Logo is an acronym for the phrase logotype, which derives from a Greek word. It is a visual mark, symbol, or emblem that is used to enhance and encourage public recognition and identification. It might be an abstract or figurative design, or it could incorporate text from the name it symbolizes, as with a wordmark. During the era of hot metal typesetting, a logotype was defined as a single word cast as a single piece of type, in contrast to a ligature, which is anything made up of two or more letters that do not constitute a word. By extension, it refers to a phrase that was also used to refer to a colophon or font that was placed and arranged distinctively. To be effective at a mass communication level and in everyday use, a company's logo is often associated with its brand or trademark. Numerous methods and innovations have contributed to the creation of the current logo, including cylinder seals, cross-cultural dissemination of logographic languages, coinage, watermarks, coats of arms, and silver hallmarks, as well as the development of printing processes.
