# Logo design basics: simple logos that last

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/logo-design-basics)

A logo does a small job in a lot of places. It has to work in one colour, at the size of a fingernail and on any background. These are the principles and the process that get you there.

## The short version

- Good logo design is simple enough to recognise at a glance, works in a single colour and stays legible at very small sizes.
- The five common types of logo are the wordmark, the lettermark, the symbol, the combination mark and the emblem.
- Design a logo in black and white first, because a logo that only works in colour will fail on receipts, stamps and busy backgrounds.
- Test a logo at small sizes, such as a profile picture or a browser tab, before you approve it.
- A logo is one part of a brand identity; colour, type and backgrounds do much of the work of making a brand recognisable.

Good **logo design** comes down to a few basics: keep it simple enough to recognise in a second, make it work in one colour, check it at tiny sizes and choose a style that suits the business rather than the trend. Start with the name, sketch on paper, design in black and white, and only add colour once the shape holds up on its own. A logo that passes those tests will last for years.

It also helps to keep the logo's job in proportion. It signs your work; it does not have to explain your business. Colour, type and the backgrounds you use every day do as much to make a brand recognisable, which [visual identity](https://gradiently.design/guide/visual-identity) explains.

## The five types of logo

| Type | What it is | Best when |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wordmark | The name set in a chosen or customised typeface | The name is short and distinctive |
| Lettermark | Initials or a single letter | The full name is long, or the initials are already used |
| Symbol | A picture or abstract shape on its own | The brand is well known, or needs to work without words |
| Combination mark | A symbol and a wordmark together, in a fixed lockup | Most new businesses: the name builds recognition for the symbol |
| Emblem | Words sitting inside a shape, like a badge or seal | Traditional trades, clubs, breweries, schools |

Most small businesses start with a wordmark or a combination mark. A symbol on its own only works once people already know the name.

If your name is short, a [wordmark](https://gradiently.design/guide/wordmark-design) is often the strongest and cheapest choice to get right, because the work is all in the letters.

## Logo design principles that make a logo last

- **Simple.** Fewer shapes mean faster recognition and fewer things to go wrong when the logo is shrunk, embroidered or printed in one ink.
- **Distinctive.** Look at the logos of ten competitors. If yours could swap in among them, keep going.
- **One colour first.** A logo should work in solid black and solid white before it gets a palette.
- **Scalable.** It must read at the size of a browser tab and look intentional on a shop front.
- **Appropriate.** A law firm and a sweet shop can both have good logos that look nothing alike. Match the [brand personality](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-personality).
- **Timeless.** Trendy effects date fast. A clean shape with considered type ages slowly.

### Avoid

- Fine lines and tiny details that vanish when small
- Gradients, shadows or glows built into the logo itself
- More than two typefaces
- Literal pictures of the product: a cup for a café, a house for an agent
- Clip art or stock icons anyone can use

### Do

- Bold, simple shapes with generous spacing
- Flat colour, with depth coming from the background instead
- One carefully chosen face, adjusted by hand
- An idea about the feeling, not the object
- Something drawn for you, even if it is simple

Keeping the logo flat does not mean the brand has to be flat. Put the richness in the background and let the logo sit on top cleanly; [logo on a gradient background](https://gradiently.design/guide/logo-on-gradient-background) shows how to keep it crisp.

## How to design a logo, step by step

1. **Write the brief** Who the business serves, three words for how it should feel, where the logo will mostly appear and what competitors look like.
2. **Sketch on paper** Draw thirty rough ideas in small boxes, no bigger than a stamp. Small sketches force simple ideas.
3. **Choose the type** Try the name in ten typefaces before you draw anything custom. The right face can carry the whole logo. [Brand fonts](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-fonts) helps narrow it down.
4. **Build it in black and white** Take the best three ideas into vector software and refine them in solid black on white. Adjust letter spacing by eye.
5. **Test small and in context** Shrink each one to profile picture and favicon size, and put it on real designs. Discard any that blur or lose their shape.
6. **Add colour last** Choose one main colour and a reversed version for dark backgrounds. [How to choose brand colours](https://gradiently.design/guide/how-to-choose-brand-colors) covers the rest.
7. **Make the variations and files** Create the stacked, horizontal, icon and one colour versions, and export SVG, PNG and PDF files.

## Test your logo at real sizes

A logo is seen far more often small than large. On a phone, a profile picture is a small circle, and a favicon can be shown at just 16 pixels. Put the logo into the real formats it will live in and look at each one at the size people will actually see.

- Profile square 1080×1080: 1080 × 1080
- Business card 1050×600: 1050 × 600
- Story 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920
- Website hero 1920×1080: 1920 × 1080

Four places a logo commonly lives, drawn to scale. A logo that suits only one of these shapes needs a second, differently arranged version.

A square design with the wordmark fern centred on a soft green gradient, as it would appear as a profile picture

A short lowercase wordmark holds up as a square profile image.

A landscape business card with the wordmark fern, the words Plant studio and an email address, on the same green gradient

The same wordmark on a business card, with room for a small descriptor beneath.

Try it on a busy background too. If the logo only reads on plain white, it will struggle on photos, packaging and social posts, which is where most people will meet it.

## Logo colours: start with two versions

- Fern green (main): #14532d
- Paper (reversed): #f7f3ea
- Black (one colour): #111111
- White (knockout): #ffffff

A practical starter set: the main colour, a reversed version for dark backgrounds, and pure black and white for single ink printing and photos.

Resist adding a third or fourth colour inside the logo. Every extra colour is something that can go wrong on a printer, a screen or a busy photo. Keep the variety in your backgrounds and layouts, where it adds life without weakening the logo. [Logo variations](https://gradiently.design/guide/logo-variations) shows how to build the full set.

Once the logo is finished, put it somewhere it gets used. In Gradiently the brand kit stores your logos, colours and fonts, and the Designer applies them when it lays out a design, so the right version turns up on every post without anyone hunting for files.

## FAQ

### What makes a good logo design?

A good logo is simple, distinctive, works in one colour, stays legible at small sizes and suits the personality of the business.

### What are the main types of logos?

Wordmarks, lettermarks, symbols, combination marks and emblems. Most new businesses start with a wordmark or a combination mark.

### Should a logo have a gradient?

Usually not inside the logo itself, because gradients fail in one colour printing and at small sizes. Keep the logo flat and put the gradient in the background.

### What file formats does a logo need?

An SVG for screens and scaling, transparent PNGs for everyday use and a PDF or EPS for print, each in colour, black and white.

### How many colours should a logo have?

One or two is ideal. Fewer colours make the logo easier to reproduce, cheaper to print and more recognisable.