Can you make the logo bigger?

This is the question many web designers fear hearing, yet it is a change so often requested by a client undertaking a new design for their website. The frequency of its request is so much that not only has it become an industry in-joke but has also spurred responses like the spoof video ‘Make my Logo Bigger Cream‘. But if the issue is so widespread then is this the fault of the design community rather than the clients who employ their services?

What’s the problem?

To most this appears to be a fairly harmless request yet its sheer frequency indicates a larger issue that should be addressed. We as web designers are not taught that a logo should be tiny, and upon starting a project we don’t actively seek to make a logo as small as possible. So if we exclude the possibility that a logo is genuinely too small in all circumstances the reasoning for such a request falls into one of two groups:

• Recognition: A client wishes their brand to be as recognisable as possible
• Influence: A client either consciously or subconsciously wishes to find ways to adapt a design in such a way that they feel they have had a greater influence over the design

To determine which of the above has been the motivation for the client we at Bronco will always ask the question “Why do you want the logo bigger?”. This allows us to establish exactly the thoughts of a client and help determine with the client if their request is a likely to have any measurable benefits.

Why the logo?

It’s not always the logo that is to be made bigger but it’s certainly the most requested and by a long stretch. Yet the logo actually has little to no functional value on a website, it exists solely for brand and user recognition.

It’s our belief that many ask for their logo to be larger as a method of ensuring greater brand recognition. This is certainly a worthy cause for new and young businesses but increasing the size of the logo isn’t the only method of achieving this goal. Instead convention in website design places the logo within the top left of the page and though users are not likely to stare at the logo for hours they will certainly register it, if only to ensure they have arrived at their intended destination.

But is there a standard size for a logo?

If a standard logo size exists then we’ve yet to find it. There are so many things to consider and it’s impossible to come up with a one size fits all solution. What we can do instead is compare some of the logos in use on websites today and maybe come up with an average across these.

As a quick and pretty unscientific test we took 20 of our own websites, 20 high traffic websites and 20 totally random sites so we can compare the number of pixels used in each websites logo and create an average.

As expected the high traffic websites total a pretty low average of 7894 pixels, this is due to many of these brands being not only highly recognisable but also household names. With brand recognition no longer an issue their logo functions mainly as a method to confirm to the user they are on the correct website. But even this goal is weakened by the frequency of a users visit to these websites. In viewing these sites so regularly the design of the website can provide sufficient visual recognition; in turn making the logo redundant.

The random websites come out with a figure more than double that of the high traffic websites at 16183px. Clearly many of these websites have a need to push their logo and thus their brand more strongly in an attempt to become a much more recognisable brand. The complexity of a website also has much to do with the logo size as other functionality will take precedence over having a large, recognisable logo.

The Bronco website logos come out a little higher at 18494px which is around 254px wide by 77px high. So at Bronco we usually implement logos a little larger than many but this doesn’t make our way any better or worse than the others, instead decisions need to be made on a project by project basis.

So what to do with this knowledge?

If you fancy giving your designer a shock try asking for your logo to be smaller, otherwise simply consider the reasons why you want the logo bigger and ask if there are any reasons why the designer has implemented the logo at the current size.

A web designer has a lot to consider when designing a website and their goal primarily is to provide a balanced and functional website, whilst pushing the elements that generate revenue. This is something a logo would struggle to do so should never be given greater priority than those elements that do. If this occurs your website may never reach its full potential.