The complete logo guide for small business owners

Why logo variety matters

When you start a business, you might think one logo is enough. After all, isn't that what branding is about—consistency? Well, yes and no. While your core logo design should certainly remain consistent, how it's displayed needs to adapt to different contexts.

Think about it: your logo on a massive billboard requires different considerations than your tiny social media profile picture. The same design might need different variations to work effectively across all touchpoints with your customers.

Essential logo types for your business

1. Primary logo

This is your main brand identifier—the full expression of your visual brand. It typically includes both your symbol (if you have one) and your business name. This logo appears on your website header, business cards, and official documents.

2. Secondary/alternate logo

A simplified or rearranged version of your primary logo. If your primary logo is horizontal, your secondary might be vertical, or vice versa. This gives you flexibility when fitting your logo into different spaces.

3. Submark/badge

A condensed, usually circular or square version of your logo, perfect for social media profiles, favicons, or watermarks. Think of it as your logo's "short signature."

4. Wordmark

Just your business name in your brand's typography, without any symbol or icon. Useful when space is limited but you still need to display your full business name.

5. Brandmark/icon

The symbolic element of your logo without any text. Apple's apple or Twitter's bird are perfect examples. This works brilliantly for app icons and situations where your brand is already recognisable without text.

6. Favicon

That tiny icon in browser tabs! While seemingly minor, it's a crucial brand touchpoint that many businesses overlook.

7. Responsive logo

A series of logo variations that simplify as the display size decreases. On mobile, you might show just your brandmark, while on desktop, your full primary logo appears.

Social media logo sizes

Here's a handy reference for the most common social media logo dimensions (as of February 2025):

Best practices for your Thriday profile

There are no specific limitations on the size or type of logo for your Thriday account. However, we recommend using a square image with dimensions around 400x400 pixels for optimal display quality.

This size tends to work well across various devices and ensures your logo looks sharp and professional.

Practical tips for logo versatility

1. Start with black and white – If your logo works in monochrome, it will work in colour. The reverse isn't always true!
2. Consider transparency – Logos with transparent backgrounds are more versatile across different applications.
3. Plan for small sizes – Details that look brilliant on your website might become messy blobs on a small mobile screen.
4. File formats matter – Keep vector versions (SVG, AI, EPS) for print and large formats, and raster versions (PNG, JPG) for digital use.
5. Protect your whitespace – Create guidelines for minimum space around your logo to ensure it always has room to "breathe."

Final thoughts

Your logo is the face of your business, but that face needs to be adaptable. By creating several variations of your logo from the start, you'll save yourself countless headaches later when you need to squeeze your brand identity into a tiny social media icon or stretch it across a massive trade show banner.

Remember, consistency doesn't mean rigidity. The best brands maintain their recognisability while cleverly adapting to different contexts.

So, what logo variations does your business currently have? It might be time for a logo audit to see if you're covered for all possible applications!