Logo & Brand Identity
A mark that holds at every size, and the identity manual that carries it.
Short answer
What is a brand identity, and how is it different from a logo?
A brand identity is the set of rules that makes a brand produce the same recognition on every surface: logo, colour, typography, grid and applied examples. The logo is only one part of that set — on its own it does not say how the mark should behave on a business card, on signage or as a profile picture. Galata Media builds identities by testing whether the mark still reads at its smallest size.
Key takeaways
- If a mark does not read at a 40-pixel profile picture, how well it was drawn stops mattering.
- An identity manual is a reference document, not a presentation; a manual nobody opens cannot protect an identity.
- A brand mark is never redrawn from guesswork. When working on an existing mark, the geometry is measured from the original file.
- Colour is an accessibility decision, not an aesthetic one — a brand colour that misses the contrast threshold cannot be used as a text colour.
A mark has to still be itself at 16 pixels.
Identity work does not end when the lockup looks good. The same drawing has to hold as it comes down to a favicon, a profile picture, a sign: readable once it is reduced to one colour, and not closing into itself as it shrinks. These three tests run before every handover, and what they return is written into the usage guide.
Scale test
96- 64
- 40
- 24
- 16
The same symbol from 96 pixels down to 16. If the silhouette survives the way down, the symbol is finished; if its parts close into each other, it is not.
Lockup and symbol
- Lockup
- Symbol
Every identity ships two drawings. The lockup is the signature and takes the long surfaces; the symbol stands in for the brand everywhere the wordmark cannot be read — the app icon, the profile picture, the favicon.
One colour, two grounds
#ffffff#239699
A lockup drawn in a single colour asks for no second file on a reversed ground: the same drawing simply turns white. The colour values are measured from the brand's own logo file, never picked by eye.
Deliverables
- 01
Primary logo, horizontal and stacked lockups, single-colour and reversed versions
- 02
Grid and clear space, with the minimum size established by testing it
- 03
Colour palette, published with its contrast ratios
- 04
Typographic scale and usage rules
- 05
Applied examples: business card, letterhead, signage, packaging, social avatar
- 06
Source files (SVG, AI) and the identity manual
How it runs
01 — Framing
We establish which surfaces the brand will appear on and which is the hardest scale. The identity is built for the hardest surface, not the easiest.
02 — Mark
The mark is constructed on a grid and tested by shrinking it. When an existing mark is inherited, its geometry is measured from the original file.
03 — System
Colour, typography and grid are turned into rules, and every colour is published together with its contrast ratio.
04 — Application
The mark is placed on real surfaces. The applied images are not decoration in the manual — they are the proof that the rules hold.
Frequently asked
Can you build an identity around our existing logo?
- Yes, and it is often the right call. If the existing mark is recognised, replacing it resets the recognition you already paid for. In that case the mark is not redrawn: its geometry is measured from the original file, and only the missing rules — scale, clear space, colour — are completed. If a change is needed, the reason is written down first.
Queries this page answers
- brand identity design
- logo design agency
- brand guidelines example
- what is a brand identity
Guides for this service
Let's talk about your project.
A new brand, a website that needs rebuilding, or visibility in search — tell us where you want to start and we will map the route with you.