What is a logo?

The term logo is short for logotype: - design-speak for a trademark made from a custom-lettered word (Logos is Greek for word).

A logo is in reality a trademark. The term logo caught on with people because it sounds cool, but what they really mean is a trademark. This trademark may be seen as a logo, symbol, monogram, emblem, or other graphic device. IBM uses a monogram, Nike uses a symbol – both are trademarks neither are logos.

What really maters here is that a logo, or any other trademark, is NOT the brand itself. It’s merely a symbol for it.

Marty Neumeier: The Brand Gap 2006