What you actually get when you order a logo from us

A client from Sibiu wrote to us a month after we'd delivered their logo: the advertising company making their car decals had asked for "the logo in curves", and he'd sent a JPG from Facebook. He had the correct file in the archive we'd given him. He just hadn't known what to look for.

Since then, we send the archive with a text file in the root, which explains in two lines what to use where. It's a trivial change and has saved us a lot of messages.

What the archive contains

Vector in SVG and PDF — this is the original, it scales to any size, from a favicon to a 6-metre banner. PNG with transparent background, in three sizes, for web and social media. A horizontal version, on one line, for headers and email signatures. A monochrome version, black and white, for stamps, foils, single-colour printing, and embroidery.

Plus a short document: colour codes (HEX, RGB, CMYK), fonts with download links, minimum clear space around the logo, and a page on what *not* to do — don't stretch it disproportionately, don't place it on a busy background, don't retype the name in a different font.

What's not in the archive: a 40-page brand manual. For a small business, no one reads it, and we only end up making one when the client has a marketing team that needs written rules.

How it unfolds, step by step

The first discussion isn't about what we like. We look at three to five direct competitors and note what colours and typefaces they use. If the entire niche is blue, you have a good reason not to be blue or a good reason to be — but the decision is made consciously, not on impulse.

Then two or three directions that are clearly distinct from each other. Not five variations of the same idea with a letter moved two millimetres; that only gives the illusion of choice. We choose one direction and take it all the way, including in real applications: what it looks like on an invoice, on a banner, in a 40-pixel profile picture, on a T-shirt.

We establish the number of revision rounds in the quote. Not out of rigidity. Without it, projects drag on for months and end badly for both of us.

The pace of a logo project

Usually a few weeks, but the time depends almost entirely on how quickly feedback comes in. The longest pause we've had was with a company with three partners who couldn't agree; the project sat idle for longer than the actual work took. I can't promise a firm deadline without knowing who's making the decision.

A good sign at the start: if you can name the person who gives final approval, we'll move quickly. If the answer is "we'll decide together", we'll tell you from the outset that it will take longer.

When you don't need a new logo

If your current logo is already recognised by your customers and the only problem is you don't have the vector files, you don't need a rebrand. You need a redesign of the existing logo — cheaper, quicker, and you don't lose the recognition you've paid for over the years.

If you're launching this month and have nothing, go for a simple, clean version, done quickly. Other agencies start with brand strategy and do justice to theory; for a startup, we prefer to deliver something that can be used immediately and revisit it in a year, when you know your customer better.

And a case where we advised against spending money with us: a car repair shop wanted a new logo because "it no longer looks modern". His customers came from recommendations and maps. We only created the file set and company photos. The rest of the budget went elsewhere.

Tell us where you'll use the logo most often — on cars, on packaging, only online. The answer genuinely changes how we design it.

The stages, and what we ask for at each

Many identity projects drag on not because of the design work, but because someone is waiting for information. That's why we put what we need and when upfront.

The "single decision-maker" line is what saves projects. When observations come from four people with different tastes, the result is a compromise nobody wants.

What identity covers beyond the logo

Colours, fonts, the look of photos, and the tone of texts. A good logo on inconsistent materials doesn't build recognition. For small businesses, we often recommend investing less in the logo and more in how the materials they use daily look: quotes, packaging, vehicles, email signatures.

The client who gained the most from identity with us didn't change their logo at all. We just brought order to everything else.

What we don't promise

We don't promise that a new logo will bring in customers. It helps with perception and consistency, but sales come from your offering, your pricing, and how you answer the phone. When someone asks us for identity as a solution to poor sales, we say this before the contract.

A mistake of our own

We once delivered a very beautiful colour palette that looked terrible on the client's printed materials because we hadn't asked for samples from their printer. We redid it without charging, and since then, we ask in the brief where it will be printed.

If you want to know what, if anything, in your identity is worth redoing, send us some current materials and we'll give you our opinion.