17 Pharmacy Logo Ideas: Cross, Mortar, Rod and Leaf Marks
9 min read
A pharmacy logo has a hard job. It has to feel clinical enough to trust with your health and friendly enough that people walk in. The usual shortcuts are a green cross, a mortar and pestle, a snake and rod or a bowl, and the best pharmacy logos reuse them with a twist.
Below are 17 pharmacy logo designs grouped by symbol: cross marks, mortar and pestle, rod and laurel, natural and botanical, and monograms and wordmarks. For each one we note what works and what kind of pharmacy it suits. We also cover symbols with regulated or common uses, then finish with practical tips.
What a pharmacy logo says about a brand
- Trust and care: clean shapes, plenty of white space and calm colours tell people that medicine is handled properly. Blue and green are the most common colours in this list.
- Craft and tradition: a mortar and pestle recalls the old apothecary and suits independent, family-run and compounding pharmacies.
- Natural and wellness: leaves, plants and soft greens suit herbal shops, health stores and pharmacies that sell supplements.
- Modern and digital: simple wordmarks and monograms suit online pharmacies, apps and delivery services.
The common traps are generic clip-art crosses, too much medical detail that blurs at small sizes, and symbols you may not be free to use. Pharmacies also need a logo that is easy to read on a street sign, a paper bag and a pill label.
Pharmacy symbols with regulated or common uses
The green cross is widely used on pharmacy signs in Europe and India, and the Bowl of Hygieia is a common pharmacy symbol, often combined with it (Wikipedia: Pharmacy). In France, according to Wikipedia, the pharmacists’ order uses the bowl and both symbols are written into law. In the United States and Canada, the mortar and pestle is the more common symbol.
Rules on who may display these symbols vary from country to country, and we have not checked them for yours. Before you put a green cross or a bowl on a sign or a logo, ask your national pharmacy regulator or a trademark professional.
17 pharmacy logo ideas by symbol
Green cross and cross-based pharmacy logos
The cross is the most familiar pharmacy sign. These examples use it as a badge, as a detail on a mortar and as part of a character.
1. Farmacia Danero
A round badge with a green top band and a grey lower band, and a cross built from four curved bars in the middle. The curves soften the cross, and the “dal 1978” (since 1978) adds heritage. The horizontal version below it shows how the logo would sit on a shopfront. A good model for a neighbourhood pharmacy. Design by smithwork on 99designs.
2. Eracleous Pharmacy
A chunky green mortar with a white cross on the bowl, a pestle and capsules scattered around it. It combines two classic symbols in one friendly mark, and the single green keeps it easy to print. It suits a high-street pharmacy that wants to look approachable. Design by Roshan Negi (credit as given in our original post).
3. Medfox
An orange fox head wears a nurse cap with a small cross on the front. The cross is a detail, not the whole idea, so the mark feels warm rather than clinical. It is shown as an app icon and with the wordmark on navy, which suits a telehealth service or an online pharmacy. Design by Simon Rico.
Mortar and pestle pharmacy logos
The mortar and pestle is the classic pharmacy sign. The challenge is making an old symbol look fresh.
4. Neofarm
A teal bowl with a pestle and tiny floating hearts, above a spaced wordmark where a heart replaces the O. The gradient bowl and the soft heart say care before they say medicine. A strong fit for a modern independent pharmacy. Design by PopArt Studio.
5. De Ruyck Pharma
An engraved-style mortar and pestle above a bold condensed surname and a script “Pharma”, with “since 1978” on warm paper. The mix of heavy and script lettering feels like a shop sign from another era. It suits an old family pharmacy that wants to lean on its history. Design by Louis Bruyneel.
6. Pharmacy nurse
A nurse in a cap is drawn as one dark grey shape, with a mortar and pestle cut out of the face. The two ideas, care and pharmacy, share one silhouette. It is a clever negative-space mark for a pharmacy with a strong advice service. Design by akdesain on 99designs.
7. Zinga Pharma
A tree grows out of a green mortar, with a pestle leaning against it. The earthy green and brown say plant-based medicine. The board shows the logo on green and brown, and the stacked layout would suit a herbal or traditional-medicine brand. Design by Young Creations on 99designs.
8. Elephant and mortar
A navy elephant head whose trunk curls under a white mortar bowl, with a blue pestle inside. Elephants are known for memory, and here that suggests a pharmacist who remembers you. The two-colour negative space design works at any size. Design by masjacky on 99designs.
Rod, snake and laurel pharmacy logos
Snakes and staffs come from the medical tradition. The Rod of Asclepius has one snake on a plain staff, while a caduceus has two snakes and usually wings. Decide which one you mean before you draw it.
9. Asklepian
A single snake winds around a staff inside a green laurel wreath, above a strong slab serif wordmark. The mark is a textbook Rod of Asclepius, drawn with a lot of polish. It was made for a primary care brand, and the same layout would work for a pharmacy. Design by Mersad Comaga.
