A Case for Lowercase Logos

There are few business decisions as important as your logo design. Should it feature images or simply words? Should you select a lowercase logo, an uppercase logo, or a logo with a traditional title case? What colors will you use? There are endless things to consider! 

Here, we’re talking about why lowercase logos can be a great way to make your brand stand out.

The benefits of lowercase logos

Your logo represents your brand and becomes the symbol that consumers recognize when they see your products on shelves, in ads, or elsewhere. That’s why it’s so important to get it right the first time. 

One of the greatest debates when designing a logo is whether to use uppercase or lowercase lettering. While uppercase logos can come across as bold and powerful, they can also be visually overwhelming. 

Some of the benefits of selecting lowercase lettering to represent your brand include:

• Lowercase lettering is friendly and less intimidating
• Lowercase logos are typically easier to read at a glance than uppercase or title case logos are
• Recent trends in logo and graphic design reflect a preference for lowercase lettering

When choosing between uppercase and lowercase lettering for your brand logo, it’s important to consider the differences in appearance when viewing fonts in all uppercase vs. all lowercase. 

Often, a logo that features lowercase letters is more cohesive looking and easier to read.

Famous lowercase logos

Lowercase logos are certainly trending, and have been for the last decade. 

Currently, some of the most recognizable brands in the world use lowercase logos. Here are just a few of the more notable ones out there:

Airbnb

Airbnb’s logo features a rounded letter ‘a’ with the brand name written below in a simple, rounded lowercase font. 

This logo has been the subject of plenty of talk across the internet, with many pointing to the symbols found within the brand’s logo, which include a location pin, a heart and a person with their arms in the air.

Facebook

Facebook’s old logo is instantly recognizable, regardless of the version you see now. While the full logo features the brand name, Facebook, in all lowercase letters across a blue background, the simplified version is simply a lowercase ‘f’.

Tumblr

Tumblr’s logo, much like Facebook’s, exists in a full-version and a simplified version. While the full version features the brand name spelled out in all lowercase letters in a simple, easy-to-read font, the simplified version is just a lowercase ‘t’. 

Tumblr’s font can be found in varying colors, giving the brand the flexibility to change elements of the logo as it sees fit.

Amazon

Among the most recognizable logos in the world is the Amazon logo. The full version of this logo features the brand name in lowercase Arial-style lettering with a yellow arrow underlining it. 

Amazon frequently adds or removes from its logo as needed, adding a ‘.ca’ to the end of the brand name in the Canadian version of the logo or the word ‘prime’ in all lowercase letters for its Amazon Prime subscription service logo.

Logos that have changed from uppercase to lowercase

As brands grow, they sometimes re-design logos and overhaul their branding strategies. Some famous brands have undergone such changes and in doing so, they’ve changed their logos from uppercase to lowercase.

Calvin Klein

In 2017, Calvin Klein tweaked their logo from its previously iconic ‘CK” logo, adopting the full brand name in all uppercase lettering as its official logo. Several years later, it chose to do away with the full uppercase logo in favor of a title case logo, featuring mostly lowercase letters. 

The selected font is placed close together, and the colors represent the brand’s minimalistic approach to marketing and advertising. Although the changes in font and logo may seem simple, they’ve made a dramatic effect on the brand’s image, helping it keep its place at the top of the fashion world.

Fisher-Price

In 2020, Fisher-Price made several changes to its logo, aiming to add a more childlike image to the brand’s look. 

Previously, its logo featured white title case lettering against a red awning with four bumps along the bottom. The new logo, changed under the direction of brand designer Emily Oberman, now features a more whimsical, lowercase font along with three bumps on the awning, which represent the brand’s three founders: Herman Fisher, Irving Price, and Hellen Schelle.

Mastercard

Mastercard’s logo has long been seen at cash registers and outside store-fronts across the globe. Its logo has changed over the years but for decades, it’s featured the brand’s name, in title case, over red and orange circles. 

In 2016, the brand made a major change, removing the brand name from the circles and instead, opting to place it in a basic, lowercase font below the circles. Mastercard’s chief marketing officer commented on the change in a 2016 interview with Forbes magazine, saying,

“One of the subtle changes was to lowercase the “C” in card, as a visual cue to de-emphasize how we are not just a card or a piece of plastic in your wallet. It’s a nod to a much broader digital extension to our products like Masterpass. The goal was to convey simplicity and modernity while preserving our heritage.” –Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

Finding logo elements that work for you

Whether it’s lowercase logos, simple icons, or descriptive wording that inspire you to build a brand design that works for you and your business, My Free Logo Maker is here to help. Use our design tools to help you select elements that work best for you and represent the uniqueness of your business. Make your free logo design today.