Part 2 of 10
How to write the logo section of brand guidelines
Which logo versions exist and when to use each, the clear space and minimum size as numbers, each misuse written out, and links to the real files.
People open the logo section more than any other part. It is also the part that an AI agent most often gets wrong, because an image model draws its own logo from a picture. So the section needs the real files one click away. It also needs every measurement as a number, and every misuse as a sentence.
What the logo section needs
- The logo files: SVG for screens, PNG, and EPS or PDF for print, in each color version.
- Which version to use where: full logo or symbol, color or one color, light or dark backgrounds.
- Clear space and minimum size as numbers, in pixels and millimeters.
- Each misuse as a sentence: do not stretch, recolor, rotate, outline, add effects, or redraw.
- The reasons for the rules, so that people can decide cases that the page does not show.
- The date of the last change to the logo files, so that people can find old copies.
How published guides write it
NHS
For digital applications, the exclusion area is equivalent to half the height of the NHS logo. This area must always be kept clear.
Has: exact value, where it applies. Sets a smaller clear space for screens than for print, measured in logo heights so it scales.
NHS
The NHS logo cannot be reversed out of any colour other than NHS Blue. This is because NHS Blue is the colour that the public expect, and recognise, to represent the NHS.
Has: right and wrong, reason. States the rule and the reason, beside pictures of acceptable and unacceptable backgrounds.
IBM
Keep the logo separated from other visual elements by a distance equal to its height. This distance is considered the minimum uninterrupted space surrounding the logo.
Has: exact value. Clear space equals the logo's own height, which anyone can measure.
Mozilla
Maintain adequate space around the lockup using “x” as your guide — where “x” equals the height of the lowercase “z” in Mozilla. For sizes 48px and smaller, use our specially optimized small-scale version.
Has: exact value, where it applies. Clear space is measured from a letter in the wordmark, with a separate version for small sizes.
Spotify
To comply with our licensing agreements, you must always attribute content from Spotify with the logo.
Has: reason. Gives the reason the logo is required: licensing, not taste.
Atlassian
Always centre the app names under the logo and don’t scale the logo below 280px wide.
Has: exact value. A minimum width in pixels that anyone can check.
Dropbox
please don’t edit, change, distort, recolor, rotate, deconstruct, stretch, reconfigure, or otherwise modify them in any way.
Has: exact value. Names nine banned changes in words that an agent can check. No pictures show them.
GitHub
The standalone invertocat may be used in GitHub-owned environments or where the brand is already clearly established.
Has: where it applies. Says where the mark can appear on its own. Everywhere else, the lockup with the wordmark is the default.
Wording to copy
Copy this text into your guide. The example is for Larch Coffee, a made-up coffee roaster. Replace the highlighted parts with the facts for your brand.
Logo
Files: [example.com/brand/logo.zip], in [green], black, and white.
Use the full logo by default. Use the symbol alone only [on the bag
lid and the app icon].
Clear space: leave at least [the height of the symbol] on every side,
so that the logo never looks attached to something else.
Minimum size: [120 px] wide on screen, [25 mm] in print. Below that
size, use the symbol.
Do not:
- Stretch, squash, or rotate the logo.
- Change its colors, or add outlines, shadows, or gradients.
- Put it on a busy photo without a solid area behind it.
- Draw it again, type it out, or ask an AI tool to make it. Use the
files.
Common gaps
- The misuse page shows six crossed-out pictures and no words. A person understands them, but an AI agent that reads the text gets little from them.
- The guide calls the clear space “generous”. Give a measure.
- The files are in a brand portal that freelancers and partners cannot open. Link a public download, or say who to ask.