45+ Cute Logos That’ll Make You Go “Awww”

What better way to take the edge off 2020 than with a bunch of cute logos?

Cute logos are a great choice for any brand that wants to show their fun and friendly side. Driven by adorable characters and playful font choices, cute logos are a guaranteed way to have your customers flocking to you. They’re sweet, endearing, and surprisingly easy to create!

So get ready for a flood of dopamine, cause we about to get REAL cute up in here.

What makes a logo cute?

There’s actually some pretty strong science behind why we find things cute. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that we evolved to find certain characteristics cute as a way to promote caring, nurturing behaviors. For instance. If your baby looked like Godzilla, you might be a little hesitant to cuddle it. And that’s bad. (Note: if your baby does look like Godzilla, you should still definitely cuddle it because it’s totally awesome.)

The characteristics we evolved to love – like big heads, big eyes, small noses, and soft round bodies – all come to play a role in cute logos too. But generally, you’ll find the following features pretty common:

Since they lend themselves so naturally to the above, animals are often the go-to choice for cute or kawaii logos. (In the context of Japanese pop culture, ‘kawaii’ simply means cute!) However, human beings are pretty good at projecting these features into other objects too. (That’s called anthropomorphism, yo!) With the right elements, nearly anything can be made to look cute.

[get_Started] Make a cute logo now! [/get_started]

Types of cute logo

The bulk of the kawaii and cute logos out there generally fall under one of two banners. Character-driven, or symbol-driven. Both of these are pretty similar, except the first tends towards characters that lead the logo design, whereas symbol-led logos are more about imbuing a brand symbol or icon with more subtly ‘cute’ elements.

Let’s take a look!

Character-driven cute logos

Here are some of our favorite cute character designs to give you some inspiration for your own.

Here’s a sweet logo concept for Little Cat Vintage, made by Ohio-based creative studio Imaginary Beast. This is a great example of a cute character design. It’s playful, simple, and the pastel color palette is bubbly and fun. A lot of cute logos are highly-detailed, but this sweet little critter shows that it’s possible to make an effective character-driven logo without going overboard.

Text plays an important role in any logo, and it’s no different for kawaii-style logos either. As you can see in the ‘bun’ logo we made using Looka’s logo maker, it’s important to consider the dynamic between your character design and the font you use. We used bright colors, a soft, cute font, and added a period to give ‘bun’ extra immediacy that adds to its character.

The Hello Kitty logo is the archetypal Kawaii logo. Spend ten minutes in Harajuku, Tokyo, and you’ll be surrounded by this famous feline. This is a perfect example of how a cute logo can be just as popular and loved as any other style. In fact, this loveable kitty is probably the most important part of the brand!

Cute symbol logos

Cute symbol logos follow the same principles of the character-driven logos, but they’re more minimalist. You’ll notice the same elements – happy characters, a cute interaction between the logo text and the logo icon, warm colors – but they’re often more understated.

Logos like this are a great choice for brands that want to push other aspects of their brand identity (like being tech-first), as well as being friendly and cute.

The 2020 logo redesign for dating app Badoo is a fantastic example of a cute symbol logo. The name itself is a playful take on an app notification noise or greeting. The colors are inviting and friendly, and when put together with the smiley heart symbol, the logo manages to be cute, without trying too hard.

The famous Snapchat ghost is a classic example of a cute symbol logo. The ghost tells the story of the app’s famous disappearing message functionality, through a bright color set and playful pose. In fact, it’s so good at telling the story, the symbol doesn’t even need text!

How to create a cute logo

Designing a logo like the above can happen a number of different ways.

• You might already have a logo mascot you want to use for your logo, and that’s a great place to start. Mascots are the key ingredient for cute and kawaii logos, and they’re easy to build off.
• Or, you could start with your name and go from there. Think about animals, characters, or objects that relate to your industry, and go from there. The elements of cuteness are hard-wired into us, so they will be consistent across industries.
• However, it’s also good to think about whether a cute logo is right for your market. Typically, these pretty logos are good for brands based in sectors like food and drink, pets, childcare, and clothing. They can also be used for some tech, travel, and hospitality companies. Really, it depends on your client base. If you’re a divorce lawyer, maybe stay away from fluffy bunnies and cheeky little capybaras for now.

Ultimately, the best way to tell if your logo is cute enough is at a glance. Trust your brain to detect cuteness. After all, it evolved to detect it!

Now that you’ve got some inspiration, get out there and melt your customers’ hearts with your own cute logo. It’s about to get real cuddly, real fast.