A.L.E.X.
Service · websites and development

Logo and brand identity — what it is and which part you need

In plain words: how a mark differs from an identity, what goes inside, and which part is enough for your business.

What you get
  • →The markwe draw it
  • →Usage ruleswe write them
  • →Working filesyours to keep
The exact scope and timing are fixed after the diagnostic — before that nobody has an honest picture.
Outcome

What stays with you afterwards

A mark that survives being small

A logo does not live on a designer big screen. It lives in an email signature, on a browser tab and on a sign across the street. We test it where it will actually be seen, not only in a nice presentation.

Rules, not one picture

Colours, type, spacing, what is allowed and what is not. That is what brand identity is: a set anyone can follow to lay out your leaflet or your page correctly without you in the room.

Working files in your hands

Vector originals and ready versions for print, screen and messengers. The files are yours: you can change contractor any day without asking anyone for anything.

A mark built for the site

If we also build the website, the mark is drawn straight for where it will live: the header, the light and dark themes, a phone screen. How that works is on the logo and website page.

Who it fits

When people come to us with this

People usually arrive with one of four tasks — and almost always it turns out that only a part of the work is needed, not all of it.

You are ordering a logo for the first time

It is unclear what to even ask for: some offer a mark by tonight, others a large project with naming and strategy. We explain the difference in plain words and help you pick what you need now.

You have a mark, but everyone draws it their own way

One colour on the sign, another on the site, a third in the deck. That means there are no rules — so we write them, and the mark itself can stay as it is.

The business changed, the mark stayed behind

You grew, changed trade or merged. We look at what is worth keeping for recognition and what is more honest to redraw.

You need the mark for a site and ads at once

A logo is not drawn in mid-air but for the places it will stand in. Then it does not have to be redone after the layout is built.

How the work goes

A clear order, no surprises

1 · A conversation about the business

Half an hour about what you do, who your customers are and where the mark will live: a sign, a website, packaging, paperwork. No access and no documents are needed at this step.

2 · Several directions to choose from

We show different routes rather than one "only correct" answer. You pick a direction and say what to change; revisions run in rounds until it fits.

3 · Rules and files

We put together the usage rules and hand over working files in the formats your printer, your developer and you yourself actually need.

The figure is named in a quote for your task, once the scope is clear. There is no price list here on purpose: an "average price" in this trade means either an averaged job or an incomplete one.

Straight talk

What we do ourselves and what we do with partners

We do this ourselves

A mark, colours, type and usage rules are our daily work: the pages of this site and the pages of the agency client projects follow exactly such rules, and they are checked on every release.

Fitting a mark to the screen: light and dark themes, small sizes, the browser tab icon. We keep this running on our own site every day rather than showing it in a presentation.

Working files in formats both a printer and a developer will accept — with a short note on what is where.

We build this out for you

A large multi-section brand book — carriers, vehicles, staff clothing — we take on as a separate conversation and say honestly what the timing is.

We run this with a partner

Naming a business and brand strategy are run by specialist agencies: that is a separate craft and we do not hide behind it. Our part in such work is choosing the contractor and tying the result to the site and the advertising.

Checking a mark for registrability and registering a trademark is a trademark attorney job. We point you to one and prepare whatever they ask for.

Where a partner does the work, we stay your single point of contact: we pick the contractor, set the task, watch the timing and answer to you for the result. The contract names the contractor honestly — no "we do everything in-house".

Questions

What people usually ask

How do logo guidelines differ from a brand book?
Guidelines cover the mark itself: sizes, spacing, allowed colours and prohibitions. A brand book is wider: it describes how the whole business looks and sounds — carriers, paperwork, sometimes tone of voice. A smaller business is usually fine with the first, and we say so honestly.
What do you need from us to start?
Your business described in your own words, a couple of examples of what you like and dislike anywhere, and a list of places the mark will stand in. That is all. No long brief before the first conversation.
Can the logo be registered as a trademark?
Usually yes, but that is decided by a trademark attorney rather than a designer: they search the registers and run the filing. We draw with that in mind and hand over files in the form they ask for.
What is wrong with a logo from a generator?
Nothing, except that it belongs to no one. Anyone typing similar words gets the same typeface and shape, and you most likely hold no rights to it. For testing an idea that is a fine step; for a shopfront and a contract it is not.
What does it cost?
It is quoted for your task after scoping: the figure depends on whether you need only the mark or the rules as well, how many places it has to work in, and what already exists. What drives the price of work in general is broken down on the cost page.
Enquiry

Let us look at your task

Half an hour about your business — no access to your data and no commitments.

We call back during working hours. There is no long brief to fill in before we talk: at the first step we only need to understand what your business does.