When designing a marketing piece, people often don’t know what size to make the UF/IFAS logos and/or UF/IFAS program logos. They sometimes make them so large they take up half the page. Other times they are so small they are not recognizable. Making our logo extremely large is unnecessary. And making it too small is harmful to our brand.
Why our logo shouldn’t be too big
Our logo is the face of the UF/IFAS brand. It should stand out so your audience can recognize us, but not be so large that it’s the only thing seen. Making our logo larger is akin to sho
uting. While you may be excited to show the logo, making it larger will only distract from the rest of the information on the page. It can also cause your audience to feel bombarded. You should incorporate the logos into your design, but your layout should not be about the logo. It should be about the subject matter of the piece and should include the logo for identification. Keeping your layout simple and clean will be more attractive to your audience.
The UF/IFAS logos should also not be too small. It should be large enough to be legible and recognized. According to our branding guidelines, the minimum sizes for our logos are as follows:
- The UF/IFAS logo should be no smaller than one inch in length
- The UF/IFAS Extension, CALS and Research logos should be no smaller than one and a half inches in length
When the logo is too small, it may be hard to read and identify. This will make it hard for the reader to find more information or credit the work.
How to decide what size the logo should be
So, now you may be wondering, okay, but what size should I make the logo? There are a few guidelines to keep in mind when placing a logo ion your marketing piece:
- Make the logo just large enough that it can be read and recognized and no smaller than minimum size requirements
- Look at the other items on the page. If there is a lot of content, keep the logo at the minimum sizing
- You can make the logo slightly larger if there is not much content. You want the logo to be the first or last thing the reader will see, but not the only thing they see.
- It is best to place it on the left, right, or center at the top or bottom of the page.
- Leave space around the logo, so it is not lost in the page’s content. According to UF branding guidelines, the UF/IFAS logos should have at least half the height of the U spacing on all four sides. Including when being placed next to other logos and next to additional content.
- When placing the logo on top of a photo, make sure there is plenty of contrast to be recognizable. If you have a light photo, use the color or black versions. If you have a dark image, use the white version
We hope these tips helped guide you when placing a logo on your design. For more suggestions on graphic design tips, check out our other blogs. Here are just a couple:
Newsletter Templates and Newsletter Headers
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/ifascomm/2022/10/17/newsletter-template-and-newsletter-header/
Designing for Large Format Pieces
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/ifascomm/2022/09/16/designing-for-large-format-pieces/
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