Branding
Brand Identity Design: Logo, Color, Typography & Voice
Identity work goes wrong in two predictable places, and neither is aesthetic. The first is the handover: businesses accept a folder that cannot actually be used in the situations they encounter weekly. The second is legal: the mark gets designed, printed, and only then checked. Both are avoidable with a checklist, which is what this article is.
The logo: specify the deliverables, not the style
Style is the designer’s job. Deliverables are yours, and this is where most small-business identity projects quietly fail. Before signing off, confirm the folder contains a vector master, a horizontal and a stacked arrangement, a single-colour version, a version that survives being placed on a photograph, and a favicon-scale mark that is still legible at 32 pixels. Ask to see the logo printed at the smallest size it will ever appear on, in one colour, before you approve it. Screens flatter everything.
Avoid detail that depends on scale or colour to work. A mark that needs a gradient, a shadow, or fine interior lines has already told you it will fail on an embroidered shirt, a fax header, and a black-and-white newspaper listing.
Colour: a palette that passes contrast, not just review
Pick a primary, one or two supporting colours, and a neutral set, then run every text-on-background combination you intend to ship through a contrast checker. WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.4.3 requires a ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, where large means at least 18 point, or 14 point bold. Success Criterion 1.4.11 covers user interface components and meaningful graphics separately.
The common failure is a brand colour that is beautiful and unusable: a mid-tone that fails 4.5:1 against both white and black, which means it can never carry body text. Discover that at palette stage and the designer adjusts the value. Discover it after launch and you spend the next two years with an inaccessible site or an off-brand one.
4.5:1
WCAG 2.2 minimum contrast for normal text (SC 1.4.3)
3:1
WCAG 2.2 minimum for large text, 18pt or 14pt bold
$350
USPTO base application fee per class, per mark, 2025
Sources: W3C Understanding WCAG 2.2 SC 1.4.3; USPTO trademark fee information.
Typography: licence it properly, keep it small
One or two families is enough for almost every small business, and restraint is not only an aesthetic position: every additional weight is a font file the browser has to fetch. Check the licence before you commit, because desktop, web, and app licences are usually sold separately and web licences are frequently priced by monthly pageviews. A brand typeface you cannot legally use on your own website is a surprisingly common outcome.
If budget is tight, a well-chosen open-source family applied consistently outperforms a licensed one applied to the website only, because consistency is what the identity is for.
Trademark basics: a word mark and a logo are two filings
This is the part that surprises people. The USPTO limits an application to one mark. A standard character drawing, which is text with no styling, colour, or design, is one application. A special form drawing, which is a stylised, coloured, or designed rendering, is another. Protecting a name and a logo therefore means two applications and two fees.
| Standard character mark | Special form (design) mark | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | The wording itself, in any font, size, or colour | The specific rendering you filed |
| USPTO position | Generally provides the broadest protection | Tied to that design |
| Survives a refresh | Yes, the wording is unchanged | No, a new logo means a new filing |
| File first if budget is limited | Yes | Later, once the mark is settled |
Source: USPTO, Drawings and specimens as application requirements.
On fees, the USPTO moved to a single base application fee of $350 per class in January 2025, replacing the old TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard tiers. Surcharges apply: $100 per class where the application contains insufficient information, and $200 per class for using free-form custom identifications rather than entries from the Trademark ID Manual, with a further $200 for each additional 1,000 characters of free-form text.
Guidelines: keep them short enough to be read
A hundred-page manual is a document nobody opens. Aim for something a freelancer can absorb in ten minutes: logo files with clear-space and minimum-size rules, hex and print values with the contrast-passing combinations marked, type scale, imagery direction with three approved and three rejected examples, and voice traits with do and don’t sentences. Put it somewhere linkable, and date it.
Key takeaways
- ✓Specify deliverables, not style: vector master, horizontal and stacked lockups, one-colour version, and a mark legible at 32 pixels.
- ✓Test the whole palette against WCAG 2.2: 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text. A mid-tone that fails against both white and black can never carry body copy.
- ✓Check font licences before committing. Desktop, web, and app licences are usually separate, and web licences are often priced by pageviews.
- ✓A word mark and a logo are separate USPTO filings. Standard character registration generally gives broader protection and survives a logo refresh.
- ✓Run the USPTO clearance search before design begins, not after signage is printed.
Related reading
Sources
- Understanding SC 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum), W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
- Drawings and specimens as application requirements, USPTO
- Trademark fee information, USPTO (2025)
- Additional fees for trademark applications, USPTO
Mara Whitfield
Brand Strategy Lead
Mara Whitfield leads brand strategy at ThisCom, helping small and medium businesses build distinctive brands and consistent digital presences that earn trust and stand out.
All articles by Mara Whitfield →Frequently asked questions
What files should I receive at the end of a logo project?+
At minimum a vector master, horizontal and stacked lockups, a single-colour version, a version tested over photography, and a small-scale mark that reads at 32 pixels. Ask to see it printed at its smallest real-world size in one colour before approving. A mark that needs a gradient or fine interior detail will fail on embroidery and small print.
How many colours should a brand have?+
A primary, one or two supporting colours, and a neutral set is plenty. The constraint that matters is not the count but contrast: WCAG 2.2 requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for text at 18 point or 14 point bold. Check every text-on-background pair you plan to ship, because a mid-tone brand colour that fails against both white and black cannot be used for body copy at all.
Do I need to register both my business name and my logo?+
They are separate filings. The USPTO limits an application to one mark, so a standard character drawing of the name and a special form drawing of the logo are two applications at $350 per class each. If you can only file one, file the standard character mark: the USPTO says it generally offers the broadest protection, and unlike a design registration it survives a future logo refresh.
What should brand guidelines actually contain?+
Enough that a freelancer who has never spoken to you can produce on-brand work in ten minutes of reading. That means logo files with clear-space and minimum-size rules, colour values with the contrast-passing combinations explicitly marked, a type scale, three approved and three rejected image examples, and voice traits with concrete do and don’t sentences. Date it and host it somewhere linkable.
Related articles
Branding for Small Business: The Complete Guide
Branding is not just a logo, it is the reputation and promise customers associate with you. Here is how a small business builds a brand that earns trust and commands a premium.
Read →BrandingBrand vs. Branding vs. Brand Identity: What’s the Difference?
These three terms get used interchangeably but mean different things. Understanding the distinction is the first step to building a brand intentionally.
Read →BrandingHow to Build a Brand Strategy (Step by Step)
A brand strategy is the foundation every logo, message, and campaign should rest on. Here is a practical, step-by-step process for small businesses.
Read →Related reading
- Branding
Brand Positioning: How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market
Positioning is the art of owning a distinct space in your customer’s mind. Here is how small businesses find and claim a position competitors can’t.
- Branding
Brand Voice & Messaging: Sounding Like You Everywhere
Your brand voice is how your personality comes through in words. Here is how to define a voice and messaging that stays consistent across every channel.
- Branding
Rebranding: When and How to Refresh Your Brand
Rebranding can revitalize a business or squander hard-won recognition. Here is how to know when you need one and how to do it without losing customers.
- Digital Brand
Building a Digital Brand: The Complete Guide
Your digital brand is how people experience you online, across your website, search, social, and reviews. Here is how small businesses build a strong, consistent one.
- Digital Brand
Your Website: The Center of Your Digital Brand
Social platforms are rented; your website is owned. Here is why your site should anchor your digital brand, and what makes one that builds trust.