Problem with logo design: doesn't scale down well

Question

I need some advice/opinions on the attached logo and what my designer should have done to make it scaleable.

It looks fine at high resolution and zoomed in over 400% in AI, but at 100% and less the speech bubble is pixelated and loses definition.

Here on the test site for example it looks like a dark pixelated mass with no colour detail as it has here.

As we need it for the header, it's obviously a problem which he doesn't seem to see (or pretends not to) as he says it scales fine.

I've attached the favicon he did too which looks awful next to the twitter logo.

My questions are: is the speech bubble colour and definition shown in the larger version something that could likely be achieved at the size we need it for the header, approx. 200px?

If not, what should he do about it?

Any ideas or opinions appreciated.

Answer 1

Im adding this as an answer because my comments are going to be too long:

Per the comment segment:

May I also suggest to try and consider a different color palette? At the present time you are using all dark colors and this quality will effect the logo when scaled. Google search for how to choose colors in a design.

From Sue

Thanks for the suggestion, the colours are fine, it's the design that's wrong.

My response:

um.. the colors effect the design. From 10' away looking at my screen I do not know or can easily tell what your script reads. Not trying to be rude.. but THAT is an issue and THAT will cause your viewers to not understand or possibly go somewhere else if THAT type of quality is implemented in print or web.

If you look at your logo reduced like this:

Can you actually read that? You can, because you know the company but if you ask 10 people that never heard of you or know who you are they will tell you NO. You should strongly consider:

• Color Change
• Better usage of stroke
• Better usage of typography

That script is small enough as it is to be introducing a harsh stroke.

---

In regards to your .png files:

There is no unity or marriage between them. The twitter is a nice solid color with spacing and your lasso is multi-colored that appears to be a bad reduction. What should possibly be done is:

• Better usage of space:
• Possible implementation of one color usage like the twitter logo.

Also, per your question alone I don't understand why, if you see issues at fault, you are not correcting them yourself instead of going through a designer? How is your communication with the designer? Have you addressed or communicated with the designer?

Reference: How can I provide better direction for how I want my logo to look?

Answer 2

Hello i think what your designer did here is ignoring the fact of legibility and readability and these 2 are main elements to design a logo that's why we create a logo guideline book so we can help the user to use the logo in multiple applications ( CMYK, RGB, BW , GREYSCALE, Printed, Digital etc...) and also in the guideline we include a color palette and the Min-Size of our logo.

On the other hand, the problem here seems to be a bit technical, while using illustrator. Your designer should always be sure that scale stroke & Effects is checked so the software by itself sets the values of all the effects, and when exporting the logo to png or jpg, he has to follow the right way : If exporting for web, he should be using save for web and devices option and to be sure to choose the right values of quality and colors. if exporting for printing we prefer that the file must be Using CMYK Format and Tif HR.

also there is one important element to be aware of. when you are using ur logo for the website make sure it is in RGB Format and not in CMYK Format, this can cause a bit of a problem when it comes to gradients and shadows.

at the end i also suggest that the lines around the logo has to be drawn not to be applied using the Bevel effect because this effect is knows to cause many problems.

As for the FAVICON let your designer create is in its real size, 16 x 16 or 32 x 32 and i advise u to use one color favicon cz its more legible.

If you want other advises on how to know if scale stroke and effects is checked of you would like me to suggest a favicon for you do not hesitate to ask