting.
Reef
One of the leading sandals manufacturers in the world, Reef is best-known for producing thong-style shoes for people who spend a lot of time surfing, or at the beach. Reef is one of the world’s most successful “active sandal” companies.
The Reef logo highlights the surfer-style of the brand, with a bold sans-serif wordmark tilted slightly to the right, to convey motion. The design of the emblem next to the wordmark looks almost like a wave on the water.
Rockport
Rockport is an American shoe manufacturer currently responsible for running a wide range of sub-brands, including Aravon and Dunham. The brand produces a wide selection of different styles of shoe, including walking and comfort-based shoes.
Rockport’s logo is packed with energy thanks to its bright orange and white coloring. The color orange conveys creativity and adventure, while the strong all-capital wordmark of the brand creates a feeling of reliability and stability.
Rockport also uses the tagline “The differences inside” in its logo.
K-Swiss
An athletic shoe company best-known for creating tennis shoes and other lightweight footwear, K-Swiss has earned the attention of shoppers all around the world. The sportswear and footwear company is currently owned by the larger Xtep organization.
K-Swiss creates a sense of power and authority in its logo with an emblem shield-style design depicted in red, white, and blue, to highlight the patriotism of the brand. The wordmark underneath the logo is in a simple, sans-serif but all-capital font.
Hi-Tec
Otherwise known as Hi-Tec Sports, Hi-Tec produces powerful, reliable shoes for climbers and outdoor adventurers. The company is famous for creating the first lightweight hiking boot, which contributed to the rapid success of the brand throughout the USA.
With a presence in various locations around the world, Hi-Tec has a huge following of fans. The logo helps to showcase the strength and reliability of the company, with a bold sans-serif font designed in sophisticated grey.
Irregular Choice
Probably one of the most unusual shoe logos and companies on this list, Irregular Choice was founded in 1999 by Dan Sullivan. The company wanted to create something different to the boring and commonly-seen British high street fashions at the time.
The company creates some of the most unique shoes on the market, with bold designs as compelling as the brand’s logo. The design of the logo uses a very unusual wordmark, in 3D-sytyle font.
Celebrating shoe brand symbols and logos
As you can see, there’s no shortage of popular shoe brand logos and names to explore in the world today. There are plenty of fantastic brands out there, from the most unique creators, like Irregular Choice, to brands committed to changing the industry, like Toms.
Every brand not only contributes its own style of footwear to the industry, but also a unique personality and brand identity for other businesses to learn from. We can see the values and missions of many of the companies above highlighted in the logo design they choose.
If you’d like to learn more about the popular logos taking the world by storm, make sure you check out other Logofiles on Brand Fabrik.
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.