10. Hawthorn LTC Pharmacy
A white flower grows from a snake-wrapped stem inside an oval frame, above airy capital lettering on olive green. It softens the medical snake with a flower. The pharmacy serves long-term care facilities, so the gentle look fits the audience. Design by vraione on 99designs.
11. Bavarian Cannabis
A cannabis leaf tops a staff with two intertwined snakes, in a fine engraved style, next to a bold sans-serif name. The leaf makes the product clear at a glance. It was made for a pharmacy that sells medical cannabis, and the dark green keeps it serious. Design by slowarea on 99designs.
12. Apotheke Auhof
A white laurel wreath circle holds a large A with a sprig, and two cupped hands hold it up from below. The care message is clear, and white on teal is bright and calm. It was made for an Austrian pharmacy, and the wreath gives it a traditional feel. Design by AleksandraMar on 99designs.
Botanical and natural pharmacy logos
Plants, herbs and vintage lettering. These logos suit herbal shops and pharmacies that sell natural products.
13. Pharm House
A line drawing of a barn with a plant in the doorway sits above wide slab-serif lettering, with “a botanical shoppe” curved underneath. The farm imagery makes the shop feel local and natural. A good model for an herbal store or a natural pharmacy. Source: Dribbble shot.
14. Pure Heritage
An engraved mortar and pestle with herbs sits at the top of a rough-edged round badge, above hand-lettered type. It is a proposal for a brand rather than a pharmacy, but the apothecary look carries over. Use it as a reference for a herbal or heritage pharmacy. Design by austinminded on 99designs.
Monogram and wordmark pharmacy logos
Simple lettering and abstract shapes. These marks suit online pharmacies and modern chains that need an app icon as much as a sign.
15. Apothecare Pharmacy
An interlocking lowercase a and p in teal and grey, next to a lowercase name and a spaced “PHARMACY” label. The monogram is compact enough for an app icon or a carrier bag. A simple, modern choice for an independent pharmacy that wants a clean look. Design by MYXATA on 99designs.
16. Wellpill
A coral serif wordmark with a small red heart tucked between the first two letters. The warm colour and elegant letters feel more like a lifestyle brand than a drugstore. It was made as a clean wordmark for an online pharmacy. Design by fikandzo on 99designs.
17. Andote
Two leaf shapes and two capsules in red and yellow are arranged like a butterfly. The pills are the body and the leaves are the wings, which says medicine and nature in one abstract mark. A good option for a pharma start-up or a supplements brand. Design by Sean Farrell.
Tips for designing a pharmacy logo
- Choose your symbol on purpose. A cross, a mortar and pestle, a rod and a bowl all send different signals. Pick one main symbol and check whether it has regulated use in your country.
- Keep the colours calm and clear. Blue and green are the safe choices here. Our guides to green and blue in branding explain what each one signals.
- Design for signs and small labels. A pharmacy logo has to be read from across the road and on a pill label, so keep the lines bold and test it at 32px.
- Plan for a long name. Pharmacy names are often long, so draw a horizontal and a stacked version, plus an icon-only mark for an app or a bag. Here is how to plan logo variations.
- Do not promise more than you offer. Medical symbols and words imply licensed services. Make sure the imagery matches what the business actually does.
- Test in black and white. If the logo works in one colour, it will work on stamps, labels and fax-style forms.
Looking for more ideas? Browse our collections of monogram icons and law firm logos for other trust-based professions, or read the key principles of logo design. You can also see our full range of design services.
Frequently asked questions
What symbols are used in pharmacy logos?
The most common are the green cross, the mortar and pestle, the Rod of Asclepius and the Bowl of Hygieia. Pills, capsules, leaves and a heart are also common modern additions.
Can I use these pharmacy logos?
No. Every design here belongs to its designer or their client. Use them for ideas on shape, style and colour, then have an original pharmacy logo made for your brand.
Can I use a green cross or the Bowl of Hygieia in my logo?
It depends on the country. Both are widely used on pharmacy signs in Europe, and in France both are written into law for the pharmacists’ order. We have not checked the rules for other countries, so ask your national pharmacy regulator or a trademark professional first.
What is the difference between the Rod of Asclepius and the caduceus?
The Rod of Asclepius has one snake wound around a plain staff. The caduceus has two snakes and usually wings. Both turn up on healthcare brands, so decide which one you mean and use it consistently.
What colours suit a pharmacy logo?
Green and blue are the most common because they feel clean and calm. Warm accents, such as the coral and orange above, can make a pharmacy feel friendlier. Whichever you choose, make sure the logo stays readable in one colour.
Need a logo for a client?
Inkyy is a white label design and development team for agencies. Our in-house brand designers create original logos and full identities that you deliver under your own brand. See our design services or book a 15-minute call.
