What Are the Five Essential Logo Variations?
Your logo is one of the most known parts of your brand. The five essential logo variations help make sure that logo can be used in as many places as possible. From your website to a business card to a pen with your logo on it.
Many small businesses view their logo as one image. The logo never changes and always looks the same. By having just one version of your logo, you can be limited in where and how you can use it.
These five variations are not five different logos. They are different layouts, colors, and uses of the same logo. Each one gives your business more ways to show off its brand.
Logo Variations Are Not Different Logos
Consistency isn’t just important for branding. Consistency IS branding. That doesn’t mean your logo can never change a little.
Let’s say your main logo has the logo mark above the business name. There may be times when it would work better with the logo mark beside the name. It’s the same design, just arranged differently.
The same goes for colors. A full color logo may look great on a solid background. What if you need to put it on a black shirt? An all white logo would work better.
None of these changes are about redesigning your logo. They’re about making it more useful. A good logo designer plans these variations from the start. Spending extra time now helps your logo work better and last longer.
A great logo needs to do more than look good. It should work on your website, signs, clothing, business cards, and more. At Full Scope Creative, we design logos with your business and target audience in mind. And we include the variations you need to use your logo wherever you want.
The Five Essential Logo Variations
There are five logo variations we recommend for businesses. Each has its own use and place. Having all five gives you far more options for how and where you use your logo.
Variation 1. Primary Logo
The primary logo is your main or “official” logo. It’s the logo design you probably use the most. It will normally have your business name, logo mark, and official brand colors. Some logos also include a tagline, though I’m not always a big fan of that.
This is the most complete version of your logo. You’ll most likely use it on your website, signs, brochures, and other marketing materials.
But just because it’s your primary logo doesn’t mean it will work best everywhere.
Variation 2. Secondary Logo (Alternate Layout)
A secondary logo uses the same design as your primary logo, but moves things around.
For example, your main logo might be horizontal, with the logo mark to the left of the business name. A second version could have the logo mark above the name instead.
Nothing about the logo itself has changed. Things are just moved around to make it fit better.
This is great for business cards, signs, and clothing. Even your website can use different layouts in ares. Having both gives you more creativity without having to design a new logo.
Variation 3. Logo Mark and Logo Type
There are two main parts to many logos. The logo mark is the symbol or graphic. The logo type is the text or business name. Sometimes the logo type is also called a wordmark.
Think of Nike. The swoosh is the logo mark. The word NIKE is the logo type.
Each can be used on its own. Getting the full Full Scope Creative logo onto a pen can be tricky. But using just our scope graphic gives us many more options. We can also use the Full Scope Creative lettering without the scope.
Not every logo needs both parts. Look at Google’s main logo. It’s just the company name. No separate icon is needed for that design.
A logo without a logo mark isn’t missing anything. Sometimes the text is all the logo needs.
Variation 4. Favicon (Small Format Logo)
A favicon is that tiny image you see in the tab at the top of your web browser. It’s commonly made at 32 by 32 pixels. You’ll also see favicons in bookmarks and some search results.
It’s a small image, but another great place to show off your brand!
I’ve never seen a full primary logo work perfectly at that small of a size. There’s just too much going on. That’s where a logo mark comes in handy.
Sometimes the logo mark works perfectly as a favicon. Other times it needs to be made even simpler.
When we design logo marks at Full Scope Creative, we think about how they will work as a favicon. We want to make sure the brand can still be seen, even at that tiny size.
Variation 5. Color and File Type Variations
Your logo isn’t always going to be used in its full color design. There are times when a different color version works better.
There are four color options we like to provide:
- Full Color: The official logo with all the brand colors.
- Solid Black: Great for simple printing or light backgrounds.
- Solid White: Great for dark backgrounds, photos, and clothing.
- Grayscale: Helpful when printing on some colors or using shades of gray.
The design stays the same. Only the colors change.
File types are also worth thinking about. A PNG with a clear background is great for websites. An SVG or EPS file is useful when a logo needs to be made much larger without losing quality.
These aren’t changes to the logo design. They’re different ways to save and use it.
Getting All the Logo Variations You Need With Full Scope Creative
When we design a logo at Full Scope Creative, we always start by learning about the business and its target audience. We want the logo to look great, but it also needs to work for the business.
That means thinking beyond how it looks on a computer screen. Will it work on a shirt? What about a large sign? Or a little pen?
With every logo design we do, we include the variations the business needs. That includes primary and secondary layouts, separate logo marks and logo type when the design has them, favicon options, and different colors.
We also provide the logos in different file types. We include JPG, PNG, PDF, SVG, and EPS.
Our goal is to provide our clients with a logo they can use however they need to. And that means without having to come back to us every time they need something different.
One Logo, More Possibilities
Make sure your logo works wherever you need it. You only might use the primary logo. That’s perfectly fine! Having the other variations gives more creativity when needed.
A logo has to be easy to recognize. It needs to look consistent. And the logo must work in different uses. Planning for that from the start will save time, money, and a lot of headaches.
If you’re thinking about a new logo for your business, take a look at our graphic design and branding services. Or reach out to Full Scope Creative and let’s talk about what your business needs.