Kindling 37: Logos, literally

May 8, 2026

A thought from me

Your brand’s logo shouldn’t be literal.

How many times have you seen a logo that directly resembles the product? A coffee shop whose logo is a coffee cup. A speaker company whose logo is a bookshelf speaker. A church whose logo is a cross. A yoga/​massage/​physio clinic whose logo is a leaf.

If your logo is predictable, people will think your brand is predictable too. And they’ll probably forget they ever saw your logo.

Nike adopted the swoosh logo in 1971. It didn’t have any semantic meaning until they started using the Just Do It” slogan in 1988. It was just a mark that stood out on store shelves and advertising. 

McDonald’s Golden Arches don’t resemble burgers. Burger King’s logo does. Guess who has a more valuable brand.

Things worth sharing

  1. I loved the identity work Andrew Benjamin Morris did for Mindful Health.
  2. Alex Smith posits a theory: with the advent of AI, there is more content on the internet than there are eyeballs. But he has solutions.

A question to ponder

What do your competitors not do?

Until next week,

Nathan

PS. The expectations were too high.

Kindling 36: Shrinking Moats

Most brand exercises ask where you want to be in twenty years. A better question: what threats will shrink the moat around your brand in that time?

Now is the time. I am currently booking work for 2026. Please don’t wait, or we will both be sad. You can email me, book a call, or fill out my project questionnaire.