What is a logo lockup?

Parts that belong together

Many logos are built from separate pieces: a symbol, the business name set in a particular font, and sometimes a tagline. Each piece can be useful on its own, but the combination is what people learn to recognise. Google Fonts defines a lockup as the fixed arrangement of two or more individual elements, such as a logomark together with a logotype. Fixed is the key word. The distance between symbol and name, their relative size, their alignment and the order they appear in are all decided once by whoever designed the brand, and then they are not adjusted by eye each time someone puts the logo on a page.

Horizontal, stacked and the rest

A single arrangement rarely fits every space, so brands usually approve a small set. The horizontal lockup puts the symbol beside the name and suits wide spaces such as website headers, email signatures and banners. The stacked lockup puts the symbol above the name and suits square or tall spaces such as social avatars, shop signs and the top of a portrait flyer. Some brands add a version with a tagline, a version without the symbol and a single colour version for stamps or embroidery. Brand guidelines typically set a clear space around each lockup and a minimum size below which the name becomes unreadable.

When the lockup choice matters

The choice matters whenever the shape of the space and the shape of the logo disagree. A horizontal lockup squeezed into a small square spot shrinks until the name is unreadable, while a stacked lockup in a thin header strip becomes tiny. On a flyer the logo usually sits in a corner or a footer, where a compact version works better than the full lockup with tagline. On a wide social header the horizontal version is natural. Picking the lockup that matches the space keeps the name at a readable size without anyone having to rearrange the pieces.

Common mistakes

The most frequent mistake is stretching or squashing a lockup to fill a box, which distorts both the symbol and the letters. Next is rebuilding the logo by typing the business name in a similar font beside the symbol, which almost never matches the real spacing. Adding effects such as outlines, glows or shadows that the brand never approved is another. People also crowd the lockup, placing text or photos inside its clear space. Finally, a full colour lockup placed over a busy photo often disappears, which is what the single colour or reversed versions are for.

File formats for a lockup

A lockup is best kept as a vector master file, usually SVG, PDF or EPS, so it can be scaled to any size without blurring. From that master, export raster versions for day to day use: a PNG with a transparent background for placing on coloured areas, and a JPEG only when the background is solid white. Export each approved lockup separately, horizontal and stacked, light and reversed, at a generous pixel size so it stays sharp on high resolution screens and in print. Name the files clearly so nobody picks the stacked version for a website header by mistake, and keep them in one shared folder with a short note on which version suits which kind of space, so a printer, a sign maker or a new staff member uses the right one first time.

Logos in the flyer builder

The flyer builder has no lockup object. Designs that include a logo slot take either an uploaded image or initials typed in Initials mode, capped at 20 characters, and logo slots are never filled by AI image generation. To use a lockup, export the version that suits the slot's shape as a PNG with a transparent background and upload it. Uploads accept JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF up to 10 MB, and the flyer has to be saved first. SVG is not among the accepted types, so a vector master needs exporting to PNG before it goes in.

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