Smiling has always been associated not only with positive emotions but also with a kind attitude. Scientists have found that there are at least 50 types of smiles observed by people. Therefore, it is only natural that logos that utilize a smile are popular. These days, a good logo is not just an image that identifies a company. It is one of the tools to communicate with the target audience. The friendlier the logo is, the more likely it is to positively impact the company’s image. It is not for nothing that the smile is so widely used in the compositions of modern logos.
In some logos, you can see a hidden smile that is not immediately obvious. But if you look closely, the curved line suggests certain associations.
When designers create a company logo, they consider many nuances. For example, the nature of the business and the expected image that the target audience should have.
The curved line used in many modern logos is associated with a smile. It attracts customers’ attention and creates a positive image. And this is understandable because it is the smile that often conveys those emotions that can bring even strangers together. When a company uses a smile in its visual image, it hints to customers that it strives to make them happy with its products and services. Below, we have given examples of famous logos that feature the smiling symbol.
Amazon
This is one of the most famous companies specializing in selling goods online. Despite Jeff Bezos founding his company in 1994, it has long been globally popular. Being a leader in its industry and offering customers a variety of consumer goods, the company quickly gained credibility. It has become a giant in its segment.
The Amazon logo looks very stylish. Under the characteristic black font used for the company name, you can see a yellow curved line with an arrow. On the one hand, this tells us that the customer is in the right place and will find what they want to buy. On the other hand, we see a veiled smile in this logo, which makes it stylish and original, as well as friendly towards the target audience.
The effective contrast between bright yellow and black makes the logo recognizable despite its minimalist design. It looks friendly and attractive. Stylization of the smile as an arrow is a good decision. At the same time, it strongly suggests that the company brings joy to customers worldwide through its products.
Amazon’s visual style makes a lasting impression because it is thoughtfully designed.
Goodwill
This non-profit organization operates in the United States. Its mission is to help train and employ those who face obstacles on this path. It’s no coincidence that the organization’s visual image uses a smile twice. It is half of the smiling face at the top of the logo on the left side. At the bottom of the same figure is a stylized capital letter of the company name, reduced in size.
Despite such goodwill, the logo is made in rather cold colors. And this is not strange because the color scheme, which indicates seriousness and professionalism, is quite appropriate in this case. The combination of black, white, and blue speaks to the organization’s reliability. At the same time, the smile softens the logo’s semantic field and conveys benevolence.
The Goodwill organization was founded back in 1902 by Edgar J. Helms. It has religious origins and is associated with the Morgan Methodist Chapel in Boston. Previously, the centerpiece of the circular emblem was a black cross with inscriptions inside. On them were the name of the organization and the word “way.” And on the perimeter of the emblem was the inscription: “Not mercy, but a chance.” This largely reflects the specifics of the organization’s work, which helps people with employment problems learn new job skills.
Colgate
There are probably few people who have not heard of this type of toothpaste. Although the company’s product line is broader, it includes a variety of products designed for dental and oral care. The brand belongs to the Colgate-Palmolive group and was founded in 1806. Probably, even among Colgate fans, few people knew about the brand’s long history. Another interesting fact is that the logo’s color palette, despite numerous redesigns, remains unchanged, considering trends across different periods.
The company has chosen a successful color solution for the logo. The combination of white and red colors creates a pleasant visual contrast, stands out, and looks bright. Italics look appropriate, and the smooth-edged font conveys a message of loyalty and friendliness. And now, actually, let’s move on to the smile. Most people associate Colgate with a beautiful, snow-white smile. Even though today, the company is represented in a variety of industries (from soap to pet food), people associate it with a healthy smile. This is reflected in the Colgate logo, which is recognizable and cute.
While it is not a literal representation of a smile, the curved white line cleverly conveys this understanding and the necessary associative line. This means that the logo designer has done a good job.
Telenet
This Belgian company operates in the telecommunications industry. It was founded in 1996. As the largest cable TV provider in the country, the company is very confident in the market segment it operates in. Apart from digital and analog television, it specializes in cellular and fixed-line communications. The company works with residential consumers and business customers under the Telenet Solutions brand in these interactions.
The logo uses yellow and gray colors. The company name is shown in gray. And in front of it, there is an emblem. Inside the rectangular icon with smooth edges, you can see a smile and a wink. Something of this even remotely resembles a smiley face, but the emblem’s shape immediately evokes associations with television.
