
There are so many things to consider when designing a logo in Illustrator. What colors will look best? What font should you use? Which design elements will best tell the brand’s story? While putting all of these components together, there is one important aspect your must not forget—what size should the logo be?
When designing a logo, it’s best to save a size that’s larger than your intended use so you can scale it down, rather than scaling it up, which will keep it’s quality. 4000 x 4000px is a good master file size for a logo.
Whether you’re creating a logo for a client or your own brand, it’s important to pick a size that is easy to work with and that makes the most sense. Below, we’ll go over what size you should use when designing your logo in Illustrator, as well as some standard sizing options.
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What Size Should a Logo Be in Illustrator?
While each logo is different, the sizes in which you store and distribute them are not. However, when it comes to logo sizing, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. A logo’s standard size is determined by the platform to which it is being uploaded.
When you create a logo, it must appear sharp and professional in all its uses. Good logos can be scaled and made quickly in a variety of situations. However, creating a single graphics file and displaying it across all your platforms is impractical. Therefore, it is vital for you to have many size and format options for your logo.
However, this isn’t exactly an option when creating your document in Illustrator. Instead of making a ton of files and sizes of your logo, choose the size in which it will be most often used and save it as a scalable vector file.
For example, if your logo will mainly be displayed on a business card, you’ll want to set the size at 1” x 1” or 350 x 350 dpi and save it as a vector file. Every time you need to add it to a business card, it will already be the right size. However, if you need the logo for a larger design, you can always increase the size since it is a scalable image.
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Why Does Logo Size Matter?
If you’re saving your logo as a scalable vector file, you may be wondering why you should care about the size. Well, not only does it increase useability, but having the right size file makes everything easier in the long run.
In most cases, there is no reason why a logo will need to be larger than 3 inches (288 pixels). Let’s say you design a logo in Placeit and download it as a PNG with a dimension of 4000 x 4000px. This is great for a master file because it’s big enough for any of the potential uses you may need it for.
You always want to have your logo master file larger than needed, so you can scale it down rather than scaling it up. Scaling down will keep the quality, scaling up will lose quality.
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Standard Logo Sizing
You’ll want to pick the proper size based on the medium to ensure that your logo design functions effortlessly wherever it’s presented. Here are some size recommendations for the most common platforms so that your brand may be shown consistently throughout the web, social media, and print.
Logo Size for Websites
Websites are an essential component of every business. People can discover more about what you do, your company’s goal, and whether or not they’re interested in buying anything you’re selling or promoting by visiting this page.
Because each logo design has its own dimensions, the optimum logo size varies from one business to the next. While social networking platforms have suggested logo sizes, the size of your website logo is determined by the homepage layout.
The header and the favicon are the most frequent places to put a logo on a website.
The size and placement of your website header logo are typically determined by the website builder and theme you’re choosing. Regardless, the usual height of a website logo is about 160 pixels, while the width varies based on the length of the business name.
The favicon is the little icon that appears next to your browser’s address bar or title. This allows your brand to appear in the search box, making it easy for visitors to switch between your site and others. Because they are too small to see any text, these graphics usually consist just of the symbol that represents your business. The standard browser favicon size is 16px x 16px.
Logos on Social Media
Because social networking sites frequently modify their logo sizing standards, always check for the most up-to-date information. Here are a few well-known websites where you may market your company using your logo.
Logo Dimensions on Instagram
Profile Photo: 320 x 320px
Logo Dimensions on Facebook
Profile Photo: 170 x 170px
Cover Photo: 820 x 312px (Must be at least 400 pixels wide and 150 pixels tall)
Logo Dimensions on Twitter
Profile Photo: 400 x 400px
Cover Photo: 1500 x 1500px
Logo Dimensions on TikTok
Profile Photo: 200 x 200px
Logo Dimensions on Pinterest
Profile Photo: 800 x 450px
Logo Dimensions on LinkedIn
Profile Photo: 400 x 400px
Cover Photo: 1584 x 396px
Logo Dimensions on YouTube
Profile Photo: 800 x 800px
Thumbnail Photo: 1280 x 720px
Cover Photo: 2560 x 1440px
Logo Sizes for Print
Finding the ideal size for print can be a bit tricky. However, this isn’t something you’ll typically have to handle on your own.
When you order promotional items or physical products with your logo on them, you’ll normally work with experienced printers who will adjust the logo size until it’s just perfect.
Let’s assume you want mugs with your branding on them. The usual print space on an 11 oz. mug is 8.5′′ x 3′′. However, you should first ask about normal print sizes with your supplier so that you can send them the appropriate files. Most suppliers will also ask for a vector-based file, which allows the logo to be scaled up or down without sacrificing quality.
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Final Thoughts
As you can see, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for a logo. Logos, despite their small size, play a crucial part in your brand’s social presence. You must be conscious of what size you design and save your logo as to ensure that your brand appears clearly across all platforms, devices, and print.
We recommend using a Logo Maker so that you can create and download your logo in a large master file, and be able to use it for any potential uses down the road.