Why an event logo isn't the same as your company logo

The biggest pitfall: opening a designer's tool without a concept. You end up with beautiful work that says nothing. Designing an event logo starts with one question: what am I trying to say visually? The core idea and the feeling are the input. Without that input, every choice of form is accidental.

Bring to a designer: the name and the tagline, plus the feeling in three words. Add a few reference images of moods that fit. No colour choices, no logo suggestions. You leave the creative work to the designer, within tightly defined direction.

If the concept is strong, the logo comes quickly. If the concept is weak, you'll wander through endless rounds.

A good event logo is made up of three visual layers that work together. The first is the name: the typography. Often this is the main element. A distinctive typeface or a custom wordmark already does half the work. Think of upright letters if your concept is about sharpness, or handwritten if you're after warmth.

On top of that sits the symbol: a visual mark that supports the name. It doesn't have to be there. Sometimes a purely typographic logo works better than a logo with an icon.

Colour forms the third component: one to three colours that carry the feeling. Preferably not your company's standard colour. That's the mistake that makes an event logo instantly dull.

The heart of every event-logo conversation is: who gets to be dominant? Three models work.

In the first model, the event leads. The event logo sits front and centre, the company logo is small in the corner as the sender. This works when the event needs its own character that rises above the corporate brand. Think of an anniversary, a kick-off or a brand activation.

In the second model, the brand leads. The company logo is prominent, the event label is an addition. This works for client events where the corporate brand is the message.

The third model puts them on equal footing. Event and brand get the same amount of space. This works for staff events where corporate identity and the event moment are both being celebrated. Pick one model and stick to it across every touchpoint.

An event logo has more carriers than a company logo, and often in stranger places. Think ahead about where the logo needs to appear, and design for that.

Digital carriers are the save-the-date, email invitations, the event website and social media posts. Print carriers are the badge, programme booklet, menu and name card. Physical carriers are banners, signage, projections and catering branding.

Always have a designer make a version in black-and-white, in white on a coloured background, and in a square format. Especially the last one gets forgotten and then causes damage on social media posts. Hand your agency a clear brand file pack: SVG, PNG and PDF in every variant, not just one colour version in JPG.

Many design agencies deliver a beautiful logo and move on to the next project. That's fine if the logo only has to work on paper. For an event, the logo has to survive in every production context. Think of a print three metres wide, a low-resolution LED screen, coloured signage or a monochrome projection.

Because we run concept and production in one team, our designers think along straight away about how the logo will be executed. A detail that works on screen but blurs at three metres on canvas, we strip out before we deliver. A colour that prints differently from how it looks on screen, we correct in pre-press.

That saves you money, time and — more importantly — the quality of what you end up seeing on site.

A good event logo gives your concept a face. It shows people that work has gone into this moment, before they've even walked through the door. It makes the announcement more striking and the on-site signage sharper.

We design event logos as part of a concept project or as a standalone brief. From concept, not from taste. And always with production in mind, so your logo works where it needs to work.

Call us on 085 401 40 14 or send an email to hello@live-impact.nl. Tell us which event it's for, and we'll show you how we arrive at a logo that fits.

Seriously fun.