Wordmark, logo mark or combination: which logo type fits?

In short: a wordmark is a logo made of the name in a particular typeface, a logo mark a symbol without text, a combination mark joins both. For most small businesses a wordmark or a combination fits, because the name says at once who you are. A separate symbol pays off mainly for small uses such as profile picture and favicon. In trade mark law the terms describe types of marks that can be registered with the patent office. This article is not legal advice.

How a logo is created overall is covered in the article professional graphic design. As of October 2026.

The three logo types

• Wordmark: the company name becomes the logo, through typeface, spelling, spacing and colour. Many well-known brand lettering logos are examples. Our own logo is a wordmark too.
• Logo mark: a symbol without text, such as an icon, an abstract shape or an animal. It only works on its own once it is very well known.
• Combination mark: lettering and symbol together. The most common form, because it combines recognition through the name with the recall value of a symbol. Both parts can later also be used separately.

A special form are lettermarks or monograms made of initials. They are compact but say little as long as nobody knows the name behind them.

Which type suits you

The name

• Short and distinctive: a wordmark carries on its own because the name itself is memorable.
• Long or multi-part: a combination with a short mark helps so there is a compact version for small uses.
• Descriptive, such as "Huber Plumbing": the name says what you do but is interchangeable. A distinctive symbol or a striking typeface creates recognition.

Where it's used

Where does the logo appear? On vehicles and signs, lettering is read from a distance and has to be strong. As a social media profile picture and browser favicon, space is square and tiny, so a symbol or initials are needed. What a logo must do at small sizes is explained in the article logo redesign.

How well known you are

A symbol alone is only recognised once it has been seen often. For a new or regionally known business, the name is the strongest anchor. Many businesses therefore start with a combination mark and use the symbol alone only where the name is already nearby or space is short.

What the terms mean in trade mark law

Wordmark and figurative mark aren't just design terms but also types of marks that can be protected. The Austrian Trade Mark Protection Act defines marks as signs of all kinds, such as words, images, letters, numbers or colours, if they distinguish one company's goods or services from those of others and can be represented clearly in the register (§ 1 MSchG, German).

The Austrian Patent Office distinguishes, among others (Patentamt: Marke national, German):

• Word marks: only letters, numbers and permitted special characters, without colour, particular typeface, arrangement or pictorial elements.
• Figurative marks: graphics or logos without word elements.
• Word-and-figurative marks: a combination of text and graphics.

Important for design: designed lettering, a "wordmark" in design terms, doesn't match the Patent Office's word mark because of its particular typeface and colour. If you want to protect exactly this styling, you register it as a word-and-figurative mark. The name alone, without styling, would be a word mark. At EU level this intermediate form doesn't exist as a separate category: lettering with particular styling, or text with an image, counts as a figurative mark (EUIPO: trade mark types). According to the EU trade mark office's examination guidelines, for word marks the word as such is protected, not its typeface (EUIPO guidelines, German).

What can't be registered

Not every sign can be protected. Excluded are, among others, signs without distinctive character and signs that only describe what is offered, such as kind, quality or geographical origin (§ 4 MSchG, German). The Patent Office gives "Unser Brot ist das Beste" (our bread is the best) and "Wiener Brot" (Viennese bread) as examples. For design this means: a purely descriptive name needs distinctive styling if it is to be distinguishable.

Search before applying

The Austrian Patent Office recommends searching for identical or similar earlier marks before applying, because it doesn't carry out this check in the application procedure (Patentamt: Markenrecherchen, German). The same applies in spirit at the design stage: a logo too similar to an existing one can cause trouble later. An Austrian trade mark applies in Austria and can be renewed every ten years (§ 19 MSchG, German). For protection across the EU there is the EU trade mark.

Whether and how to protect your logo is best clarified with the patent office or a trade mark attorney. As designers, we make sure a draft is distinctive and can be represented cleanly in the common forms.

An example

The case is constructed, but typical. An electrical business called "Gruber & Partner Electrical Engineering" has a logo made of the full name in a narrow typeface. It fits on the vehicle but is illegible as a profile picture. The new solution is a combination mark: "GRUBER" in a strong typeface, below it small "Electrical Engineering", on the left a simple symbol of a stylised G and a lightning bolt. The symbol alone serves as profile picture and favicon. Before applying, a search for similar marks is carried out.

Our view

Most small businesses are best served by a strong wordmark or a combination mark, with a short mark for small formats. An abstract symbol alone needs a lot of time and presence before it is recognised. We design logos that work on vehicle, sign, website and as a profile picture, and deliver all variants as clean files. More under corporate design & logo. How to record the rules for use is covered in the article create a style guide.

Checklist: your logo type

• Is your name short and distinctive enough for a pure wordmark?
• Is there a compact version for profile picture and favicon?
• Does the logo work from a distance on vehicle and sign?
• Is the name merely descriptive, and therefore needs distinctive styling?
• Has a search for similar marks been carried out before applying?
• Is it clear in which form, word mark or word-and-figurative mark, the application should be made?

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a wordmark and a figurative mark?

In design, a wordmark is a logo consisting only of the name in a particular typeface, a logo mark (figurative mark) a symbol without text. In trade mark law they are types of marks: according to the Austrian Patent Office, a word mark consists of letters, numbers and permitted special characters without a particular typeface, a figurative mark of graphics without word elements, and a word-and-figurative mark of text and graphics.

Which logo type suits a small business?

Usually a wordmark or a combination. A symbol alone is only recognised once it has been seen long and often. The name, on the other hand, says at once who you are. A symbol pays off in addition if there are small uses such as profile picture and favicon, or if the name is very long.

Do I have to register my logo as a trade mark?

No, a logo works without registration too. If you want to protect it, you apply to the patent office. The Austrian Patent Office recommends searching for identical or similar earlier marks beforehand, because it doesn't do this itself in the examination. For a legal assessment in an individual case, a trade mark attorney or the patent office is the right place.