Logo and brand design, Mansfield

A logo has to do more than look good on a business card. It turns up as a tiny square in a browser tab, a round profile picture on social media, a stamp on an invoice, an embroidered badge on a jacket and, if you’re lucky, along the side of a van. A design that only works in one of those places is a picture, not a logo.

So I design logos as a small system: a main mark, simpler versions for tight spaces, a colour palette and a choice of typefaces, all tested at different sizes and on light and dark backgrounds. Logo and brand work starts from £350, quoted as a fixed price once I understand what you need. I also build websites, so your logo and site can be designed together rather than one being squeezed into the other afterwards. You deal with me directly, from first conversation to final files.

It starts with a short brief, done by email, WhatsApp, phone or video call, whichever suits you. I ask what the business does, who your customers are, what you like and dislike, and where the logo will actually be used. Bring examples of other logos you admire, or sketches, or the file someone once made in Word. All of it helps.

From that I create a focused set of directions, not dozens of throwaway options. Each one is a genuinely different idea, shown in context so you can judge it properly rather than as a lone shape on white.

You choose one and we refine it together: adjusting proportions, tightening the lettering, trying colour options and checking it small. Once you are happy, I prepare the final files and a short guide to using them. Because the price is agreed up front, you know the cost before any design work begins.

Most problems with logos appear after the design is approved, when someone needs it somewhere it was never tested. To avoid that, I check and supply the versions you will realistically need:

• Full colour for your website and printed material.
• Single colour for stamps, embroidery, engraving and photocopies.
• Reversed (light artwork for dark backgrounds), such as a dark van panel or a website header.
• Stacked and horizontal layouts, because a wide banner and a square social profile need different shapes.
• An icon-only mark for favicons and profile pictures, where full lettering would be unreadable.

Colours are supplied with values for screen and for print, and the files come in vector formats (which can be enlarged to any size without going blurry) as well as web-ready ones. That is what a signwriter or printer will ask for, so you are not chasing someone for a different file months later. Usage notes explain which version goes where, and what to avoid, such as stretching the logo or placing it on a busy photo.

If you are having a website built as well, doing the branding at the same time saves effort. The colours and type chosen for the logo can carry straight into the design of the site, so the two look like they belong to the same business. There is no later step where a designer tries to make a mismatched logo fit a finished layout. If you’d like to see how that side works, have a look at my web design service, or at examples of previous work.

Already have a website? A refresh is often the better route: keeping the recognition you have built up while fixing what does not work, such as a logo that is unreadable when small or a file that only exists as a low-resolution image.

Print, signage and vehicle artwork can be supplied on request, in whatever format your printer or signwriter asks for. Tell me what you have in mind via the contact page and I will price it clearly.