Logo Artboard Size?

[kcrossley]

For those of you in the U.S., what artboard size do you typically use when delivering a client's final logo? Right now, I'm all over the place, but I need to standardize on a size. 

Thanks!

[Met1]

How are you presenting, as printed pieces? I usually go with 18"(h) x 24"(w) with a lot of white space around (3 to 6 inches depending on the logo layout), but if it's purely digital what does it matter?

[kcrossley]

Yes, printed pieces. Wow! That's big. I typically use either a 4.5" x 5.5" artboard or half that size. Since vector files are scalable I typically keep them relatively small.

Out of curiosity, why do you deliver your logos at such a large scale? 

[michelew83603738]

Are these the deliverables for use? If so, there is a great plug-in that helps export all the sizes for print and web that you might want to take a look at. https://thelogopackage.com/

[kcrossley]

Yes, I have the Logo Package and it's awesome! Well worth the investment. 

The reason I'm going through this exercise is that whenever I create a logo for a client I'll copy and reuse the logo for subsequent projects, which usually isn't a problem, but it is extremely redundant. If, for some reason, we need to make a change to the logo, every project that I worked on prior to the change will have outdated logos attached to them.

Keep in mind that logos don't typically change, but sometimes a logo will undergo small tweaks to address any underlying issues that may not have been identified when it was created, like kerning, alignment or other things that most people, aside from a graphic designer, wouldn't even notice.

What I'd like to do moving forward is put all of my client's logos in a common folder that I can link to every time I work on a new project, especially InDesign projects. That way, I can be assured that I'm using the most up-to-date version of the logo.  

[John Mensinger]

I need to standardize on a size. 

I can appreciate that line of thought, but I find that during the construction of a logo, or any graphic really, there's a "feel" for a given range of size that will sometimes drive me to stop and change the working size midstream. It often has to do with relative line weights or proximities that contribute to negative space. Some compositions just look better at bigger or smaller sizes.

But all that is just about designing comfortably and effectively. Of course a well-designed logo must work at a variety of sizes, so in that sense, its size at any given moment shouldn't matter much. For delivery, it makes some sense to consider client managability. Through the client's eyes the artboard is, effectively, a piece of paper. It's best to make it a piece of paper the client can identify, orient, and print without any mental gymnastics. In the US, that's letter size. There's really no compelling reason to choose any other size.