Logo maker

What makes a logo work

A logo has to stay readable at the size of a browser tab and on the side of a van. The small previews under the logo show it very small and on a dark background. If the name turns to mush or the icon becomes a blob, pick a heavier font or a simpler icon. If it disappears on dark, you will need a light version as well: set both colors to white and download a second copy.

Then look at it in one color. Nearly every logo ends up on a stamp or an invoice at some point, and a design that depends on two colors can fall apart there. Set both colors to black here to test it.

Keep it to one icon, one font and two colors at most. Most logos that feel amateur have too much in them, not too little.

Choosing a font and layout

Clean and rounded fonts feel friendly and modern, and they stay readable when small, so they suit apps, services and shops. Serif and Roman fonts feel established, which suits law, finance, restaurants and anything that sells on tradition. Condensed and bold fonts have the most impact on clothing and signs. Script fonts are personal but thin, so use them for short names and avoid very small sizes.

Icon beside the name fits a website header best, because headers are wide and short. Icon above the name fits a square space such as a social profile or a shop sign. A round emblem works as a stamp, a sticker or a badge, and short names suit it best. If your name is distinctive and short, you may not need an icon at all.

SVG or PNG

Download the SVG for your website, for print and for anything that gets resized. It is real vector shapes, so it stays sharp at any size and you do not need the fonts installed. With a transparent background, an icon inside a filled shape is a real cut-out made with an SVG mask, so the page shows through it. Some cutting software does not handle masks, so for a cutting machine choose a white background or no icon shape.

Download the PNG for places that only take a picture, such as a social profile or a document. Its longest side is 2048 pixels, and the background stays transparent unless you choose one. For a profile picture or a browser tab, choose "Only the icon" and download a square PNG, then drop it into the favicon generator if you need a favicon.

Still need a name? Try the restaurant name generator or the clothing brand name generator. If you only want initials, the monogram maker has more letter layouts and frames.