How can you give your startup logo a blood-curdling appeal? It doesn’t have to be Halloween to dress your logo in a frightening avatar. You can use these graphic elements anytime to add uniqueness to your logo design. These symbols can be used in multiple ways, whether you want to scare the hell out of people or simply connect better with your target market.
Let’s dive deeper to discover Halloween symbols, learn the meanings associated with them and how you can use each in your logo design.
In medieval times, black cats were thought to be bringers of misfortune and curses. They’re associated with witchcraft, witches and sorcery. This is why they were persecuted in some ancient societies. These animals are popular in Halloween for decoration and costume.
However, they’ve also got a good connotation. In British Islands, black cats are believed to bring affluence. In Japan they’re considered to bring good luck while Egyptians worship felines.
Cats are seen as eldritch, but also as clever and curious. Several cat logos suggest that a black cat can be portrayed in different ways: cute, smart, spying, jolly, sexy, mysterious, clueless, artistic, bold, wild, heroic and scary.
A calavera is a visual representation of the human skull that symbolizes death. It serves as a reminder that life isn’t eternal and eventually everyone will turn into a framework of bones. The modern Halloween festival takes inspiration from ancient Celtic celebrations that revolved around ghosts and skeletons.
Calavera are mostly referred to as skulls that are either edible or decorated using sugar or clay. It’s used in the Day of the Dead holiday celebrated in Mexico to remember family and friends who’ve died, and to help them in their spiritual journey.
Skulls in general signify danger in logos, that are hair-raising whether they’re designed minimally or skeuomorphically. Popular culture helped in the widespread use of skulls and calavera as an element of design.
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
In the west, a bat has always been regarded as a sinister creature due to its nocturnal routine. In fact, ancient Celtic-speaking people interpreted the movement of bats in the night as unruly demons and spirits. From then onwards, this unappealing flying mammal became a symbol of Halloween; as well as of the popular culture character Batman. They’re commonly associated with vampires and witches.
Nevertheless, these creatures hold a prestigious value in East Asian cultures. They’re seen as a representation of good fortune. Common household items and decoration pieces are embellished with illustration of bats. Native Americans considered bats to be highly social and hence became an icon of communication.
For a logo design, bat can have the following meanings: rebirth, dreams, intuition, initiation, communication, dreams, happiness, luck and diligence.
Image Source: PR Newswire
Image Source: Vector Templates
Image Source: Louisville Bats Logo
Image Source: Behance/Lee.
Full moon is either seen as magnificent or overwhelmingly eerie. It’s thought to influence animal and human behavior, causing intense emotions and thoughts to an extent of psychosis. A full moon can have diverse effects on people, from violence and insanity to romance and spiritual illumination.
It is believed that during the full moon feelings are magnified whether they’re good or bad. Thus, it’s viewed as both a time of opportunity and of calamity. Plenty of Halloween based illustrations show full moon in the background to create a mysterious ambience.
When using a full moon in a custom logo, you can do the following:
We’ve all, at large, experienced the spine-tingling feeling when we see a spider crawl. These creepy eight-legged arthropods are a popular treat and décor item in Halloween because it represent haunted places. The most intriguing aspect of a spider that fascinates human is its ability to create complex web pattern that appears fragile but it’s actually pretty strong.
In many cultures such as Islamic, spiders have a mystical value and it’s advised in the scripture not to harm these creatures. In ancient times spiders symbolized progress, power and enigma. Spiders are also thought to be crafty, cunning, resourceful and strategic.
In logo design a spider can be used to depict protection, intelligence, creativity, determination and strength.
Image Source: University of Richmond Athletics Logo
Image Source: Marvel Spiderman Homecoming Logo
Alright, these creepy beings give you the heebie jeebies! Although the movie Monsters. Inc changed our perception (a little) about what monsters are like, we can’t treat these creatures as normal. There are different types of monsters we’ve heard about in stories:
If you’re a gaming startup or one that needs a mascot to represent an idea, then choosing a monsters of any kind might help you attract gamers or customers. Monsters can be made horrifying as well as cute. It all depends on the facial features and personality traits.
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Image Source: ZillionDesigns/Contest
Just like in movies logo designers can use Halloween visual effects to create an unearthly look for your startup logo. Whether you’re a music production company or a restaurant business, you can use these effects to have cool logos for your respective startups.
Never underestimate the power of colors, because they’ve got the quality to instantly change the appearance and meaning of everything. While a red flower is a symbol of love, a black one is linked with hatred and revenge. Let’s explore the popular colors of Halloween so you can think about using them in your logo design.
In Halloween themed images, orange is mostly paired with black due to the visual contrast and also because orange represents harvest while black slashes it with its dimness and wickedness. You can use orange as a standalone color as well.
There is an entire psychology of orange color for logo designing, and the meaning of this color changes when the following things happen.
In general orange is associated with health, warmth, joy, enthusiasm, success, creativity, sexuality, balance, fascination, stimulation. It is seen as a source of positivity and amiability that cuts through darkness.
The color of darkness, black is heavily used in Halloween inspired visuals and costumes as it signifies death, mourning, evil, mystery and mischievousness. Technically it isn’t even considered a color, but it’s in fact the absence of hue. Sometimes too much black is overwhelming; although there are people who love black and one would be my sister, her spouse and kids. The bunch resembles The Addams Family, no kidding.
Nonetheless, black is not all bad! By simply wearing it people feel confident, powerful or elegant. Black is a popular color when it comes to logo designing. Many brands from the fashion industry to the technology companies use the color for their different types of logos: wordmarks, lettermarks, combination marks, and mascots.
On a general note the color purple is linked with power, luxury, feminity, nobility, ambition, devotion, dignity, wisdom and creativity. So how is this color a part of Halloween? Every color has a positive side and a negative side. This is true for purple as well. While it has several constructive meaning, purple is also magical, mystical, seduction and supernatural. It is linked with witches, wizards, magicians and monsters.
So how can you use this color in your startup logo? Here are some ideas to help you.
• For harmony, match purple with colors adjacent to it on the color wheel
• For contrast, place purple with hues opposite to it on the color wheel
• Add and subtract blue and red from purple to create different shades
• Use black, white and grey to make purple a shade darker or lighter
Green isn’t a traditional Halloween colors but the film industry has made it so. It’s used to show supernatural beings, monsters or something disgusting and slimy. It also symbolizes sickness, toxicity and envy.
This is unlike what the color represents in some parts of the world. In Europe green is associated with nobility and wealth, while in Islam it is a sign of paradise. Green also signifies fertility, nature, health, youth and hope.
When using this Halloween inspired color for your startup logo, know the following basic and fun facts about famous logos:
The internet is full of both free and paid horrifying fonts you can use for your designs, but if you’re creating a logo then it’s better to make a custom typeface. Surely you can take inspiration from already existing font families. If you want your font to remain slightly minimal then use Halloween effects and icons (mentioned above) to give it a different look.
So what makes a font scary? Here are things that, if you add, will give your startup logo not just a creative edge but a mysterious feel. These can be achieved easily with a design software like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop or Adobe After Effects (in case you want it animated).
Apart from this, you should the features of a horrifying font so that you can create your own customized version. Halloween themed fonts are rugged, cracked, ripping, rough, spikey, dripping, torn, crisp, scratchy and pointy.
Will you use any of these Halloween inspired symbols in your startup logo?
Photograph/Vector Sources: Freepik, Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels, and Canva
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