A logo that works at 16 pixels and on a shopfront

Most logos are designed once, at one size, on a big bright screen — and then break everywhere else. The real test of a mark isn't how it looks in the designer's presentation. It's whether it survives a browser tab, a business card, and a three-metre sign. Here are the constraints that make a logo actually work.

A logo lives at many sizes — design for all of them

Your logo will appear as a 16-pixel favicon in a browser tab, a small avatar on social media, a header on a website, a stamp on an invoice, and maybe one day a sign above a door. A mark that only looks good at one of those sizes isn't finished.

The discipline is simple to state and hard to do: the logo must remain recognisable when it's tiny, and remain elegant when it's huge.

The constraints that make a mark survive

• Simplicity. Fine detail disappears at small sizes. If the mark depends on thin lines or intricate shapes, it turns to mush in a favicon. Strong, simple forms scale in both directions.
• Contrast. The shape has to read against light and dark backgrounds. That's why a good identity includes more than one version.
• A clear silhouette. Cover the colour and detail. If the outline alone is recognisable, the mark is strong.
• Works in one colour. Before it's gold or blue, it has to work in plain black and plain white — for stamps, faxes, engraving, and print runs that don't do colour.

One logo is not enough — you need a system

A professional identity is never a single file. It's a small kit:

1. The primary lockup — mark plus name — for headers and hero placements.
2. The mark alone — for favicons, avatars, and tight spaces.
3. Light and dark versions — so it reads on any background.
4. A one-colour version — for print and constraints.
5. The colour and type rules that keep everything consistent.

A logo is a single image. An identity is a system that keeps that image working everywhere.

Why this matters for a growing business

Consistency is what makes a small business look established. When your mark appears the same, sized correctly and legibly, across your site, your invoices, your social profiles, and your signage, people read it as a company that has its act together — before they've spoken to you. That impression is worth far more than the cost of getting the logo right.

Building or refreshing a brand?

I design logos and full identity systems — every size, every background, every constraint accounted for — so your mark works from a favicon to a shopfront.