Everything you need to know about logo families

You might be asking yourself—what is a logo family and why might I need one? Let’s walk through 3 reasons to expand your brand assets to create a logo family.

Quick overview:

1. Versatility: easy to use across all brand touchpoints
2. Accessibility: legible small scale and large scale
3. Memorability: more brand assets can lead to greater brand recognition

Please note that these are not in order of importance.

What is a logo family?

Also known as a logo suite, a logo family is a collection of logo variations that help you keep your visual brand consistent throughout a wide array of applications. Variations often include a primary logo, secondary logo, wordmark, and logo mark. It’s good to note that every brand is different, so your logo family should display your brand’s unique personality in order to be cohesive and memorable.

Let’s break things down into an analogy using the photos above to give you a better understanding of what a logo family is and what it can do for your brand. If you have a design background or have a well established business, you might already be familiar with the benefits of creating a logo family, feel free to skip ahead.

In the photo on the left, you will see a single pink rose in a vase, it’s pretty and you might catch a glimpse as you pass and think “how lovely!” Someone took the time to cut a single flower and bring it inside to brighten up or bring a pop of color to a space. Similarly a logo can bring life to your brand and remind people who you are and what you do.

The photo on the right, is a larger flower bouquet layered with greenery and roses. This bunch of flowers takes up more space and is more likely to catch someone’s attention than a single rose like the one featured above. If you are walking past you might even breathe in a fresh, flowery scent. Someone took some extra time to cut and place the flowers to make sure it looked just right. In the same way a carefully crafted logo family can help you make a larger impact with your target audience.

You could even think about it like wildflowers. The first few blooms are going to be difficult to spot in a sea of green, but as the rest of the flowers reach full bloom there might be an explosion of color!

Sure a single logo can serve a purpose on it’s own, but with supporting brand marks and a bit of extra energy, your brand has the potential to make a longer lasting impact. Thinking about your visual brand in this way, would you rather your brand be a single flower or an expansive field of wildflowers?

One more comparison to drive the concept home!

Think about a literal family—many have multiple members, every family looks different from one to the next and each member of the family has their own role within it. Some are big, some are small, but each are a family nonetheless.

A single logo is like one member of a family, they have limits to how much they can accomplish on their own and their network is limited by the number of people they can personally connect with.

On the other hand, a logo family is like all the members of a family. Each person has their own perspective and role within their family and each has their own network of friends and connections. Just like a family, a logo family can help you reach more people with your brand by creating more opportunities for touchpoints with potential clients or customers.

From here, let’s jump into the three benefits of creating a logo family. 

01 Versatility

One of the benefits of expanding out your visual brand into a full logo family is versatility. By creating sub marks that support your primary logo, you can begin to use your brand in places that weren’t easy before.

When considering variations for your logos, you should think about where they are most often used. Every brand is unique and the logo family should reflect that.

Example: Your current logo looks great on your business cards, but now you want to order custom pens and there is no way to fit your logo across one side without wrapping around to the other side. How in the world can it be done… unless you have a horizontal version of your logo! Poof, another member of your logo family that might be good for you to have on hand. 

02 Accessibility

If you scale up your logo, does it still look good? What about when it is scaled down? Chances are your logo doesn’t do both and that is when sub marks and logomarks can come in handy.

This point is especially important for intricate logos with lot of little details or lines of text. Simplifying your logo when used on a smaller scale helps ensure everything remains legible. When your logo is easily recognizable across a range of sizes, you will build trust with clients and or customers. 

Example: Right now your logo looks great on posters but the little details get lost when you scale it down for social media posts, digital ads, or that limited space on your product package. Having sub marks or logomarks to support your primary logo allows you to keep even the smallest of details “on brand.”

03 Memorability

Creating an expansive logo family increases memorability because they allow you to push your personality forward through your visual identity. Being able to increase opportunities to make your mark across various touchpoints throughout your business can also lead to more brand recognition.

If you can use your logo in it’s simplest form and people start to make that connection to your brand, that is a good sign!

Example: Think about Nike—when they first launched their brand to the world people did not know them for the famous Nike swoosh that people know them for today. Now they can include that logo mark on shoes, apparel, etc for an immediate connection to their brand.

Final Thoughts

• Logo families are dependent on your main logo and brand identity
• Every logo family isn't going to look the same, one business is going to have different logo variations than another
• Not all brands need all types of logos; what works for one brand might not work for yours because you probably use your logos differently
• Just as every logo should show a brand’s unique personality, your logo family should do the same
• Your logo family should support your main logo

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