How to make sure everyone uses the right logo

Why it keeps going wrong

Hardly ever out of bad will. People use the logo they can find fastest. If the right file sits deep in a folder, it becomes a screenshot of the website or an attachment from an old email. So the solution is not stricter rules, but making the right file easier to find.

Seven agreements that work

• One place to find it. All logo files are in one place, and everyone knows that place. No copies in project folders.
• Have the right formats ready. SVG for web and presentations, PNG with a transparent background for Office, EPS or PDF for print. Provide them all, with a clear name.
• Clear file names. Not ‘logo_final_v3_new.png’, but ‘organisation-logo-horizontal-blue.svg’.
• Variants for light and dark backgrounds. Anyone who needs a white version should not have to make it themselves.
• Show what is not allowed. A few examples of stretching, other colours or too little space work better than a page of rules.
• Share links instead of attachments. Send an agency or printer a link to the current files. If the logo changes, the link is still right.
• One point of contact. If everyone knows who to ask, there is less guessing.

Working with agencies and partners

External parties are often where things go wrong, because they receive files at the start of a job and reuse them afterwards. So do not give them loose files, but access to the brand manual with only what they need. A web developer needs different files than a printer.

Also agree that partners check the manual when in doubt instead of an old project. It costs them a minute and saves you a round of corrections.

And if it still goes wrong?

Correct it kindly and include the link. Every correction is a chance to make the place to find things better known. If you see the same mistake again and again, it is a sign that something is missing from the manual: a variant, a template or an example.