Experts pay attention to how effectively the logo’s color scheme balances boldness and modesty. The former is evident in the cheerful and a bit daring logo, and the latter in the font color and its soft lettering. Altogether, it looks attractive and harmonious.
Danone
The French dairy products company is known worldwide and is associated with healthy food. The Danone logo is known to millions of people worldwide, as it is regularly seen on supermarket shelves. The company name is displayed in a blue, gradient font. Below it, a curved red line symbolizes a hidden smile. This color solution looks like a symbol of the care, love, and warmth the manufacturer invested in creating its product.
Danone is one of those companies that can boast a solid history. It has been operating since 1919. Its founder was Isaac Carasso. By the way, the company’s name has an interesting origin. It was named in honor of the founder’s son, Daniel. The father used a shortened version of his heir’s name as the basis. This is very touching, given that many Danone consumers are parents.
Today, the company’s scale is staggering. Ten years ago, the company employed about 100,000 people.
Bledina
The smile in this logo is not accidental; it is well-conceived, as Bledina is a sub-brand of Danone. Many children love this baby food. And the smile on the logo looks elegant and gentle.
The color scheme combines green, white, and yellow. Arc-shaped contours in the badge’s design stylishly harmonize with the “warm” yellow line, symbolizing a smile. Above the letter “e” is a stylized accent badge shaped like a grain. This hints at the products’ high-quality organic composition, which is pleasant and healthy for children.
TUI Group
This company, which has offices all over the world, was originally registered in Hannover (in Lower Saxony). The German tour operator reached heights in its field that many competing companies could not.
From 1923 to 2002, the company was called Preussag AG. It operates in the industrial transportation and logistics market segments. Since then, the company has sold many of its industrial assets, converted its operations, and acquired several tourism-sector companies.
The company is not only successful but also has a stylish red-colored logo. In front of the company name, there is a stylized smile formed by connecting and transitioning the letters of the word “TUI” into one another, resembling a winking smile. This visual technique is very successful. It conveys an intriguing emotion and invites modern tourists to join the company’s travels.
A simple sans-serif font is suitable for this logo. It looks laconic and does not distract attention from the visual reception mentioned above. By the way, capital letters were chosen for the font.
Kraft Foods
The company specializes in the production and sale of packaged food products. It has achieved great success in its field, becoming the world’s second-largest company in this industry.
James Kraft founded the company in 1903. From 1909 to 1953, he was its president. The headquarters of this American giant of the food industry is located in Northfield, Illinois.
The company logo looks very stylish and interesting. A blue font is used for the name. Opposite it, there is an original multicolored visual element reminiscent of a flower or fireworks. Regardless of the interpretation, such a composition causes positive emotions. This visual technique conveys a message of friendliness and attention, which the company does not spare to please its multi-million-audience.
Below the first word in the company’s name is a curved blue gradient line. It resembles a smile, further enhancing the positive emotions conveyed by the logo. Not for nothing, the composition as a whole looks modern, relevant, and successful.
Smile-Expo
This company specializes in organizing large-scale business events. Over its almost 15-year existence, the company has held more than 270 events in 14 countries.
It is worth noting that the smile is present not only in the logo but also in the company’s name. Analysts in the field of visual brand identification consider this logo successful for two reasons. First, it is simple and clear, which is important for the business industry. Secondly, it is competently designed, making it an effective tool for communicating with the company and the target audience.
There are no hidden meanings and hard-to-analyze elements in the logo. This can be interpreted as the company’s ability to conduct business transparently and provide clients with a truly professional approach, which is important in its industry.
The orange-and-white color palette is a successful solution, conveying friendliness and concreteness simultaneously. The gradient smiley face with an open, pleasant smile is inclined toward cooperation and friendliness, evoking a sense of good prospects for the events organized by Smile-Expo.
The visual technique, in which the smile line resembles a whirlpool, is quite interesting. It can be interpreted as the constancy of a good mood and dynamism in the company’s development. At the same time, the message about the company’s readiness to provide customers with excellent experiences at organized events speaks to responsibility.
A smiling face in a square frame with sharp corners balances the composition, as if reminding us that the company organizes events in the business sphere.
Yummy United
This brand does not contain a veiled smile in its logo for nothing. By producing children’s goods, the company strives to evoke positive emotions in its audience and is associated with benevolence and reliability.
