Reference · 8 min read

Manufacturing

Manufacturing Logo Design: What Should Your Company Logo Say About You?

In this article 12
  1. Caterpillar Logo
  2. 3M Logo
  3. Intel Logo
  4. Mitsubishi Motors Logo
  5. The Similarities in Manufacturing Company Logo Designs
  6. New Design Group Manufacturing Company Logo Redesigns
  7. PSP Fabricating Inc. Logo
  8. Spacefile Logo
  9. PowerOn Logo
  10. Berg Chilling Systems: keep the name, change everything else
  11. In Summary
  12. Questions

TL;DR the short answer

  1. A manufacturing logo has to say three things at a glance: what the company makes, that it has been making it for a long time, and that it is still moving; the big industrial marks (Caterpillar, 3M, Intel, Mitsubishi) all do that with a short name, a strong colour and a simple shape.
  2. The most common mistake is a logo that says nothing: a generic gear or globe, a name in a default font, a colour chosen by the owner's taste.
  3. A manufacturer with decades of recognition should update the logo rather than replace it: keep the shape the industry knows, modernize colour and type. That is what Berg Chilling Systems did before tripling sales between 2017 and 2023.

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It’s fair to say that a manufacturing company logo sits at the heart of the company’s visual brand identity. Its colours dictate the colour palette used in the web design as well as in brochures, adverts, billboards and vehicle signage. But the logo must do far more than set the colour scheme – it needs to say something very specific to the viewer.

Customers have certain expectations when purchasing products from manufacturing companies: they expect the products to live up to their claims, to be reliable and outlast their guarantee; they expect the company to be trustworthy; and they expect the company to deliver the right product at the right time.

A manufacturing company logo must persuade a potential client that the products and service will meet these expectations. The biggest manufacturing companies in the world have no nonsense logos that are bold and solid. Try to think of a mega successful manufacturing company with a pastel coloured logo based on a delicate floral design, and you’ll be thinking for quite some time.

So let’s look at some of the world’s most famous manufacturing company logos and see what they say about the company.

Known for designing and manufacturing heavy duty machinery such as knuckleboom loaders and road reclaimers, the brand identity is built around simple black and bright yellow. In the past, the logo showed the company name, Caterpillar, in strong, bold capital letters suggesting reliability and strength. A small yellow triangle was used to not only brighten the logo and attract more attention, but yellow suggests energy and enthusiasm – and so can impart the message that this company has the drive to get things done.

Caterpillar's old wordmark logo with the yellow triangle under the A

As time has gone on the brand is so well known the company name is now simply known as CAT – and the logo has evolved to update this – a strong black, simple design with the eye catching yellow triangle.

The current CAT logo: white letters and a yellow triangle on black

What does this logo say: a reliable company which can manufacture machinery without fuss

It may be easier to identify the products that 3M does not produce! Formerly called the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, this American company produces more than 55,000 products including electronics, medical devices, dental products, adhesives, car-care products and many, many more.

The red 3M logo

The bright red of the 3M logo signifies determination and passion, and this company has obviously been very driven from its very beginning to get where it is today. The wordmark logo could not be simpler – both in design and in the fact that the company name is the only thing to be seen.

What does this logo say: a bold company which is not afraid to stand out from the crowd and to lead the way

Synonymous with the ‘Intel Inside’ tagline shown on many computers, Intel is an American multinational corporation know for producing the essential microprocessors that most personal computers rely on. Not content with this accolade, Intel also researches electrical transmission and generation, and is continually updating its microprocessors.

The Intel logo: blue lowercase wordmark inside a swoosh

The Intel logo is a simple wordmark, showcasing the company name. The reassuring gentle blue is associated with calmness, trust and power. But unlike the geometric lines shown in the Caterpillar logo, the Intel logo shows the company name encapsulated within a broken oval.

What does this logo say: a company which is professional and trustworthy, but one which has an innovative flair

A giant of the automobile industry, this Japanese company is part of the Mistubishi Group and by 2007 had produced a staggering 1.3 million cars.

Mitsubishi Motors logo: three red diamonds above the wordmark

The logo clearly shows 3 red diamonds positioned around a centre point, and resting atop of the company name shown clearly in black. Interestingly there is a historical aspect to this logo – it was chosen by the founder of Mitsubishi (Iwasaki Yatarō) because his family crest comprised 3 rhombuses on top of one another. Additionally Mitsubishi is a combination of ‘mitsu’ meaning 3, and ‘hishi’ meaning water chestnut or diamond shaped.

Suffice to say most people who see this logo are unaware of its origins. However what they do see is a bold, bright logo with a clean cut geometrical design where the company name is clear to see.

What does this logo say: a solid company with strong foundations which can produce quality and reliable cars

The Similarities in Manufacturing Company Logo Designs

It’s quite apparent that the logos of these mega manufacturing companies share the same design elements:

  • Bold and simple
  • Few colours, often bright
  • Plain fonts

They are either wordmarks, where the company name forms the basis of the logo, (Caterpillar, 3M, and Intel) or an emblem where the company name is inextricably connected to a pictorial element (Mistubishi Motors).

