How to design
a logo that works
You don't need to be a designer or hire one. A logo for a side project, tool, or small business can be simple and still work. This guide explains what matters and what doesn't.
What a logo actually does
A logo has one job: make something recognizable. That's it. It doesn't need to communicate your values, tell your story, or win design awards. It needs to be distinct enough that when someone sees it again, they place it.
For a side project or early-stage product, a clean wordmark with a small icon is more than enough. The logo you ship in week one will probably change by year two regardless — so don't let the pursuit of perfection become a reason to delay.
Start simpler than you think
The most common mistake is trying to do too much. Multiple colors, a complex icon, decorative fonts, subtle gradients — each addition makes the logo harder to use at small sizes and across different backgrounds.
A single color, one readable font, and a straightforward icon will serve you far better. The constraint forces you to make the name itself carry the weight, which is usually where you want the emphasis anyway.
Test your logo at 32×32 pixels — the size of a browser favicon. If it's unreadable or muddled, simplify it until it isn't.
Choosing an icon
LogoForge gives you access to the full Lucide icon library — over 1500 icons covering most categories. When picking one, look for icons that:
- Have a simple silhouette that reads at small sizes
- Relate to what your product does, even loosely
- Don't look identical to icons used by major products in your category
An abstract icon that looks interesting is less useful than a straightforward one that's immediately legible. If you can't identify what an icon is at 24px, neither can anyone else.
Emoji mode is an option for projects that are more casual in tone. The caveat: emoji rendering varies by operating system, so the exported PNG will look exactly as it does on your machine, not necessarily on someone else's.
Fonts
LogoForge ships eight variable fonts, which means each one supports a continuous range of weights rather than just regular and bold. This gives you more control than most logo tools.
A few practical rules:
- Sans-serif fonts (Inter, DM Sans, Space Grotesk, Outfit) work for almost everything. Clean, modern, readable at small sizes.
- Geometric fonts (Syne) have more personality but can feel dated faster. Use them when personality is the point.
- Serif fonts (Playfair Display) work for brands that want to feel established or editorial. They're harder to read at very small sizes.
- Display fonts (Bebas Neue) are uppercase-only and high impact. Best for logos where the name is short and bold presentation matters more than versatility.
Weight is one of the most effective controls. A font at weight 300 and a font at weight 800 can feel like two different typefaces. Experiment with the weight slider before switching fonts.
Color
Pick one color. Maybe two. Here's why: every background you place your logo on becomes a third color. Every additional color in the logo itself multiplies the number of combinations you need to check for readability and coherence.
The color schemes in LogoForge are a starting point. The gradients work well on square logos with a rounded corner. The solid schemes — particularly the dark ones — hold up better when the logo is placed on light backgrounds.
Check contrast. White text on a pastel gradient fails WCAG contrast requirements and looks weak at small sizes. If your brand name is the most important thing in the logo, it needs to be readable first.
Don't use the default blue-purple gradient if you want to be taken seriously in a field where everyone uses the same gradient.
Layout and spacing
LogoForge offers six layout presets. For most logos, icon-above-centered or icon-left work best. Here's when each makes sense:
- Icon above, centered — square logos, app icons, favicons. The most versatile layout.
- Icon left — horizontal logos for navigation bars and headers. The icon and name sit on the same line.
- Icon only — when the name is too long to work in a square, or when you want a separate icon mark.
Padding V controls the vertical position of the content within the canvas. Use it to visually balance the composition — the default starts content at the top, which is rarely where you want it for square logos.
If anything feels cramped, increase the padding or reduce the icon size. White space is not wasted space.
Export formats
LogoForge exports two formats:
- PNG — raster image at 1×, 2×, or 3× the canvas size. Use 2× for web, 3× for anything that needs to print or appear on a retina display at a large size. This is what you'll use for favicons, social profiles, and most website placements.
- SVG — vector file with the font embedded as a base64 data URI. It opens in any browser or vector editor without needing the font installed. Use this when you want to edit the logo further in Figma or Illustrator, or when you need the logo to scale to very large sizes without pixelation.
For favicons specifically, you'll want a 32×32 or 64×64 PNG. Set the canvas to 64×64, keep the design very simple, export at 1×. Some platforms also accept SVG favicons — the exported SVG works for that directly.
Using it consistently
A logo that appears in three different sizes with slightly different colors across your site, readme, and social profiles looks less considered than a consistent one. Before you ship:
- Download both PNG and SVG versions and keep them in one folder
- Note the exact hex colors you used — you'll need them for CSS
- Use the same logo file everywhere rather than regenerating from memory
- If your background color changes across the site, check the logo works on all of them
That's the whole process. Most logos that work well aren't clever — they're clear, consistent, and made once.