13 Iconic and Innovative Logos by Female Designers

From Nike to “The Smiling Sun”, discover the story behind some of the world’s most iconic logos and the creatives that designed them

When it comes to branding, a company’s logo is the cornerstone of its visual identity. At a glance, they might seem simple. But, between typography, color, and composition, each of them balances a carefully-considered combination of graphic elements designed to encapsulate the brand they represent.

Historically, logos were used as signage as far back as the Middle Ages to promote the services of pubs, shops, and other businesses. Since then, they’ve become a fundamental part of both a brand’s marketing and its graphic designer’s portfolio. From letterforms to symbols and emblems, their designs can take many different forms but what makes a logo stand out?

What makes a logo recognizable?

Starbucks, Apple, and McDonald’s are just a few of the household names whose logos are recognized around the world, but why? According to designer and behavioral strategist Jeff Davidson, simplicity is an essential quality of a great logo: “If an individual can notice, remember, and replicate a logo with relative ease, then you’ve probably got a good one. If one is not able to replicate the logo, it’s a sign that it isn’t ‘structurally’ adequate for it to be stored in long-term memory.”

13 Iconic and Innovative Logos by Female Designers

Memorability is just one of the pillars that the iconic and innovative logos below have in common. Another is that they were all designed by talented female artists. Keep reading to find out more about these creative minds and the inspiration behind the designs they developed.

Icon logos

1. Carolyn Davidson - Nike

When it comes to recognizable icons, there are few more well-known than Nike’s “Swoosh”. What you might not have realized is that it was designed by a student. The now-retired graphic designer Carolyn Davidson was studying at Portland State University when she was approached to design Nike’s logo.

She was paid just $35 dollars at the time, but has since been given shares in the company for her contribution to its iconic brand identity. She designed the Swoosh back in 1971 and is known for her desire to stay under the radar despite being responsible for the globally-recognized black tick Nike’s branding is built upon.

2. Muriel Cooper - MIT Press

MIT Press’ logo might appear to be a simple icon, but, according to the organization, it’s made up of abstracted books that represent the lowercase letters of the brand name. Designed by Muriel Cooper, the logo is one of many contributions she made to the institution during her 40-year career.

After becoming the first design director of MIT Press in 1967, the team describes how she “designed everything from brochures for courses on transonic aerodynamics to record album sleeves for classical music concerts at the Institute.” As well as earning herself a reputation for outstanding design, Muriel also made a huge impression on account of her collaboration with others, her empowerment of women in the industry, and the power stance that saw her often attend meetings without shoes!

Emblem logos

3. Lin Cunzhen - Beijing 2022 emblem

The logo for Beijing’s 2022 Olympics combines a variety of graphic elements including images, text, and the Olympic rings. According to Lin Cunzhen, the designer who created it, it wasn’t an easy combination to come up with; she spent months drawing 50,000 versions before settling on the final one. Speaking about the creative process, Lin, who was born and raised in Beijing, said: “Meticulous adjustments of the form, type, and color with attention to every line and stroke was routine procedure.”

Revealed at the inauguration ceremony in December 2017, the finished product was inspired by the Chinese characters for ‘fly’: 飞 and ‘winter’: 冬.

Lettermark logos and monograms

4. Coco Chanel - Chanel

Chanel is just as synonymous with its founder as it is the mirrored C design that can be found on everything from its luxury handbags to its cosmetics. Designed in 1925 by Coco Chanel herself, the logo represents her initials and is said to be inspired by the windows of the orphanage the fashion icon grew up in.

It’s a design that has stood the test of time, staying consistent for almost 100 years since it was first designed. It’s also a logo that works in multiple contexts across Chanel’s sub-brands, with its color (or lack of) adding to its classic aesthetic and paying homage to the brand’s “less is more” approach to style.

5. Patti Rogoff - MTV

Unlike the Chanel logo, MTV’s design has undergone many adaptations throughout the years but each of them owes its success to the original, made by the creatives behind the design collective Manhattan Design: Pat Gorman, Frank Olinksky, and Patti Rogoff.

Patti, currently a studio director at MTV Networks, is the designer responsible for the giant “M” that the rest of the design is built around. Together with her fellow designers, she created the original MTV logo in red, yellow, and blue which was used from 1979 to 1991. It has since taken on many forms from bespoke holiday edits to animations–a testament to its versatility.

6. Louise Fili - Tiffany & Co Monogram

Louise Fili is a creative with many strings to her bow, from graphic and type design to writing. She runs an award-winning self-named design firm in New York where she has made a name for herself through calligraphy and typography, winning gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators and New York Art Director’s Club, among others.

Louise also notably designed the monogram for Tiffany & Co. in 2005: “Creating a mark for Tiffany was an interesting challenge: to design a monogram that could be small enough for the winder of a man’s watch, or large enough for a construction shed.” It’s a challenge that she creatively overcame, embodying Tiffany's reputation for timeless luxury jewelry in the process.

