Common wisdom has it that, to be effective, a logo must be graphically clean and simple.

Granted, a much higher percentage of clean and simple logos are found to be effective at promoting their brands than complex logos.

Some of the cleanest logos are so effective, you don’t even need to see the whole thing in order for the logo to do its job of connecting you with the brand it represents.

Or the logo can even be highly stylized and still be instantly recognizable.

None of  this means that more complex logos are inherently less effective than their simpler counterparts.

For instance, the United States Marine Corps has a fairly complex logo that still enjoys a very high degree of recognizability.

Even when stylized, it still retains its core essence and its ability to represent the Marine Corps brand.

So when it comes to logos and branding, the keep it simple mantra isn’t always so… simple.