Primary mark
The full logo as your brand lives on a website header, business card, or email signature. Horizontal or stacked, whichever fits your category's conventions.
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§ · logo design
Logo design. Not from a template.
Custom logo design with responsive mark system, favicon stack, and social avatars for every surface your brand lands on. All files delivered in 3 weeks.
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A logo is a system, not a picture.
A finished logo is more than one mark. It's the primary logo plus a responsive variant, a monogram, color treatments for light and dark, and clear-space guidelines. Template and AI logos give you one static file. That's fine on the pitch deck but breaks on the favicon, app icon, embroidered merch, and trade-show signs. The difference between cheap and custom is the system, not the hours on the primary mark.
in short
- A logo is a system, not a picture: primary mark + responsive variant + monogram + favicon stack + color treatments + brand sheet.
- Three engagement tiers: Essential (2 weeks, primary mark), Logo System (3 weeks, most common), full Brand Identity (6 weeks).
- Trademark pre-checked against USPTO TESS + WIPO Global Brand before locking direction.
- All files delivered: SVG + PNG (1x/2x/3x) + PDF + EPS + source Figma file. Full copyright transfers on delivery.
- Re-brief clause: one additional direction round at no cost if initial three miss. 70% refund if re-brief also misses.
Every file. Every surface.
Six deliverables make up a complete logo system: primary mark, responsive variant, monogram, color treatments, favicon stack, brand sheet. Each solves a specific surface. The responsive variant handles mobile nav. The monogram works on favicons and app icons. The favicon stack covers cross-browser device coverage.
Responsive variant
A simplified version for small sizes where the full mark becomes unreadable. Usually the monogram or a compressed wordmark. Critical for mobile navigation.
Monogram / icon
The mark reduced to one letter or one shape, for favicons, app icons, social avatars, and any square placement. 90% of digital surfaces need this.
Color treatments
Full-color, single-color black, single-color white for dark backgrounds. Plus brand-color versions if your palette extends beyond black and white.
Favicon stack
16px, 32px, 48px PNGs plus apple-touch-icon at 180px and Android Chrome at 192 and 512. Every modern browser and device covered. Favicon generator handles smaller brands DIY.
Brand sheet
One-page PDF with clear-space rules, minimum sizes, incorrect-use examples, color values in HEX/RGB/CMYK/PMS, and file-delivery map. The document your vendors need.
Three engagement shapes.
A logo can be lightweight (just the primary mark) or comprehensive (full mark system plus brand book). The right tier depends on your surfaces. Pre-launch DTC needs the full system. An established brand replacing a worn mark needs just the mark plus favicon stack.
tier 01
Essential
2 weeks. Primary mark, 2 color variants, standard file formats. Right when the logo is one task on your list and you're not yet shipping merch.
- · 3 directions, 2 iteration rounds
- · SVG / PNG / PDF / EPS
- · Full + single-color treatments
- · Source file (Figma)
- · Full ownership transfer
tier 02
Logo system
3 weeks. Full mark system with primary mark, responsive variant, monogram, favicon stack, social avatars, and brand sheet. Right for most operating businesses.
- · All Tier 01 deliverables
- · Responsive mark variant
- · Monogram for favicon / avatars
- · Favicon stack (5+ sizes)
- · Social avatars (square + LinkedIn)
- · Brand sheet PDF (clear space, sizing)
tier 03
Full brand identity
6 weeks. Logo system, type scale, color tokens, voice guide, and brand book. Right when the logo is one piece of a broader brand rebuild.
- · All Tier 02 deliverables
- · Type scale (Display + Body)
- · Color tokens + accessibility check
- · Photography & illustration direction
- · Voice + tone guide
- · 30-page brand book
See brand-identity
Brief locks. Then sketches.
A logo design that hits the brief in week 1 ships in week 3. Logos that ignore the brief ship at infinity. Most failed redesigns we inherit failed at the brief, not the visual stage.
days 1-3
Brief workshop
60-minute workshop covering brand archetype, tone, audience, and category conventions. You'll share 5-10 reference brands you admire and 3 you don't. Output: a written brief signed before we sketch anything.
days 4-7
3 directions, rough
Three distinct directions sketched in Figma in black-and-white only, so the silhouette decision is clear. Each comes with a 1-paragraph rationale tied back to the brief.
days 8-12
Refine winner
Chosen direction refined across the mark system. Color introduced. Two iteration rounds with you; we track every change and why so the brief trail stays clear.
days 13-17
System build
Responsive variant, monogram, favicon stack at every size, social avatars (square, round, LinkedIn banner crop), and single-color treatments. This is where the logo becomes a system.
days 18-21
Brand sheet + handover
One-page brand sheet PDF with clear-space rules, minimum sizes, incorrect-use examples, and color values (HEX/RGB/CMYK/Pantone). All file formats. Source files. Ownership transfer. Done.
