The short answer
- The smallest size is the hardest test: design from small to large, not the other way round.
- A modern logo is a system with variants: wordmark for large, mark for small.
- Negative space and simplicity win at 16 pixels; detail and gradients vanish there.
- Test on the tab, in greyscale and on a dark background before you fix anything.
The size ladder
Every mark has to survive this descent. At the bottom waits the browser tab.
Why small is the new large
A logo used to live on letterhead and walls. Now it lives on tabs, app screens, avatars and search results, and all those places are small. Design for the billboard and then shrink, and you are left with a grey smudge.
So reverse the order. Start with the mark that holds up at 16 pixels and build out from there to the large applications. What works small almost always works large; the other way round hardly ever.
The ladder above is the test we put every design through, at every step.
One brand, several forms
The answer to all those sizes is not a compromise logo but a system. A full wordmark for where there is room. A compact mark for where there is not. And fixed rules for when which form applies.
Motion belongs to it by now: on screens a subtly moving mark beats a still image, provided the still version is just as strong. Motion is a layer, not a crutch.
Fix the system in files for every purpose and a guideline of one page. Then the brand is right everywhere, even when you are not standing next to it.
A logo is finished when it is still yours at 16 pixels.
The checks before you sign off
Put the mark on a real browser tab next to ten competitors and squint. Recognise it at once, and you are on the right track.
Take the colour off. A strong mark survives greyscale, because colour is support and not a load-bearing wall. Then test on dark and light; the web switches between both effortlessly now.
And look at the negative space: at small sizes the air between the shapes does the work. Detail, thin lines and gradients disappear first. What remains has to carry the story on its own.
Frequently asked questions
My current logo does not work small. Does it all have to be redone?
Not necessarily. Often we distil a compact mark from the existing logo that keeps the family. The wordmark then stays for the large applications.
Is a letter monogram not boring?
Boring is being unrecognisable. A good monogram with its own shape or negative space is strong small and elegant large; the execution makes the difference.
What files do you deliver?
Every size and variant you need, from favicon to print, plus a short guideline. See also our page on brand identity.
Does your logo survive the ladder?
Send your logo along. We put it at 16 pixels and tell you honestly what happens, and what to do about it.