Wordmark logos

7. Paula Scher - Citibank

Having worked for brands including Random House, CBS Records, and Atlantic Records, Paula Scher is described by Pentagram as “one of the most influential graphic designers in the world”. She also became the first female to be offered the principal position at the design firm in the 1990s and has won more than 300 awards for her work.

She is the creative genius behind the visual identities of some of the most important brands in the world, with an enviable client list that includes Coca-Cola, Tiffany & Co, Microsoft, the New York City Ballet, and the Museum of Modern Art. Paula has designed many iconic logos including Windows 8 in 2009, The Metropolitan Opera Logo in 2006, and Citibank in 1998. The latter of which started out as a simple napkin sketch that she drew in a matter of seconds and later developed into the $1.5million design the company is recognized for.

In this episode of Domestika Maestros, where grand maestros of creativity share their experience and secrets and offer useful advice, we discover the challenges she has faced in the industry, the defining moments of her career, and a few insider tips for aspiring creatives.

8. Ruth Kedar - Google

The original logo for Google was created back in 1998 and is one of many designs by multi-disciplinary artist Ruth Kedar whose work has been showcased both in the United States and internationally.

In a podcast interview with Logo Geek, she explains how she came up with the logo that the world’s most popular search engine used for over 15 years: “There were a lot of different concepts that were being presented and every single one of them helped us through this path together.” Speaking about the font, in particular, she explains how she was committed to finding something that was both traditional while being contemporary and surprising.

Ruth also discusses the success of the logo, along with her involvement in the design deck that was used to launch Adobe Illustrator: “It is satisfying to know that you are a part of this complex story and you are one of the pieces.”

9. Irma Boom - Rijksmuseum

Dutch graphic designer Irma Boom might be most well-known for her unique book designs but she’s also the creative mind behind the 2013 redesign of the logo for Amsterdam’s national Rijksmuseum.

The project, launched to coincide with the reopening of the museum, caused what The New York Times described as “a minor scandal” thanks to its separation of the words Rijks and museum. Speaking about the logo, Irma said: “​​My starting point was the fact that the Rijksmuseum is a national museum with international appeal. The design is clear and powerful and anchors the museum in the present.”

10. Marina Willer - Tate

Another cultural institution that underwent an innovative redesign is Tate. Advertising agency Wolff Olins was asked to design a family of logos that tied the organization’s sites together, ahead of the launch of the Tate Modern in 2000.

Here, graphic designer and head creative director of Wolff Olins at the time, Marina Willer (@willer), describes her process for creating the logos that are used across the museum’s sites in London and Liverpool: “I had a little room and every day was doing a different ‘Tate’ and projecting it, like an installation…Then I took lots of photographs and we animated them, then did screengrabs of the animation, which became the final mark.”

The result is a collection of logos that are subtly unique while forming part of a united visual identity: “They are different moments of the same thing almost.”

Find out more about how Marina finds inspiration for her designs in this Domestika course, Creative Brand Identity: How Ideas Find a Home

11. Martina Flor - Mercedes-Benz Magazine

Martina Flor (@martinaflor) is a lettering designer and illustrator from Buenos Aires and, like Marina, a Domestika teacher, with four different courses on design. She specializes in creating custom lettering and typography through her studio for clients like The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Harper Collins, Fontshop, Monotype, and Etsy, among others. She also redesigned this header for Mercedes-Benz Magazine, which, in print, combines a handwritten aesthetic with the nostalgic chrome coloring associated with classic cars.

Speaking about logo design, Martina said: “Designing a logotype or wordmark is not only about writing the name of the company it stands for—it’s about conveying its values and the story behind it.” Discover her process for capturing a brand through lettering in her Domestika courses.

Combination Mark

12. Anne Lund - Nuclear Power

Anne Lund is the creative mind behind one of the world’s most influential logos, “The Smiling Sun”. Developed for the OOA, or Organization for Information about Nuclear Power, in 1975, the sunshine along with the slogan “Nuclear power? No thanks” played a pivotal role in Denmark’s decision to stop constructing nuclear power plants.

Anne recognized the need to make the logo universally attractive: “It needed to be pretty enough for women to wear it on their overcoats to indicate a kind, but firm ‘no thanks’. No clenched fists, no scary images.” She succeeded in that goal, with over 200,000 badges and stickers sold by the summer of the same year. It was also translated into more than 60 different languages. Despite its success, Lund, who is currently a university lecturer, credits the logo’s impact to the involvement of passionate people like her: “I’m not a designer – I was just an activist.”

13. Natasha Jen - Brand Identity for TAAF

Natasha Ben’s logo is another with a positive social impact. It was created for the not-for-profit organization, the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community whose aim is to empower their community and combat the rise in anti-Asian hate. Pentagram explains: “The TAAF logo presents the acronym in custom typography with the letters joined to form a platform or umbrella that suggests connection and unity.”

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Natasha established her own studio in 2010 and became a Pentagram New York partner two years later. She has worked with clients including Harvard Art museums, Guggenheim Museum, and Nike, earned numerous awards, and been featured in publications like Print Magazine.

Want to create iconic art of your own? Check out these logo design courses.

Learn more about female creatives and design

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