Six failures. All preventable.
Six patterns cause most logo failures. No responsive variant. Gradients in the primary mark. Hyper-specific imagery that locks the brand. Trendy typography. Single-format delivery. Trademark not pre-checked against Madrid Monitor or EUIPO TM Database. Each is preventable in week 1, not week 12.
01 · No responsive variant
A long wordmark fits the website header but disappears in a 32-pixel favicon. Without a monogram or short variant, you're invisible on mobile nav, app icons, avatars, and merch.
02 · Gradients in the primary mark
A mark that depends on a gradient breaks on embroidered merch, single-color print, and any black-and-white photocopy. Gradients are an alternate treatment, not the primary form.
03 · Hyper-specific imagery
A coffee cup means you can't pivot to pastries without redesigning. A house in real-estate blocks pivoting to property management. Pick metaphors that grow with you.
04 · Trendy typography
A type-trend that defines the moment looks dated in 5 years. The 2008 web-2.0 gradient logo and the 2018 sans-serif rebrand both look old now. Choose typography with a 30-year shelf life.
05 · Single-format delivery
A logo as one PNG is unusable for trade shows (needs vector), embroidery (needs single-color), and App Store (needs 1024px source). The deliverable is the format set.
06 · Trademark not pre-checked
A clean logo that turns out to closely resemble a competitor's registered mark is a months-long legal headache. We run USPTO TESS and WIPO Global Brand checks before locking the direction.
Six answers.
The six questions teams ask most before booking: how custom differs from AI/templates, timeline, file formats, copyright ownership, what if no direction lands, and pricing.
How is custom logo design different from a template or AI generator?
Templates and AI tools give you one static image. Custom design gives you a mark system: the primary logo, a responsive variant for small sizes, a monogram for favicons and app tiles, color variants for light and dark, and clear-space guidelines. Templates skip the system, so they look fine at one size and break elsewhere. The system is the work.
How long does logo design take?
Three weeks for Logo System. Week 1: brief workshop, competitor research, 3-5 rough directions. Week 2: refine your choice across the mark system with 2 rounds. Week 3: responsive variants, favicon stack, avatars, all file formats. Faster is possible for Essential (fewer directions, no favicon stack). Slower usually means the brief was vague; the workshop prevents that.
Which file formats do you deliver?
SVG for web, PNG at 1x/2x/3x (16px favicon through 1024px app icon), PDF for print, EPS for legacy printers. Every file in three treatments: full-color, single-color black, single-color white. Source files (Figma or Illustrator) included so your team can make minor tweaks. No watermarks, no trial files.
Do I own the logo once it's delivered?
Yes, full copyright transfers on final delivery and payment. The contract assigns all rights: modify, license, trademark, use anywhere without permission. We keep the right to show it in our portfolio and case studies with your OK, which most clients grant. You're paying for ownership, not a license.
What if I don't like any of the initial directions?
The brief workshop in week 1 is designed to prevent this by aligning on brand archetype, tone, and visual territory before any sketching starts. On the rare occasion that happens anyway, the contract includes a re-brief clause: one additional round of directions at no cost if none of the initial three feel right. If the re-brief round also misses, we refund 70 percent of the fee and you keep nothing.
What does logo design cost?
Three tiers. Essential (2 weeks, primary mark + 2 color variants + standard files) is the cheapest. Logo System (3 weeks, primary + responsive variants + favicon stack + social avatars + brand sheet) is the most common and right for most operating businesses.
Full brand identity (6 weeks, logo system + type scale + color tokens + brand book) sits in /services/brand-identity/ and is right when the logo is one piece of a broader brand build. We send a written scope and fixed-price quote within 48 hours of the brief call.
Three weeks. Every file.
30-minute brief call. Written scope and fixed-price quote in 48 hours. Full ownership on delivery.
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