Man’s best friend is also a very popular object of designer’s dreams. Animal logos are some of the most eye-catching and effective, because we are instinctively drawn to images that remind us of our pets. With over 78 million dog owners in the United States alone, dogs are an instantly recognizable icon.

Here are ten of the best, and worst of dog logo designs:

This cool icon is simple, straightforward, and the message is clear. It works well either online or in print, and would look as good in black and white as in color. An example of a really professional design.

 

This logo conveys a confusing image. Not only is the dog not incorporated well into the design, the dog looks nervous or anxious and why is the hand poking him in the nose? As a dog-owner, I wouldn’t use this trainer. Thumbs down.

This cool, simple logo manages to convey the idea of an actual hot-dog, with the elongated body of the dog representing a bun, and the flaming tail indicates heat. It’s clever, clean and eye-catching, everything you want in a logo design.

 

This rather weird and slightly disturbing image is a humorous experimental design. It could work for a company with a quirky sense of humor, but it’s very odd.

This interesting design was inspired by an Indian holiday. It shows a unique design and great use of color. A nice logo for an artist or photographer, or any creative company.

 

This cool logo features clearly readable text and an incorporated dog design that’s eye catching and visually interesting.

 

This rather boring logo is for a company that has nothing to do with dogs, so they seem to be drawing on the iconic nature of the dog image. Shaping text into an image is a common ploy, and it can work very well, but in this case it’s unreadable and just plain odd.

 

Another text-based logo design. This one is readable, a serious improvement on the one before, but honestly, what was the creator thinking with the placement of that last “a”? It makes the dog appear to be in the midst of doing one of the things dogs do best.
The letter “o” makes the dog’s “neck” look very odd, as well.

 

Sadly, the pet-care company this was made for chose another logo, but this clever design shows how text-image logos should be done. The clever way the dog’s legs are made from the “W” looks natural and the text is very readable.

 

This logo is just weird. What’s up with the dog’s head? A brighter idea might have been to keep the dog’s head intact and have the light bulb floating above instead, instead of decapitating poor Fido and using his neck for a light socket.

 

Tom Chu works for PsPrint and PsPrint Blog. When he’s not sitting behind a computer, Tom likes watching sci-fi movies and Japanese cartoons, hitting the golf course and playing with his four dogs. You can connect with Tom via Google+ or Twitter.