Getting a new logo is exciting. You’ve probably spent time thinking about your business, the feeling you want to create and how you want people to see your brand.
But once you’ve found a logo you love, there’s another question worth asking:
What should you actually receive from your designer?
Aside from the obvious (it should feel like your brand and of course spell your business name correctly), there are a few other things worth talking about.
1. Does it look good big and small?
And by small, I mean tiny.
Right now, you might be imagining your logo on your website or Facebook (the new phone book, am I right?). But eventually you might want to use it on something like a pen, business card, or an invoice.
A good logo should still be recognizable and legible when it shrinks down.
That doesn’t necessarily mean every tiny detail has to survive at microscopic size. Sometimes a simplified version or logo mark is the better solution. The important thing is to think beyond the first place you plan to use it.
2. Does it work in one colour?
Gradients can look either pretty, or slick and techy. Having different colours is fun and fresh. But your logo shouldn’t fall apart the second someone takes either of those things away.
At some point, you may want your logo embroidered on a shirt, printed in a single colour, engraved, stamped or used in a situation where full-colour printing just isn’t practical.
A logo that has been supplied in a simple one-colour version can give you much more flexibility later.
3. Did you receive more than one version?
One logo doesn’t always fit every situation.
For example, a horizontal version can work beautifully along the bottom of a poster, flyer or document, where space is limited vertically.
A stacked or primary version might work better when you want your logo to have more presence and take center stage.
Having a few thoughtfully designed variations means you’re not trying to force the same version of your logo into every possible space and situation. Don’t worry! You don’t necessarily need twelve different logos. But a small set of versions will give you flexibility. This is a thoughtful decision that your designer will help you determine based on your final design choices.
This is the main logo for Honeybird Creative. It can sometimes be referred to as a stacked logo:
This is a secondary logo for Honeybird Creative.
It can sometimes be referred to as a horizontal logo.
4. Do you have (or need) a logo mark?
This isn’t appropriate for every brand, but when it makes sense, a logo mark can be incredibly useful.
Your icon can be great for instances like:
- your website favicon — that little logo guy at the top of your browser tab
- a social media profile image
- an app icon
- stickers or promotional materials
- smaller branded applications, like patterned papers, packing tape etc.
Your full business name doesn’t always fit comfortably everywhere but recognizable mark can give your brand another way to show up!
This friendly guy is the logo mark for Honeybird:
5. What file types to you need?
This one might not sound exciting, but future you will thank you!
You may need different file formats depending on how your logo is being used. A file that works beautifully on a website isn’t necessarily the right file for a large printed sign or embroidery. A PNG with a transparent background is great for many everyday uses, while a vector file can be important for things like large-format printing and certain production methods.
Having the right files from the beginning can save you time, money and the awkward future moment of digging through old emails trying to find that one logo attachment from three years ago. Also, save all your logo files in a single place to save yourself some heartburn later.
A logo should be ready for real life
A good logo isn’t just something that looks great in the presentation where you first see it.
It’s something you’ll live with.
It should be flexible enough to work across the things you need now, while giving you room for the things you haven’t thought of yet.
Because chances are, that beautiful logo is eventually going places.
Your Logo has Places to Go.
Honeybird Creative creates thoughtful visual identities designed to work across the real world places your brand needs to show up.