A logo design built for 16 pixels and for a building
A logo is not one file. It is a small system of related files, each drawn for a situation, plus rules for the situations nobody predicted.
What is logo design?
Logo Design is the creation of a brand mark and the family of variants around it: primary lockup, horizontal and stacked versions, a standalone symbol, monochrome and reversed forms, and a favicon. It suits Australian businesses that need one mark to work on a phone screen, a tender document, a uniform and a shopfront sign.
Get a fixed written quote- Typical timeline
- 2 to 5 weeks
- What drives cost
- The number of directions explored, whether a wordmark needs custom letterforms drawn rather than a licensed typeface.
- Best for
- New businesses, renames and marks that fall apart below 40 pixels
- You own
- Copyright in the final mark, assigned in writing, plus every source file
- Built with
- Vector originals, full variant set, print and screen file packs
Your handover
What you receive beyond a single logo file
One file is never enough, because a mark drawn for a website header behaves badly on a vehicle door and disappears in a browser tab. We draw a family. The primary lockup is the one you use by default. A horizontal version handles wide, shallow spaces such as email signatures and sponsor boards. A stacked version handles square spaces. A standalone symbol covers social profile images and app icons where the words would be unreadable anyway. Reversed and single colour versions cover dark backgrounds, embroidery, etching and one colour printing.
- 01Primary, horizontal and stacked lockups
- 02Standalone symbol and independent wordmark
- 03Reversed, single colour and greyscale versions
- 04Favicon and app icon drawn at small sizes
- 05Vector originals in AI, EPS, SVG and PDF
- 06Screen ready PNG set with transparency
- Colour specifications in hex, RGB, CMYK and spot
- Clear space, minimum size and misuse rules
- Written copyright assignment
Around those sits the part people forget: the rules
Around those sits the part people forget: the rules. Minimum size in millimetres for print and pixels for screen. Clear space expressed as a proportion of the mark so it scales correctly. Approved and forbidden background colours. What happens when the mark sits over a photograph. A short list of misuses with visual examples, because stretching, recolouring and adding drop shadows are the three things that will happen within a year unless someone has written down that they must not.
- Primary lockup, horizontal lockup and stacked lockup
- Standalone symbol and wordmark that work independently
- Reversed, single colour and greyscale versions
- Favicon and app icon at small pixel sizes, drawn rather than shrunk
- Clear space and minimum size rules
- Colour values in RGB, hex, CMYK and a nominated Pantone reference
Feedback works best when it is about fit rather than preference.
Trade marks, the registered symbol and what you may legally claim
Design and trade mark law intersect at two points and both catch people out. The first is before you draw. A mark that closely resembles a registered device mark in the same class is a commercial risk regardless of who drew it first, so we run a screening search on the IP Australia register during the brief stage. That search is a filter, not legal advice. A trade mark attorney gives the opinion, and for anything you intend to build a business on, you should get one.
The second is what you print next to the mark
The second is what you print next to the mark. The registered symbol may only be used for a mark that is actually registered in Australia, and falsely representing a mark as registered is an offence under the Trade Marks Act. The unregistered symbol carries no statutory protection but signals a claim. We build both variants into the file pack and label clearly which one you may use today, so nobody in your team makes that decision by copying whatever the last supplier did.
How the engagement runs
How a logo design project runs
We work from a short written brief rather than a mood board, because a mood board records taste and a brief records constraints. The constraints are what shape the mark: where it will appear largest, where smallest, whether it will be embroidered, whether it must sit beside partner or accreditation logos, and whether the business name is likely to change length as the offer expands.
- 01BriefUsage contexts, smallest and largest applications, adjacent logos and any legal constraints
- 02ScreeningKnockout search of the IP Australia trade mark register for similar device marks in your classes
- 03ExplorationA range of directions drawn in black and white only, so structure is judged before colour
- 04SelectionOne direction chosen, with the reasoning recorded
- 05RefinementCurves, spacing, optical corrections and construction of the full variant family
- 06Stress testingReduced to favicon size, printed in one colour, viewed on a phone at arm length
- 07ProductionComplete file pack, usage rules and a copyright assignment document
Two decisions on your side that keep the project moving
Feedback works best when it is about fit rather than preference. Asking whether a mark suits a business that will be read by tradespeople at a distance is a useful question. Asking whether everyone likes the colour is not, because the colour can change in a minute and the structure cannot. We tell clients this up front and it saves a round or two.
Choose the right level
The file formats that prevent problems later
Most logo frustrations are file format problems wearing a design costume. A signwriter asks for vector and receives a JPEG. A printer asks for CMYK and receives an RGB file that prints muddy. A developer asks for SVG and receives a PNG with a white box behind it. We supply the full set, named clearly, in folders labelled for the person who will open them rather than for the designer who made them.
Format
01
SVG
Who asks for it
Web developers
What it is for
Scales to any size, tiny file, editable colour in code
02
EPS or AI
Who asks for it
Signwriters, embroiderers, printers
What it is for
Vector original for large format, cutting and stitching
03
PDF vector
Who asks for it
Print suppliers and document templates
What it is for
Portable vector that opens on any machine without design software
04
PNG with transparency
Who asks for it
Your own team, slide decks, documents
What it is for
Everyday use where a background must show through
05
ICO and PNG icons
Who asks for it
Web and app builds
What it is for
Browser tabs, bookmarks and home screen icons at small sizes
How we work this out during scoping
Colour space matters as much as format. Screens are RGB, offset print is CMYK, and merchandise, signage and packaging often need a spot colour reference so the same red appears on a shirt, a sticker and a shopfront. Those three systems cannot match perfectly, so we choose the values deliberately and record which one is authoritative. If the mark will appear on printed packaging, we check it against the substrate early, since white ink on clear film and unbleached board both shift colour noticeably.
