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I am finalizing the last step of my logo redesign process.

Is it ok not to have a regular color when presenting my logo?

I am thinking about having a defined list of colors for different use cases but will this take away from my brand?

Try you hand at selecting the colors here and share: http://scottreeddesign.com/logo/

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lots of identities use a variety of colors. If it makes sense in your case, go for it. – DA01 Jun 26 '12 at 19:57

3 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

To maintain brand identity a logo should generally have a set color scheme.

Generally...

  • Full color

  • Two Color (if appropriate)

  • One Color

  • Reversed

If you vary beyond this and start swapping colors for every projects you greatly degrade any brand identity unless the color variations are for a very specific reason.

Think of any major brand... does their logo change colors beyond the 4 items listed above?

The only real exception I can think of is the FedEx logo. FedEx uses color variations to indicate various services.

FedEx variations

In this instance the color change makes sense. Since the base color (violet/purple) is used in all instances, the marks have the same basic structure and only the color of "Ex" changes. This clearly indicates a sub-set of the main corporation.

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one bit of genius behind their logo is that their people can tell from many feet away what service a package is meant for. This is certainly an example where the case for uniformity is overridden by potential utility – horatio Jun 26 '12 at 14:12
Scott, there are other examples - the Nike swoosh, the adidas three bands. – e100 Jul 2 '12 at 13:50
Yup. There are many in apparel (which is another matter altogether). I was merely using FedEx because it was the first that came to mind. – Scott Jul 3 '12 at 1:26
It seems as if having multiple copies of your logo (sometimes for no functional reason) in different colours is a current trend. I can think of a few examples including City of Melbourne, Telstra, or even varying both colour and shape of the mark eg Pepsi. – thomasrutter Jan 21 at 5:05
up vote 3 down vote

The essence of a logo, the only reason to have one, is that it builds recognition by repetition. Any variation, then, reduces its effectiveness by delaying the point where it achieves "instant recognition."

Scott's example is a good one. The base FedEx logo, with its "subliminal" arrow, was in use for many years before they began to alter one element to identity related but different "sub-brands." It is a very distinct and recognizable graphic form, and that form doesn't change at all. FedEx succeeded where, to take a recent example, Pepsi bombed.

There are only two major things that make a logo: its form, the major element, and its color. Neither should change. If the form must adapt for different purposes, you can get away with it if you carefully rearrange elements without changing their forms, but it's risky, and in that case you mustn't alter the color.

If the form is strong and distinctive, you can risk color variations as in the FedEx example, but then you mustn't change the form.

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up vote 1 down vote

I think this is OK. Just look at this site http://www.artlebedev.ru/ and try to hover mouse at logo.

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Answers should involve more than simply a link to an external site. – Scott Jun 27 '12 at 9:29
Thanks for the idea. I might end up doing something like this. But fading back to the true color after hover off. :) Although the effect would be pointless on touch devices. – iambriansreed Jun 27 '12 at 13:19

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