Here, we see a combination of green, black, and white colors. The soft contours of the emblem smooth out the contrast in the color scheme. A smile can be seen under the letter “Y.” Here, a bold white line is used. By the way, this contour acts as an element that softens the vertical strip of the mentioned letter. Thus, it carries a positive meaning and functional significance for the composition’s harmony.
The combination of colors in this logo speaks about the company’s fidelity to its principles and traditions and its reliability. By the way, the management of this international company has a unique feature: a so-called children’s board of directors. Its task is to approve the best flavors of products for production. This idea was first implemented in Italy in 2019; now, it is used by the company’s representative offices in other countries.
JoyToy
This is another famous children’s brand. But here we are no longer talking about food products, but about toys, which is quite clear from the name. The combination of different colors in the logo makes it fun and interesting. And the smile adds even more excitement, reminding us of the central emotion of joy that accompanies all children’s games.
Another important point worth noting is the diagonal arrangement of elements. It reflects the playfulness and lightness that the company aims to bring to its toy users’ lives.
Creative notes in this logo are combined with a serious, thoughtful approach, emphasizing the high quality of its products.
PeoplePC
This company is a well-known American Internet service provider. Although its logo is one of the simplest on this list, it conveys everything it needs to. The thin blue lines of the sans-serif font look elegant. Below the letters “O” and “P” is an arc-shaped line that resembles a smile. The composition looks elegant and stylish. And if you look closely, you can see not only a veiled smile but the whole smiling face. It is formed using the two letters mentioned above. Not for nothing, this part of the logo composition is even highlighted with a lighter color.
The logo’s designers achieved a balance of creativity. Also, this logo is perceived as a realization of a complex intellectual concept, which is valuable and appropriate for the high-tech industry in which the company operates.
By the way, the company was founded in 1999. Its headquarters are located in Atlanta. It is considered one of the low-cost providers in demand among customers.
Argos
Argos is a chain of stores that specializes in catalog sales. Before the company’s logo took its current form, it underwent 2 modifications. But, despite this, the color scheme remained the same. The company’s first logo was unveiled in 1972. Then, a non-standard, complex font was used, and the first and last letters of the word were combined. This combination of letters at the bottom of the logo could have symbolized a veiled smile, but it did not look clear enough.
Over time, the complex logo became increasingly minimalist. The font became simpler, but this did not make the logo primitive. On the contrary, it became more expressive and recognizable. The same red-and-white color palette was retained, which looks both contrasting and confident. But the colors have changed places. It’s the white brand name font on a red background. The arc-shaped line below the text resembles a smile, which makes the logo even cuter.
Hasbro
The history of this American company began in 1923. The company specializes in toy production. It is considered the world’s largest producer of children’s toys and board games. The logo of this manufacturing giant changed seven times until its current version was approved. Since 2009, the logo has remained unchanged.
By the way, both the company’s logo and name changed over the course of its development. Originally, the company was called Hassenfeld Brothers. Starting in 1968, the name changed several times until, in 1985, it was shortened to Hasbro.
The modern version of the logo reflects both visual brilliance and semantic capacity. This logo can hardly be called minimalist. First of all, it is worth paying attention to the smooth sans-serif font. It conveys the company’s loyalty and goodwill. Under the company name, there is an abstract image of a smile. Thin white lines are in harmony with the font color.
The whole composition is inside a blue-and-turquoise square with a diagonal gradient fill. It looks stylish, bright, playful, and interesting. The logo fully conveys that the company values tradition, produces high-quality products, and strives to bring joy to its young users.
Crayola
This American company produces art supplies. Customers appreciate its products, and for good reason: the company has been successfully operating in its industry for more than a hundred years. The company was founded in 1885. The logo has changed repeatedly exactly ten times. The first version had a rather intricate design and many small elements. The modern version was developed in 2006. It looks bright and stylish, so it remains relevant today.
The logo is located diagonally, which speaks of dynamics and creative impulse. It is optimistic and friendly. Over time, the yellow color in the company logo has become increasingly saturated, and now it looks especially bright.
For the company name, green was chosen, which is very harmonious with yellow. And, of course, there is a smile on the logo. It is drawn as a rainbow, symbolic of this company. It can be interpreted as a boundless creative impulse. Thus, the logo, approved in 2006 and still in use today, reflects the company’s sphere of activity: producing goods for creativity as best as possible.
