Mascot Logos: Unlock Your Brand's Personality(+ Mascot Ideas!)

Mascot logos are among the most memorable and recognizable types of logos out there. For many companies, mascots are essential to their brand identity. Some mascots become synonymous with the organization they represent!

Think about how instantly our minds connect Tony the Tiger and Frosted Flakes, or Ronald McDonald and McDonald’s! Mascot logos help establish this kind of powerful brand recognition.

It’s an invaluable branding trend in the distracted world we live in today, where countless competitors are just a click or scroll away.

What is a mascot logo?

Let’s begin with the basics. A mascot logo is generally defined as an illustrated character representing an organization (you can think of them as miniature brand ambassadors).

So a mascot logo is exactly what it sounds like A mascot that makes up a company’s logo symbol.

“Mascot” comes from the French word, “mascotte”, which means lucky charm. The word eventually became associated with people, anthropomorphic animals, or objects thought to bring good luck.

Over time, people began using mascots to represent groups with common public identities, such as professional sports teams, schools, or military organizations. Not long after, mascots entered the marketing world to represent brands.

The first mascot logo in the United States was The Michelin Man, introduced in 1898. Other mascots that have stood the test of time include:

The Morton Sea Salt Girl (introduced in 1914)
The Jolly Green Giant (introduced in 1925)
Borden Dairy Company’s “Elsie the Cow” (introduced in 1936)

The rest is… well, history.

What’s the purpose of a mascot logo?

The primary purpose of a mascot logo is to strengthen your brand identity and build brand recognition, both of which are essential ingredients of great logo design. A good mascot logo will breathe life into your brand with human-like qualities that appeal to human emotions.

There’s a study on children’s cereal mascots and how they typically look down. This is because, well, children are shorter than adults. So when kids are browsing cereal ailes, the mascots will look at them.

By tapping into emotions, your mascot logo design tells potential customers a lot about your brand personality, or what products or services you offer, without saying a word.

: Logo made in Looka

: Logo made in Looka

Your mascot logo becomes your visual identity’s “spokesperson”, making your business seem more personable and accessible.

Benefits of a mascot logo

Mascot logos are memorable

Pictures—especially faces—are more memorable to the human mind than words or abstract symbols. This is why a well-chosen mascot builds serious brand recognition for your business. When your mascot logo design is easy to remember, it’s also easier for your target audience to remember your product and its features.

Think Mr. Clean. Everyone associates the bald, buff, and clean mascot with the cleaning company. They’re interchangeable!

Mascot logos are multitaskers

Mascots aren’t on logos alone. You can animate them, insert them in illustrations, leverage them for branded business cards, print them on stickers, etc.

Unlike other branding elements, your mascot is free to express itself in an endless variety of ways, while still being recognizable.

For example, the M&M characters have different personalities to match the type of M&M that they’re associated with. It also allows the brand to play around with different color trends and social signals as it releases new characters.

Mascots make it personal

There’s no better way to “humanize” your brand than having a character that communicates with your audience. A professional mascot logo can have different facial expressions and gestures—you can even give them a voice! This experience creates a strong connection and a more positive association with your brand.

A perfect example is none other than Mickey Mouse. This iconic Disney mascot has an entire world and personality built around it. It’s connected to children and adults from all walks of life.

Mascot logo examples for every emotion

Because of their inherent “humanness”, mascots can easily take on any character trait, mood, or style necessary to represent your organization and visually interact with your target audience. Here are just a few examples of mascot logo styles.

Powerful

Aggressive mascots that flex their muscles and furrow their brows are designed to tap into people’s primal “warrior” instincts. You’ll find these types of fierce mascots representing industries where competition is king, especially a sports team’s mascot.

These mascots are also popular with organizations that want to show, under no uncertain terms, that they’re prepared to fight to protect their customers’ best interests.

Industries where you’ll find powerful mascot logos: Security Firms, Sports Teams, Gaming Channels, YouTube Channels, Construction.

Cute and cuddly

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ll find animal mascots that appear to have one message to share with the world: “We don’t bite”. Family-friendly and full of fun, these adorable anthropomorphic characters are designed to give everyone the warm fuzzies.

Most of the time, cute logos exist in industries that appeal to children and families—but let’s be honest, their cheerful dispositions and playful poses could charm the socks off just about anyone.

3D mascot logos are a logo trend this year, with brands like Reddit and Android bringing their mascots to life.