New Design Group Manufacturing Company Logo Redesigns

New Design Group has rebranded a number of manufacturing companies to ensure their visual brand identity and logo are saying all the right things to potential clients. Within the restraints of a rebranding project – where the new brand identity must still be comparable to the original – let’s see how New Design Group’s manufacturing company logo redesigns compare to the world’s biggest and best.

PSP Fabricating Inc. is a leading manufacturer of safety covers, hot tub covers and solar blankets. New Design Group updated the original logo to create a vibrant 3 dimensional version. The company name is shown in simple black font and is complemented by a green and blue emblem reminiscent of a rolled-up cover. Blue and green reinforce the company’s link with water and with energy saving, and the colours subconsciously tell the viewer that the company is reliable and trustworthy.

PSP Fabricating logo on a business card: safety covers, spa covers, solar blankets. Branding by New Design Group

What does this logo say: a company which cares about the environment and will provide the right solution for a client’s needs

Spacefile is a Canadian manufacturer of innovative storage products developed with modern engineering. New Design Group were brought in for a rebranding project. The company’s original logo design was a very simplistic emblem comprising the company name and a geometric shape all in black.

Spacefile logo before and after the update by New Design Group: the old italic wordmark and the new green mark with the line Storage Solutions. For Every Space

New Design Group updated the logo to one with far more impact. The company name is shown boldly, and by using two different colours – ‘space’ in a dark and more prominent blue, and ‘file’ in light green – it is immediately apparent to the viewer that this company is involved with storage issues. The geometric shape has been retained but updated with a 3D look and appears in the same light green.

What does this logo say: a company which knows all there is to know about saving space and one which delivers a professional service

PowerOn is a successful industrial automation company which provides electrical engineering, programming and custom control panels amongst other automation specialties. When the company hired New Design Group, the existing logo was designed around the company name, shown in plain black. The most eye catching feature was the large, almost florescent green disc, with concentric circles suggesting rotating equipment.

Power On Control Systems before the rebrand: the old website and brochure

After the redesign project, the logo was transformed into a sophisticated version of its former self. The company name was still maintained in prominent black but a less vivid green 3D disc replaced the original – appearing like a large machinery ‘start’ large button, and with white swirls to suggest moving parts. The tagline ‘Control Systems’ makes it clear that this is a precision engineering business.

Power On Control Systems business card after the rebrand, with the new green stripe

What does this logo say: this trustworthy company delivers the right precision engineering solutions for its clients

Berg Chilling Systems: keep the name, change everything else

The clearest example from our own work came after this article was first written. Berg Chilling Systems has built industrial chillers in Toronto since the 1970s and sells into more than 50 countries; management set a target of tripling sales, and the logo, the brochures and the website were from another era. The obvious move was a new brand. Berg did not want to lose decades of recognition, so the brand audit ended in an upbrand instead of a rebrand: the wordmark kept its shape and got a modern colour and a small typographic change, and everything around it, the tagline, the materials and the website, was rebuilt. Berg reached its target between 2017 and 2023. The full case is at Berg Chilling Systems.

In Summary

A manufacturing company logo must show that the business can meet customers’ expectations by providing reliable and quality products as and when required. The big boys of the manufacturing world have bold and bright logos that show them as solid and dependable: their minimalistic designs are equated to fuss free service in the customer’s mind. The manufacturing company logo designs created by New Design Group similarly get these key messages across to their audience.

If you own a manufacturing company but suspect it isn’t saying the right things about you, contact New Design Group for a free quote and to start discussions to get you on the road to success

Questions we get

What should a manufacturing company logo say?

What you make, how long you have made it, and that you are still investing. An engineer or a procurement manager reads a logo as a signal of whether the company behind it will still exist when the warranty is claimed. Simple shape, short name, one strong colour, and a mark that prints on a machine plate as well as on a trade-show wall.

Can we redesign our manufacturing logo without losing recognition?

Yes, and for a company known in its industry it is the better route. Keep the wordmark's shape and the name, change the colour, the typography and everything around the mark. Berg Chilling Systems, a manufacturer since the 1970s, kept its wordmark with a modern colour and a small typographic change; customers who knew Berg still recognized it.

What colours work for an industrial or manufacturing logo?

Blue for reliability and engineering, red and yellow for energy and visibility (Caterpillar's yellow is a safety colour that became a brand), black and grey for precision. Pick one strong colour and a neutral; the mark has to work in one colour on a stamped plate and in white on a dark machine.

How much does a manufacturing logo design cost?

According to Vistaprint (2026), an experienced freelancer or a design contest charges CAD $1,100 to $3,500 for a logo and an agency CAD $3,500 to $14,000 or more; DesignRush (2026) gives CAD $140 to $3,000 for a logo alone and CAD $3,000 to $14,000 when it comes with a brand identity. A logo update that keeps the existing mark costs a fraction of a new identity. US figures converted at 1.40.

Related industry Manufacturing See the industry page

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