David Coffey - Web Designer & Developer

Technical tips for logo design

Posted by David on 19 January 2010 | 92 Comments

Tags: logos, design, graphics

There are lots of articles out there that discuss the artistic aspects of logo design (this one is good, this one is too). I want to talk about the technical side of logo design and how flexible your logo needs to be. It helps to be aware of how your logo will be applied in the real world, and what problems you might encounter after you've finished drawing it. Here is my advice for when you sit down to draw your next logo, based on my own experience.

1. Use vector images

This is NOT NEGOTIABLE! Your logo may be 100 pixels square on the top of your website, or it might be 100 feet tall on a billboard on the side of the highway. Your logo represents your company everywhere, and it needs to be able to scale to any size in order to accommodate that. Raster images simply cannot accomplish this, I don't care how big they are. Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard program (and my personal choice) for creating vector drawings. If you are poor and can't afford to buy it, head over and download yourself a free copy of Inkscape.

2. Avoid gradients & shadows

Why? Because sign makers often cannot accommodate these things. When you are getting your logo printed on physical things other than paper, like a sign on the side of a building, or knitted into a piece of clothing, gradients are often difficult, if not impossible to reproduce. It's best to stick to solid colors.

3. Limit your colors, and don't rely on them for effect

I would recommend limiting the total number of colors in your logo to not more than four. Getting signs made with more colors is more expensive, not only will it save you money, it will make it easier to apply your logo to different situations. You should consider what the colors will be if your logo is on a dark background, a light background, or if it is applied in only black & white. I would recommend creating separate versions of the logo for each of these situations with the colors adjusted appropriately.

4. Convert text to vectors

When you send your Illustrator or EPS file along to your sign maker, client, or anyone else, chances are they don't have the particular font that you used installed on their computer. The solution is to convert the text to direct vectors so that this isn't an issue. In Illustrator, this is really simple. Just right-click on your text and select "Create Outlines".

5. Know your colors

Sign makers and printers may need to know the exact values of your colors in a variety of color spaces. You should be able to tell them the values of each of your colors in RGB, CMYK, and Pantone.