Branding ABCs: Simple But Striking Typographical Logos

A logo gives your website an instant pop of professionalism; it’s such a key part of any website that WordPress.com includes a Site Logo tool to make adding one as straightforward as possible.

What if you don’t have the resources to have someone create a logo, or aren’t confident in your design chops? Sometimes a few letters are all you need — all the following sites use their initials for graphic, memorable logos.

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Simple Monograms

Monograms aren’t just for polo shirts, and simple doesn’t mean boring or unremarkable. Pick a font that matches your brand’s personality and add a color — there are infinite possibilities, so you can create something elegant, playful, or bold.

From left to right: interdisciplinary journal of arts and culture Michigan Quarterly Review, lifestyle and psychology site Farnam Street, media criticism site Columbia Journalism Review.

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Not sure how to choose a font? Check out WordPress.com designer Kjell Reigstad’s pro advice on fonts.

Add an Outline for Impact

For a round logo that’ll fit perfectly on social media sites, take your initials and sand down the edges. Use a free tool like Canva to experiment with shapes — we’ve even got a tutorial to show you how.

Clockwise from top left: the portfolio and blog of photographer Madara Parma; Disney fan site MiceChat; longform journalism site Longreads; Australian literary magazine Meanjin Quarterly; blog and community for dads with mental illness Dadding Depressed; entomology today, the blog of the Entomological Society of America. 

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Stylize It

Look for fonts with strong shapes, or try your hand at a drawing of your own. Every font has a broad personality like “simple” or “fun” or “sophisticated,” and more unusual fonts add other layers of meaning: these three stylized letters communicate “bold impact,” “forward thinking,” and “science-oriented” to complement three very different brands.

From left to right: Women in the World, a platform highlighting women making an impact across a range of industries; North of the Internet, a digital magazine featuring artists and creators in conversation with one another; environmental sustainability journal Anthropocene.

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Add a Custom Touch

If you’re already using some graphics or design elements on your site, incorporate them into a typographic logo for a unique hybrid. This can be as basic as adding some punctuation, or as involved as making the imagery a part of the actual letters — start with the type itself, then see where your imagination takes you.

Clockwise from top left: food blog Wood & Spoon; literary magazine Sundog; travel and lifestyle blog Messy Nessy Chic; photo blog Architectural Afterlife; portfolio of music photographer Carl Battams online food magazine The Gannet.

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Ready to put your personal or professional stamp on your site?

Here’s a quick how-to on adding a Site Logo. Need help? Contact our Support team.

If you’d like to customize your site further with CSS and want unlimited access to all of our premium design templates, consider the WordPress.com Premium plan.