Do Minimalist Logo Designs Translate To App Designs

Minimalist design is one of the most popular and prominent graphic styles in later years. To help you learn more about minimalism and find inspiration in well-designed logos, we created a list of some of the best and most creative minimal logos.

There is a lot of talk about minimalism, brutalism and Scandinavian design, from art hipsters to business owners who are going after a bold brand personality. But what really is minimalist design?

Minimalism is less a visual style and more a principle. A minimalist design is a design that only uses the most essential elements, including basic shapes and limited color palettes, to create something that's very simple yet memorable.

It is sometimes referred to as ABC art or reductionism. It focuses on stripping off everything but the essential elements that are needed for something to effectively perform.

In logo design, it means being able to create a unique and well-designed branding by the use of typography and simple and low-effort illustrations, as well as leaving a lot of white space or negative space. It also gives more possibilities for designing a logo with limited knowledge of design software, or even in a logo maker. However, working with design professionals is always advised.

In this list, we are going to focus on wordmarks (typographic logos) and illustrated logos, most in a flat or monoline design.

Minimalist wordmarks

Wordmarks or logotypes are by definition, the most minimalist type of logo. Containing only letters, and sometimes ornaments or graphic symbols presented in the negative space (like the arrow in the FedEx logo), they are enough to create and relay a strong brand and personality in only elementary symbols.

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Here are some examples of minimalist wordmarks we loved.

1. Stone Willow Studio

Stone Willow is a floral design studio practicing the Japanese Ikebana art of flower arranging. They wanted to escape the predictability of flowers as design elements in florist logos and such, by approaching their brand identity differently. The brand name refers to marrying rigidity (stone) with softness (willow), and the best way to do that was through using classy serif typography that is both rigid and feminine, and a basic black and white palette.

2. Havio

This fashionable eye-wear brand wanted a clear and objective visual identity, and to convey the essence of Havio, a minimalistic graphic language was designed, exploring what is essential and eliminating superfluous elements. To stay on brand with minimalism, the brand also developed a simple white packaging.

3. Dispatchr

This telephone app is a client of ours at ManyPixels, our designers created this sleek and techy logo with simplicity in mind. A signal transmission is seen in the negative space of the letter D, and the font used is sans serif, simple and modern.

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4. The Perfect Stack

The finesse and elegance of jewelry are perfectly brought together in this sans serif wordmark. The baby blue and silver color palette on the equally beautiful packaging tie it all together.

5. Giulia Palandrani

This cool example of a personal logo uses a geometric font and all-lowercase letters. The pastel colors and organic shapes are perfect for reaching a youthful audience who appreciates contemporary minimalism.

6. Moody's Ice Creams

Traditionally, ice cream logos and food packaging are known to have a lot of colors, illustrations and mascots. Moody's is a premium ice cream brand that wanted to add grooviness and playfulness to their brand's perception, and they managed to do so by only using retro typography.

7. Kinsa Organic Skincare

Just like their product, organic skincare, Kinsa's logotype contains only the most important ingredient: classy and ornamental typography.

8. Bankjoy

One thing we relate to joy is a smile. This mobile banking app has a logotype that depicts a smile with the ligatures on the letter Y, overlapping the circular O.

Minimalist illustrated logos

Not all illustrations need to be hyper-detailed, colorful and three-dimensional. Sometimes, a monoline or flat illustration can offer a lot of character and distinctiveness to your brand. Here are some minimalist illustrations that make these logos beautiful.

9. Dahlia

This logo was created for a ManyPixels client, and the titular Dahlia flower is illustrated in the elegant and retro Art Deco style.

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10. Finn

This brand producing supplements and snacks for dogs chose to add an illustration of man's best friend to its logo, but in a sleek and flat design style.

11. 99 Point

Don't you just love a play on words? The brand name 99 Point is perfectly translated into the core elements of this logo.

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12. Facundo Samman

When a designer that loves surfing searches for a concept that will reflect his style and personality with a simple visual, this logo comes to life. It is a depiction of his initials but also has a wavy shape, showing his love for the sea and surfing.

13. Flipcasa

This cool monochrome tech logo has a 'flip' effect and a 3D look, even though it's fairly simple and barebones in its concept.

14. Katrin May

This photographer's logo and branding style are perfectly minimalist, depicting only the artist and her camera in a monoline illustration.

15. The Fast Service

This logo concept for a food delivery service depicts both the means of transportation and the delicacy being delivered in a monochromatic flat illustration.

16. Sidro Istorijos

The final logo on this list is cute and looks effortless as it could have been scribbled by a child. However, it's a logo for a local Lithuanian cider shop, showing the power of a good talk and friendliness one can find at their local cider hub.