Industries where you’ll find a cute and cuddly mascot logo: Childcare, Education, Restaurant, Food.

Wise mascot logos

Ever notice that the companies that are built on establishing trust also tend to have the most boring branding and logo design? Sure, playing it safe might come across as serious and respectable, but it also makes these institutions interchangeable.

Introducing a confident, sophisticated mascot logo can help brands stand out, while at the same time instilling confidence in their customers. Take the Geico Insurance gecko living character, for example. He seems wise beyond his tiny size, doesn’t he?

Industries where you’ll find a wise mascot logo: Law, Insurance, Finance, Accounting, Consulting, Healthcare, Real Estate, and Photography.

Design your mascot logo now!

Cool mascot logo examples

It makes sense that mascots are particularly popular in technology, an industry that can feel cold and calculating. Mascots inject a little personality and some much-needed “humanity” into tech brands that want to make technology accessible and easy to use.

A tech business might design a cool, fun mascot to connect with audiences and make their branding look grounded and relatable compared to competitors. Others might use a mascot to build memorability and convey personality.

Industries where you’ll find a cool mascot logo: Technology, Internet, Food and Beverage

Quirky mascot logo

While a quirky, abstract, or downright bizarre mascot carries the risk of confusing potential customers, the weirdness can make your brand memorable and unique.

If nothing else, it will pique people’s curiosity about your company in ways that a more conventional mascot design might not.

Industries where you’ll find a quirky mascot logo: Music, Film, TV, Gaming

How to design your mascot logo

Putting a literal “face” to your business is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when it comes to your brand identity. Although it might be fun to come up with the perfect character to represent your organization, it should not be taken lightly.

Many companies build brand recognition with a mascot logo that has a connection to their product or service, or company name.

Align your mascot to your brand

If you’re looking for mascot logo ideas and aren’t sure where to begin:

Think up a few adjectives that describe how you want your audience to perceive your brand.
Start brainstorming people, objects, animals, and other mascot characters that best fit those adjectives.
Ensure your mascot’s personality should reflect your brand’s personality.

Here are some mascot logos made on the Looka logo maker:

: Logos made in Looka

: Logos made in Looka

Four things to consider before choosing a mascot:

Know your audience. You want your mascot to connect with your audience on an emotional level. Leave your personal preferences out of the equation, and make sure your mascot fits your brand identity and company story first and foremost.
Consider your platforms. Think carefully about the primary marketing channels you’ll be using to promote your business. Mascots look great on social media pages, billboards signage, and videos. That’s why we tend to see mascot logos most commonly used in design elements for B2C brands.
Think about scale. Mascots, by their very nature, have a lot of character, and all that extra detail can make scaling an issue. Make sure your mascot logo design is recognizable at all sizes, especially on the small screen.
Commit. Your mascot is going to be the honorary spokesperson of your organization, so choose wisely. Once you’ve built brand recognition with a chosen character, your brand will revolve around them!

Case in point: Chester, the Cheetah of Cheetos fame, has over 138 thousand followers on X! The more places your mascot pops up, the more recognizable it will become.

Mascot logo design tips

If you’re ready to create a custom logo design for your brand, our free mascot logo maker has everything you need to get started—no design experience is required!

Make sure your mascot is copyrighted to avoid legal trouble down the line. Otherwise, you might be accused of copying someone else’s idea.
Ensure your mascot doesn’t come across as offensive or controversial to any group, or your business will be at the center of attention for all the wrong reasons.
Don’t limit your mascot to your logo design alone. Use it as much as possible. Make sure it shows up in all of your social media posts and your marketing materials. You can even consider creating a social media account and using it to help develop your mascot’s story.
Gather feedback. When you’re completing your mascot logo design, ask for feedback from other designers and people who would fall into your target audience.

Well-established mascots are strong enough to stand on their own. However, most appear in combination mark logos along with the company’s name. They might also appear in emblem logos.

The impact of mascot logos

A well-designed logo mascot reflects your brand’s unique personality in a way that reaches your audience on a personal level. Not only will having a mascot help you create an emotional connection that allows you to better communicate with your existing customers, but it will also help you entice new ones by helping you stand out from the crowd.

Use the tips and examples provided in this article as a source of inspiration when it comes to creating your logo mascot!

Mascot Logos: Unlock Your Brand’s Personality(+ Mascot Ideas!)