Designing Logos for Social Media Platforms
Logo Designs have long been a major piece of the online branding puzzle. However, there is one factor that many logo designers are still forgetting to take into consideration. This is the importance of making the logo work for Social Media Platforms.
Every social media platform has it’s own constraints of width and depth that a logo has to conform to. Most frequently, a company’s logo can simply be uploaded and will be automatically resized to fit. The problem usually occurs when the logo is very wide, and the social media site requires a square logo. In these cases, the logo is shrunk down so small, that the text in the logo become too small to read or the graphics become too small to see the details.
Aspect Ratio no more than 1:4
The overall aspect ratio of the entire logo should be from 1:2 to 1:4. Logo’s generally should not be four times as long as they are tall, but in some cases, this may be needed. A 1:2 ratio will show up best in social media platforms. A 1:3 will still be very visible. By the time you get to 1:4, it is stretching the limits.
Logo words 2 to 3 times longer than logo graphic.
A method I like to use is to make the logo words 2 to 3 times the length of the logo graphic. This give the right balance of attention to both the words and the graphics. Both elements are important, and you want both to be clearly discernible in the logo space provided by the social media platform. Words naturally take more width than the symbol. But sometimes people will put two long words one after the other, with a tagline underneath. This stretches the logo out too long, and the words may not be readable once scaled to fit; especially the smaller font of the tagline.
Dimensions of Logos in Social Media Platforms
What are the space dimensions allocated by the major social media platforms? We will hit 5 social media platforms; Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Twitter, and Youtube. Of course, there are a dozen others that deserve attention. But we will save those for a rainy day!
| Social Media Platform | Display Space Size | Recommendations |
| 160×160 | 180 width minimum | |
| 100×60 | 120 width minimum | |
| Google Plus | 250×250 | Buffer perimeter, logo will be circular |
| Youtube | Same as Google Plus | Same as Google Plus |
| 200×200 | Upload 400×400 |
In most cases, you can simply upload your logo, so long as you have followed the aspect ratio guidelines above. The only exception is Google Plus and Youtube. These take your logo and make it circular, cutting off the four corners. More than likely, you will need to buffer the edges with “white space” or unused space so that your full logo will be seen. Below is my “master plan” of logos for social media that will save a little time.
Social Media Logo Master Plan
First, make sure the logo aspect ratio is not too wide, as per above. Once you have a usable logo for social platforms, downsize it to a width of 400px. Use this logo for all social sites except Google Plus and Youtube. Then take this 400px logo and add a buffer of 20px around it’s perimeter, making it 440px wide. Use this one for Google Plus and Youtube. In some cases, you may need to add more than 20px around the perimeter, but this will work for most cases.
I hope this helps! Logos can be a challenge to fit in so many different platforms. But following the above guidelines will save you a lot of time, and will make sure your logo is clear, legible, and sends the right message!
