STOP
What good is a logo if nobody remembers it? It's the reason you have one right, to remind people of you. To be a visual symbol for your business. That's its purpose. No different than a stop sign instructing or reminding people to stop. The Highway Officials would like you to remember to stop your car before proceeding when you see a bright red octagon. Thats it. Is this not also the purpose of a logo? Your company has a logo (sign) designed to standout and stick in peoples minds so that they remember it and you. It's rudimentary, functional purpose is to be memorable. If it fails to do this, then it fails as a logo.
Now there are various ways to be memorable. One highly effective way is repetition. Over and over and over again, like a stop sign. But what if you don't have the marketing budget of Nike? What if you can't afford the time and money it takes to associate a check mark with your shoe company? You've got to rely on distinction, idiosyncrasy, something that will make you memorable. Let's say you're one of ten groomsman or bridesmaids at a wedding. You all are wearing the same tux or same dress. But then you have pink hair. Who stands out? Who are people going to be murmuring about? Who are people going to ask about in future photos. You. And if you really want to seal the deal, have a great story for why your hair is pink.
The point is that simple visual distinctions are powerfully memorable distinctions. Why do you think a stop sign is an octagon? They could have made it a circle or a square. Why have eight sides, is it symbolic for something? The great wizard Wikipedia says the reason was just to standout. Before 1922 stop signs were sometimes white, yellow or red with black lettering, sometimes circles and NOT reflective. They chose the unique eight-sided shape because it allowed drivers facing the back of the sign to know that an oncoming driver had a stop. Day or night, that shape meant Stop. Needless to say, it is also red. Plain and functionally distinct. Designed to standout.
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