Can you modify a brand's logo?
Which logo changes are routine for icons, which ones brand guidelines usually forbid, and how to check that an adapted logo stays faithful.
5 min read
Turning a logo into an icon almost always changes it. The mark gets fitted to a square, the wordmark disappears, a one-color version appears for toolbars, a tile goes behind it. Some of those changes are routine and expected; others are exactly what a brand's guidelines tell you not to do. This guide sorts them out, so you can adapt a logo for an interface without misrepresenting the brand.
This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a particular change is acceptable depends on the brand's guidelines, on how you use the result and on the law where you operate. For anything commercial or high-profile, ask the brand or a lawyer.
Two sets of rules apply
When you modify a logo from an icon set, two different permissions are involved:
- The icon set's license covers the artwork file. A permissive license such as MIT lets you modify the drawing freely.
- The brand owner's rights and guidelines cover how the brand is represented. A license on the drawing can't override them, because the icon set's authors don't own the brand.
So "the license allows modification" answers only half the question. The other half is whether the modified logo still represents the brand in a way its owner would accept. For background on that second layer, see crypto logos and trademarks.
A spectrum of changes
Changes fall into rough groups. Treat this as a general pattern, with the brand's own guidelines as the deciding source.
| Change | Typical treatment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Scaling proportionally | Accepted | Respect any stated minimum size |
| Using the symbol without the wordmark | Usually accepted | Best when the brand publishes a symbol-only version |
| Trimming clear space to fit a square icon | Common for interface icons | Keep the full clear space in layouts and marketing |
| Single-color version in white, black or a neutral | Often accepted | Many press kits include these; use theirs if available |
| Placing on a solid tile or circle | Often accepted | Guidelines may specify which background colors are allowed |
| Simplifying detail for very small sizes | Depends | Keep the silhouette; never redraw from memory |
| Recoloring the mark in other colors | Usually forbidden | Especially hues outside the brand's palette |
| Stretching, squashing or skewing | Forbidden | Always scale proportionally |
| Rotating or flipping | Forbidden | Unless the guidelines show it |
| Adding shadows, glows, outlines, gradients or bevels | Usually forbidden | Effects change the mark |
| Rearranging lockup parts or changing the typeface | Forbidden | Use the lockups provided |
| Merging with another logo into one mark | Forbidden without agreement | Co-branding needs permission |
What guidelines typically forbid
Most brand books have a "don't" page, and the items repeat from brand to brand: distortion, rotation, recoloring outside the approved palette, added effects, outlined versions, busy or low-contrast backgrounds, cropping part of the symbol, and rebuilding the wordmark in another font. The reasoning is the same each time. Each change makes the logo look a little less like the brand, and repeated across thousands of uses, the brand stops looking consistent.
If you can't find a brand's guidelines, assume these defaults: proportional scaling only, the official colors or a plain single color, no effects. See press kits and brand guidelines for where to look.
Changes icon sets make, and how to keep them faithful
Fitting the mark into a square
Interface icons live in square boxes. A circular token mark fits naturally; a wide symbol or an exchange whose logo is mostly lettering doesn't. The faithful approach is to scale the mark proportionally until it fits inside the square, center it and accept the empty space. Stretching it to fill the box is not. If a brand is known mainly by a wordmark, use a symbol or initial only if the brand itself uses one, for example as its app icon or social avatar.
Single-color versions
A single-color, or mono, version is the change icon sets make most often, because interfaces need logos that sit quietly in navigation, tables and dark toolbars. To keep it faithful:
- use the brand's own one-color file if its press kit has one;
- otherwise, keep the exact silhouette and turn inner details into cut-outs, so shapes that were separated by color stay separated;
- apply it in neutral colors, such as your text color, white or black.
Tinting a mono icon to match your interface's text is how single-color marks are normally used in UI. Repainting a logo in a different, brand-like hue is something else, and it's the kind of recoloring guidelines warn against. The guide on mono versions of colorful logos shows how to build one.
Background tiles
Placing a logo on a solid tile, as in the background style on Web3 Icons, helps marks that would otherwise disappear on dark or light surfaces. Use the brand's color or a neutral for the tile, keep the mark unmodified on top, and keep the mark's size inside the tile consistent across your set.
Simplifying for small sizes
At 16 px, fine details turn into noise: thin rings, tiny text inside a coin, subtle gradients. Simplifying can help, but it's also where icons drift furthest from the original. Remove details rather than reshaping what's left, keep the proportions and the overall silhouette, and compare with the original at the target size. If the brand publishes a favicon or small-size version, start from that instead. The guide on simplifying a complex logo covers the technique.
A faithfulness test
Before you ship a modified logo, look at it the way the brand's own team would:
- Overlay. Put your version over the official file at the same height and 50% opacity. Shapes should line up; only removed detail should differ.
- Colors. Compare the color values with the brand's published palette. A color that's slightly off is a common sign of a traced or screenshot-based logo.
- Target size. View it at the size you'll actually use, on the actual background. Is it still recognizable at a glance?
- Intent. Would the brand's team see it as their logo used correctly, or as a variation on their logo? If it's the second, don't ship it.
When to ask
Ask the brand directly when you need a change its guidelines don't cover: a single-color version in something other than a neutral, a simplified mark for a hardware wallet's small screen, an animated version, or anything for a co-branded campaign. Describe the change, show a mockup and explain where it will appear. Reasonable, specific requests are much easier to approve than vague ones, and a written answer settles the question for everyone who works on the project after you.