STUDIO NOTES / LOGO DESIGN
A good logo handover gives you a mark you can actually use. Before comparing quotes, think about where your logo has to work first: on a website header, a shop window, a small label or a vehicle. Those uses should shape what you ask your designer to deliver.
Start with where it has to work.
Ask how the proposed design will hold up at its smallest size and on the backgrounds you’ll actually use. A detailed wordmark can look right on a menu or shopfront and need a simpler treatment at the size of a profile icon. Agree on the use cases before deciding how many versions you need.
For Glasshouse, the wordmark’s slender strokes and flowing curves carry much of the identity’s character. The case study traces it from a blue biro sketch to lettering installed in the restaurant’s frosted glass. See the Glasshouse wordmark in use ↗
Know when you need a wider identity.
If you also need to decide how packaging, signage and promotions should look, a logo alone leaves many of those decisions open. A broader identity can give you a colour palette, type choices and rules for using them together. The scope depends on what you need to produce.
Kats9Pies is a good example. The lettering names the business, while the chef-cat mascot and vivid colours carry its personality across packaging, promotional artwork and vehicle graphics. See how Kats9Pies uses the wider identity ↗
What to check in the quote.
- Direction and feedback. Who will work with you, what will they present, and how are revisions handled?
- Logo versions. Ask which layouts and colour versions are included and what each one is for.
- File formats. Ask for an agreed scalable file for print and signage and formats suitable for your digital uses. Check what your printer or signmaker requires.
- Usage guidance. Ask what you’ll receive to help you choose the right version, use it on different backgrounds and keep it legible.
- Rights and handover. Check what the proposal says about ownership, third-party licences and when final files are supplied.
Bring two or three examples of where your logo needs to appear to the first conversation. It makes it easier to agree on a scope you can compare and a handover you can use.