Companies use characters as logos because they create a physical face for customers. People gravitate towards the familiar features of character logos. They can also become moving images of the company thanks to animation.

Character types

Character logos take on a variety of forms depending on the company they represent. They may take on a familiar shape, such as a kissing heart for a chocolate company. They may take on human form like a smiling fisherman for a tackle company.

They can be gender or age specific but they should always be unique. The character should not detract attention from the company. Rather, a product or service of the company can be incorporated into the logo as a statement of the company’s purpose.

Colors

The colors in any logo should be kept simple and minimal. There should be no more than four colors in a logo, preferably fewer. This rule applies as much for character logos as it does image and letter based logos.

The character may be complex in design but the colors should still be kept minimal, for example, a headless biker raising a flaming skull for a biker tattoo shop that uses only black, silver and orange in the logo.

Animation

The greatest feature of character logos is the ability to bring them to life. Animation can be as simple as making a simple face change to a smile or having the character moving and speaking in an ad. A character that has particular traits, behavior and a voice becomes an individual face for a company, a mascot. Such characteristics increase the notoriety and recognition of a company.