Can you make my logo bigger?
Careful! This post is looking a little old and could be inaccurate in many, many ways
It’s frequently the first thing mentioned by a client when commenting on a new design and it quickly leads to a designer crying into their hands. On the face of it it’s really not that big a change to make but the reasons behind a client requesting it and the frequency in which a designer receives such a request is what makes it such a big problem.
In the past I’ve had little comeback for clients with such a request because I simply wasn’t able to communicate effectively a reason to not change the logo size. Why exactly would making the logo bigger ruin be a bad thing. Often I could see it unbalancing a page but this reason just didn’t do anything to convince the client. So instead I’d just make the change, too battle scarred to fight, and get into a stinking mood while doing it. After two requests from different clients yesterday I decided to have another look into it and see if there was a good reason out there that even the client could understand.
This is normally where the Make My Logo Bigger Cream would come into it. Sure it’s good for a laugh but without a client that is either able to take a joke or see past the comical execution of the video you’re always going to be back at square one. After some searching around I came across a few things that that helped me not only figure out the answer but realise maybe why the client wants the logo bigger in the first place.
The Why
Of course I always knew the client put a lot of weight in their logo thinking it was important to promote on their website but I’d possibly not thought that they see their logo as their brand and their business. Their logo is neither of these things, but to the smaller business client the logo represents all the hard work they put into their business. So whenever possible they want to show off their success as prominently as possible, even on their own website.
The Reason
Yet here’s the problem and the reason to not make the logo bigger. A website is built to serve a specific business purpose, either it sells products to generate revenue or advertise a business in order to generate leads thus revenue. Anything that doesn’t serve this purpose should either not be on the site or melt into the background. The logo is one such thing.
By overemphasising the logo you essentially turn the website into a digital photo frame with the logo attracting too much of the users attention. At an increased size it takes more of the available space on the website leaving less for any information designed to sell. Although at times we can be talking a few pixels difference it can equate to a lot more as to the user they’ll see multiple items all fighting for their attention rather than a single primary call to action.
Rather than increase the logo in the attempt to push the brand the logo should be balanced in the design and become an element the user quickly glances to in order to confirm they have arrived at the correct website. Simple standardised positioning of the logo in the top left with sufficient whitespace surrounding it will be enough for the user to do this.
The logo will never be a factor in getting a sale, so a larger logo will only distract the user from their goals and reduce the space available for the website owner to highlight the call to actions.