The Logo Low-Down Series: Tip 5

Logo Tip #5: The Black and White of It
Another important design principle to consider when designing (or re-designing) a logo is the ability for it to read well in black and white, as well as at large and small scales. A logo must work equally in black and white or color. Even with the predominance of web and 4-color printing, your logo must still be legible on such simple business paperwork as a fax, invoice or photocopy. Your logo also needs to work on various size scales—small enough to fit on a pen, and large enough to work on a billboard.

In order for easy and clean scaling to occur, a logo should always first be designed as a vector-based illustration file. (This is one main reason why hiring a professional is important!) Special design programs, such as Adobe Illustrator should be used for logo development—never programs like Word, Publisher or Paintshop! Have your logo created in the correct file format the first time around—it will save you frustration, time and money in the long run.