Playmobil
This German company specializes in toy production. Its logo has changed only twice. The current version of the design dates back to 1976. The brand itself was founded in 1974. To date, the company’s specialization is quite broad. It is not only toys but also collectibles. As for toys, their main part is construction sets and small figures of people.
The brand’s visual style remains relevant despite the logo being several decades old. Nevertheless, the logo is cute and interesting. It looks stylish and attractive.
The wordmark is located horizontally. For it, a bright blue color is chosen. Despite the font itself being quite simple, it has one interesting feature: slightly flattened letter edges. We didn’t even need serifs to make the letters interesting and visually appealing. Another feature is the elongated, beveled point on the left, above the letter “I.”
Above the lettering is an image of a child’s smiling face. A darker blue shade is chosen to create visual contrast.
The logo looks so friendly that it immediately evokes a feeling of trust. Different tones in the blue palette convey the company’s seriousness and professionalism. And the good-natured smile is a reminder of the field it operates in.
Gear Best
This company is based in China and works in the e-commerce segment. The large online store specializes in selling gadgets, clothing, and accessories. Today, the company has grown so much that it has warehouses on all continents. Shipping from Gear Best is known for its speed and security.
The brand’s visual style is quite simple. Nevertheless, it is bright and recognizable. Next to the brand name, typed in black font, there is an emblem. It is a yellow square with beveled edges. Inside it, stylizing the lower part of the letter “G” forms a symbolic smile.
The combination of black and yellow colors is quite common in the visual identity of large e-commerce platforms. This contrast looks modern and relevant. It helps convey to the target audience that the company is energetic and progressive. If we analyze the symbolism of the logo’s color palette, we can note an emphasis on the safety of purchases and the high quality of the goods offered. These are the values of the company’s positioning.
Licious
This Indian company was founded in 2015. It specializes in the trade of meat products. The company operates in the retail segment. The company’s founders are Vivek Gupta and Abhay Khanjura. The company has a website and a delivery service that operates across India. Meat and seafood are delivered to customers within 2 hours of ordering. The company even has its own mobile app.
The visual style of the Indian company looks very progressive. Black combined with red creates a striking, bright, and interesting color solution. Above the letters “I,” you can see red dots, and below them, a red arc-shaped line reminiscent of a smile.
Although the inscription itself looks quite strict, the smile balances it and adds a more joyful emotion, making the logo feel balanced.
Thanks to a successful logo, the company conveys modernity, reliability, respectability, and a serious approach to its business. This is important for such a responsible sphere as food sales.
IHOP
The visual image of this American company has undergone a huge evolution. Since 1958, the logo has changed four times. If many companies try to keep some elements associated with the company’s history in the updated logo, then everything has changed dramatically. The logo has changed beyond recognition, and nothing reminds me of the original, which looked elegant and vintage. At the same time, it would be unfounded to say that the logo has worsened. It just became different. The company chose a minimalist approach to transforming its logo.
The original IHOP logo resembled a wooden restaurant entrance with a lantern on top. It was adorned with the words “International House of Pancakes.” By the way, this was the company’s original name.
The current logo consists of the company name, set in blue, and an arcing red line at the bottom of the logo’s second half. This unambiguous line suggests a smile, which is quite appropriate for a restaurant chain. Despite its current simplicity, the logo seems to remind us, “You are always welcome here.”
Alibaba
This Chinese e-commerce company is a real giant. This is not an exaggeration, as the company Alibaba operates in more than 200 countries. For comparison, this company’s profit exceeds the combined profits of all American companies in the same sphere.
The conglomerate was founded in 1999. It consists of 18 co-founders, including the world-famous Jack Ma. By the way, he also came up with the name.
In the company logo, in addition to its direct name, you can see a happy, smiling human face inside the letter “A.” If we look at the logo’s semantic load, it is quite clear: the company aims to make its customers happy and to broadcast this to the world.
However, the logo has many critics. They agree that the literal metaphor of a happy face is very predictable. Some suggest that this is the first version of the logo. Thus, they hint at the concept’s imperfection and lack of thoughtfulness.
Nevertheless, the logo does not prevent the company from being an industry leader and pleasing many customers. Therefore, its composition is quite appropriate.
This was the selection of logos of famous companies that use a smile in their visual identity. Somewhere, this smile is more explicit, somewhere hidden, but all of them are interesting as objects to consider and analyze.
Wendy’s
Vegeta
Starbucks
KFC
Chef Boyardee
