A logo is more than just a logo because it is part of a whole design & marketing system. Over time, a logo will build equity and recognition if it is treated as an empty vessel that is enriched through marketing during the design process.
Think about Macintosh’s Apple, Amazon’s arrow, or McDonald’s golden arches: all these logo designs are timeless. They reflect the companies well and their designs are so robust that they will likely always remain contemporary – contemporarily futuristic.
Partially in an effort to get around illiteracy, pictorial and visual means were how people would express their ideas in the cavemen days. As commerce expanded, logos became more and more common as competition increased, a surge which has made designing a logo more difficult.
With the copious amounts of existing logos, you really need to make sure yours is an extension of your brand and your company’s values in order to have an impact on your target market. A logo that is creative, simple, and contemporarily futuristic will help keep your business up on top if it is paired with the appropriate marketing and branding process.
If you want to dig deeper into logos, check out Michael Bierut talk more about his empty vessel analogy: