A mark that works small, in black and white, and at scale
Logo design tested for legibility and versatility across every real-world application.
What is Logo Design?
A logo is the smallest, most frequently repeated unit of a brand's visual identity - a mark simple enough to be recognised at favicon size, distinctive enough to hold up next to competitors, and flexible enough to work in full colour, in black and white, and everywhere in between. It is not the brand itself, but it is usually the single asset a brand gets judged by fastest.
Logo design is the process of creating a business's primary visual mark - tested for legibility, distinctiveness, and versatility across every size and application it will actually be used in.
Why this matters for the business
A logo gets seen far more often at small, low-attention sizes - a browser tab, an app icon, a social avatar - than at the large, full-colour size it's usually designed and approved at. A mark that only works on a slide in a pitch deck often falls apart the moment it's shrunk to 32 pixels or printed in a single colour on an invoice.
Distinctiveness matters just as much as legibility. A mark that resembles three competitors in the same category doesn't help anyone recognise the business faster - it just adds one more similar shape to a crowded field.
What makes this hard to get right
- Marks are frequently approved at large size on a screen and never tested at the small sizes they will actually appear at most often
- Colour-dependent logos lose all distinctiveness the moment they're printed, faxed, or displayed in monochrome
- Concepts that look distinctive in isolation often turn out to closely resemble an existing mark in the same category
How we approach Logo Design
Legibility at Scale
- Testing at favicon and app-icon size before approval
- Stroke weight and detail calibrated to survive shrinking
- Readability at a glance, not just on close inspection
Colour & Monochrome Versatility
- A version that works in full colour
- A version that works in pure black and white
- No reliance on colour alone to carry meaning
Distinctiveness
- Review against direct competitors' marks before finalising
- A concept memorable enough to describe without seeing it
Format Flexibility
- Primary lockup, icon-only mark, and wordmark variants where useful
- Vector files that scale cleanly from favicon to billboard
Usage & Clear-Space Rules
- Minimum size thresholds
- Clear space requirements around the mark
- Documented misuse examples
Scope, area by area
| Area | What we deliver |
|---|---|
| Primary Mark | Full-colour and monochrome versions of the finished logo |
| Variants | Icon-only and wordmark-only versions where the primary lockup does not fit every context |
| Favicon & App Icon | Simplified adaptation tested for legibility at the smallest real-world sizes |
| Usage Rules | Minimum size, clear space, and misuse guidelines |
How it actually runs
Discovery
We review the brand's positioning and existing visual assets, if any, before sketching anything.
Concept Development
Multiple distinct directions are explored, not variations on a single idea, so the choice between them is meaningful.
Competitive Distinctiveness Check
Shortlisted concepts are checked against direct competitors' marks to rule out unintentional similarity.
Refinement
The selected direction is refined for construction, proportion, and stroke weight.
Small-Scale & Monochrome Testing
Every candidate is tested at favicon size and in pure black and white before it's called finished.
Delivery
Final files are delivered in the formats and variants the business will actually need, with usage rules documented.
How this compares
| A Tested Logo | An Untested Logo |
|---|---|
| Legible at favicon and app-icon size | Detail is lost or illegible once shrunk |
| Works in monochrome without losing meaning | Relies on colour to read correctly |
| Checked against competitor marks before finalising | Risks resembling an existing mark in the same category |
Most of the difference between the two isn't creative talent - it's whether the mark was actually tested before it shipped.
What we measure this against
- Legibility at the smallest size the logo will realistically appear at
- Performance in monochrome and reversed-colour contexts
- Distinctiveness against named, direct competitors
Who needs this
New businesses without an existing mark
A first logo needs the same testing rigour as a redesign, even with no legacy asset to work around.
Businesses with a logo that fails at small sizes
If your icon is unrecognisable as a favicon or app icon, that's a design testing gap, not something to just live with.
Where this applies
- A startup needs a first logo built to work across a website, app icon, and social presence from day one
- An established business has a logo that looks fine on a website but breaks down as a small app icon or in single-colour print
Most logo revisions we're asked to do later aren't stylistic - they're fixing a mark that was approved on a laptop screen and never tested anywhere it would actually be used small, which is most places.
Other services in this area
Positioning before a single visual decision
Positioning, voice, and competitive differentiation defined before any visual identity work begins.
A consistent visual language, not just a logo
Brand identity design covering the full visual system - colour, type, imagery, and application.
So the brand stays consistent without you in the room
Brand guideline documentation covering every visual and voice rule for consistent application by any team.
Every touchpoint recognisably the same brand
Visual identity application across web, print, social, and product touchpoints.
Common questions
Typically two to three distinct directions. We would rather present fewer, genuinely different concepts than many small variations of one idea, which tends to make the decision harder without improving the result.
No - and we would be skeptical of anyone who promises that. What we can guarantee is that every concept presented has already been tested for legibility, monochrome performance, and competitive distinctiveness before you see it.
Yes, as a standard part of the process - we review shortlisted concepts against direct competitors in your category before finalising anything.
Vector source files plus exported formats for web, print, and app icon use, including full-colour and monochrome versions of each variant.
Typically two to four weeks from an agreed brief to final files, depending on how many rounds of refinement the chosen direction needs.
Yes - an evolution that keeps brand recognition while fixing the specific problems (illegibility at small size, colour dependency) is often the right call, and usually faster than a full redesign.
Not sure if your current logo is actually the problem?
We'll test it at the sizes and formats it actually gets used in before recommending a redesign.
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