A logo used to need a large version, a small version and a black one. Today it needs to work as a 16 pixel favicon, a rounded app icon, a line in dark mode, an animation, a stamp and, increasingly, a stitch on a tote bag.
The new test sheet
Studios have started building test sheets before they present a single concept. Every candidate goes through the same set: tiny sizes, one colour, inverted, cropped into a circle, animated in and out, and printed on rough paper.
Concepts that fail at 16 pixels rarely make it to the client.
Simpler is not always the answer
The easy response is to strip everything back to a single letter in a single weight. That survives every test and says nothing. The better studios keep one distinctive detail, a cut, a curve or a counter, and make sure that one detail survives at every size.
Motion is part of the mark
More briefs now ask how the logo moves. A mark that builds from simple shapes is easier to animate than one drawn as a single complex outline. Some studios now sketch the motion first and draw the static mark from it.
Before you present
- Test every concept at 16 pixels and in one colour.
- Crop it into a circle and a rounded square.
- Decide which single detail must survive, and protect it.
A logo is not finished when it looks good large. It is finished when it still looks like itself everywhere else.
