A lot of people think a logo is just a logo and in some cases it can be just a logo. But what if you need a logo to work in multiple different formats that you might need. You might need to just use a type treatment or just an icon. If you get a logo that is one file and one design it can be hard to break them out and depending on the files it might not be possible at all. This is where a logo system can come into play. But does a typical logo have a place? Learn more about the difference between a logo design vs logo system with this article.
What is a Logo Design
Everyone has seen a logo and understands what a logo might be. If you hear logo design you probably go to and think of the Apple, Nike, or some other large brand name logo. But when it comes down to it all a logo is a design that is to represent a business or brand. A logo needs to be recognizable over everything else. A logo does not need to tell a story or have a meaning but needs to be easily recognizable from any other logo.
Typically if you buy a logo from a designer it will usually only consist of the logo files for print and digital. This is okay for most people and businesses just needing a logo and something to get started. But it could make it hard if you ever need to break up the logo or use the logo in a specific format that might not fit the current logo. This is where a logo system comes in.
What is a Logo System
A logo system does consist of a logo but also consists of more as well. When it comes to a logo system think of the logo design as the center and holds everything together. A logo system takes the initial logo you designed and makes sure that it will not only work in print and digital. A logo system makes sure that a logo can work in any format and any size.
This is done in a few ways:
- Using an icon only
- Type only
- Logo and icon in different positions
- Different color options
- A pattern made with the icon
- And more
The goal of a logo system is to make sure that a logo is always shown in a proper way without having the logo become distorted. For example if you are designing a letterhead for your business your full logo might not fit into that format well without getting too small to read or shrinking the logo and distorting it. Instead with a logo system you would be able to use just the icon of the logo or only using the word mark.
Logo Design vs Logo System
So when should you be using a logo design vs a logo system? The main reason comes down to how much of a budget you have and how big your business is. Yes everyone wants the best possible product or service but if you do not have the budget for those services so that is where getting just a logo design might come in handy. But if you are a larger business and are needing a logo system.