Testing a mark before you sign it off
Marks fail in predictable places, so we test them there before delivery rather than after. We render the mark at favicon size and look at it on a real screen, not zoomed in. We print it at business card scale in one colour on ordinary office paper. We put it on a photograph with a busy background. We simulate embroidery, where fine detail turns into a knot of thread. We check it in greyscale, which reveals whether the contrast was doing the work or the colour was.
More on testing a mark before you sign it off
Then we check it in context rather than on a white artboard. A mark that looks confident floating in the middle of a presentation slide can look weak in the corner of a website header, cramped on a uniform pocket, or lost on a truck seen from three lanes away. If the mark is going onto signage, we ask for the fabrication method early, since routed metal, illuminated letters and vinyl cut each impose different minimum stroke widths.
When you do not need a new logo
If your existing mark has recognition and no structural faults, replacing it destroys value you have already paid for. The common case we see is a mark that is fine but was never supplied properly: no vector original, no reversed version, colours that drift between suppliers. That is a redraw and a file rebuild, not a redesign. It costs a fraction of new work, and it fixes the actual complaint, which is usually that nothing looks consistent.
The other case is a business asking for a logo when the real gap is everything around it
The other case is a business asking for a logo when the real gap is everything around it. If your problem is that your slide decks, proposals and social posts all look like they come from different companies, a new mark will not fix that. You need a full identity system with type, colour and templates, or ongoing design production to keep output consistent. And if you cannot yet describe who you are for, start with brand strategy instead.
How we scope it
Four ways to scope your Logo Design project
We do not publish package prices, because the same brief can be a short build or a long one. These are the shapes the work usually takes. Tell us which one sounds like you and you will get a fixed written quote that spells out exactly what it covers.
Logo Core
The essentials, done properly, not a template
Fixed written quote, agreed before work starts
- Primary, horizontal and stacked lockups
- Standalone symbol and independent wordmark
- Reversed, single colour and greyscale versions
Logo Full identity
A complete identity your team can apply without us
Fixed written quote, agreed before work starts
- Everything in Logo Core
- Favicon and app icon drawn at small sizes
- Vector originals in AI, EPS, SVG and PDF
- Screen ready PNG set with transparency
Logo Brand system
A system that holds up across products and campaigns
Fixed written quote, agreed before work starts
- Everything in Logo Full identity
- Colour specifications in hex, RGB, CMYK and spot
- Clear space, minimum size and misuse rules
- Written copyright assignment
Logo Brand care
Applying and extending it as the business grows
Rolling monthly, quoted in writing
- New assets and applications as they come up
- The system extended rather than reinvented
- Files and source artwork kept in order and in your name
- Rolling, cancel with 30 days notice
These are shapes, not menus. Most quotes end up somewhere between two of them, and we will say so when the honest answer is the smallest one. Describe the problem and we will tell you which it is.
Questions buyers usually ask
Frequently asked questions
Working with us
Can you just tidy up the logo we already have?
Often that is the right call. A redraw rebuilds your existing mark as clean vector, corrects spacing and optical issues, produces the variants you are missing and locks the colour values across print and screen. It keeps the recognition you have built and fixes the consistency problem. We will tell you honestly whether a redraw is sufficient or whether the mark has faults a rebuild cannot solve.
Will you register the trade mark for us?
No, and be cautious of any design studio that says it will. We run a screening search of the IP Australia register so obvious conflicts are caught before you invest in a mark, and we prepare the artwork an application needs. Filing and the registrability opinion belong with a trade mark attorney. We are happy to work alongside yours during the shortlist stage.
Detail and edge cases
How long does logo design take?
Typically 2 to 5 weeks. The brief and screening search take the first few days, exploration about a week, and refinement plus the full variant family the remainder. Projects run long for one reason above all others: a review group larger than three people. We ask for a single decision maker who can gather input and then choose, which keeps the schedule honest.
What makes a logo design project cost more?
The number of directions explored, whether a wordmark needs custom letterforms drawn rather than a licensed typeface, how many lockup variations the business genuinely needs, and whether naming or trade mark screening is included. A single trading name with standard applications is a short project. A group with sub brands and endorsement rules is a different job. We quote in writing after the brief.
Do we own the copyright in the logo?
Yes, and we put it in writing. Copyright in the final mark is assigned to your business on completion, along with the vector source files. Where a typeface is used within a wordmark, the letterforms are converted to outlines so no font licence follows the mark around, though we will tell you which typeface it came from in case you want it elsewhere.
Our new logo needs to go on signage and vehicles. Does that change anything?
Yes, and it is worth telling us at the brief stage. Fabrication methods impose minimum stroke widths, and a mark with hairline detail can be impossible to route in metal or cut in vinyl. Vehicle livery adds curved surfaces, door seams and viewing distance. We design within those constraints and supply the vector files your signwriter needs, in the colour system they work in.
Related services
Get a fixed written quote for your logo design
Tell us where the mark has to appear, from the smallest screen to the largest sign. Within one business day you will have our view, and shortly after, a fixed written quote.