How to Critique a Logo: A Practical Before-and-After Audit

What a logo critique is for

A logo critique is a structured before-and-after audit of both meaning and construction. Lock a before file, score the mark against identity and artwork criteria, then produce an after file in which every defect is either corrected or accepted in writing. The result is a design-and-delivery decision: use as-is, revise, or reject.

The audit is not a taste vote. It asks whether the mark can stand for the brand at a glance, and whether the artwork will reproduce as vector paths—shapes defined by anchor points and curves rather than a grid of pixels—across the uses you actually need. A vector logo scales and recuts without the softening or stair-stepping of a raster image (a bitmap such as a typical PNG, JPEG or flattened TIFF).

A few terms bound the scope. A path is the outline of a shape, made of anchor points joined by straight segments or Bézier curves (curves steered by handles). A fill colours the interior of a closed path; a stroke paints thickness along the path. Live type is still an editable text object tied to a font; outlined type has been converted to paths, so the letters are shapes. A compound path or boolean combination joins overlapping shapes so holes and unions draw as one mark. None of these qualities is proved by a file extension. An .ai, .eps or .svg file can still contain embedded rasters, broken fonts, undocumented colours or artwork you are not permitted to reuse.

Starting conditions

Begin only when the following are in place. Treat brand manuals, printer specs and platform file rules the reader already holds as documented requirements. Treat everything else in this guide as design recommendations for the audit, not as a universal specification.

A working source file, or the best available export, plus a locked duplicate that will remain the untouched before state.
Named intended uses: screen, print, embroidery, sign, motion, or a stated mix, including any minimum size or colour limits already documented for those uses.
Authority to inspect the file; if an after file will be edited, authority to modify the artwork.
A note of fonts, colour values, clear-space rules and export formats when those already exist as requirements.
A vector editor capable of inspecting paths, type, colour and export settings. Application menus and default values differ by product and version; the steps below stay tool-agnostic because no named application version was supplied to verify.

• A working source file, or the best available export, plus a locked duplicate that will remain the untouched before state.
• Named intended uses: screen, print, embroidery, sign, motion, or a stated mix, including any minimum size or colour limits already documented for those uses.
• Authority to inspect the file; if an after file will be edited, authority to modify the artwork.
• A note of fonts, colour values, clear-space rules and export formats when those already exist as requirements.
• A vector editor capable of inspecting paths, type, colour and export settings. Application menus and default values differ by product and version; the steps below stay tool-agnostic because no named application version was supplied to verify.

Run the audit in a fixed order

Work the same sequence every time so later path and export notes are not used to paper over a weak mark. Record defects against the before file as you go; do not repair until the identity, geometry, type, colour and file passes are written down.

1. Freeze the before file

Duplicate the source, name it as the before state, and leave it unedited. Note the original format, colour mode, artboard size, fonts, linked assets and whether any placed images sit inside the file. Screenshot or export a flat proof of the before mark at a typical display size and at a small size so later comparison is visual, not only verbal.

2. Identity and concept pass

Ask whether the mark is recognisable, appropriate to the named brand, and distinct from nearby competitors the reader can actually cite. Check that wordmark and symbol (if both exist) still read when separated, and that the lockup has one clear hierarchy: which element leads, which supports. Flag clichés, hidden meaning that only the maker can see, and any element that disappears at the smallest documented use. This pass can fail the logo even when the paths are technically clean.

3. Geometry and path pass

Inspect the construction as artwork. Outline view, or the editor’s equivalent wireframe, shows whether the silhouette is made of intended paths or of stacked leftovers. Look for stray points, overlapping duplicate shapes, unjoined segments, reversed path directions that break fills, and boolean results that left slivers or hairline gaps. Check optical alignment separately from mathematical alignment: circles that sit on a baseline often need a slight shift to look centred; strokes that meet at a corner often need a join cap that matches the rest of the mark.

Closed paths where a fill is required; open paths only where a stroke is the intended drawing.
Consistent stroke alignment (inside, centred or outside) on any stroked geometry, or strokes expanded to fills when the delivery format cannot keep live strokes reliable.
Corner radius, angle and line weight repeating on purpose, not as accidents of tracing.
No residual raster traces, auto-trace speckles or photographic textures pretending to be the logo.
Scale test: the mark remains legible when reduced to the smallest size already specified for a use; if no size is documented, record the smallest size you tested as an observation, not as a rule.

• Closed paths where a fill is required; open paths only where a stroke is the intended drawing.
• Consistent stroke alignment (inside, centred or outside) on any stroked geometry, or strokes expanded to fills when the delivery format cannot keep live strokes reliable.
• Corner radius, angle and line weight repeating on purpose, not as accidents of tracing.
• No residual raster traces, auto-trace speckles or photographic textures pretending to be the logo.
• Scale test: the mark remains legible when reduced to the smallest size already specified for a use; if no size is documented, record the smallest size you tested as an observation, not as a rule.

4. Typography pass

If the logo includes lettering, decide whether the type should remain live or be outlined for delivery. Live type is required when the reader must still edit copy, generate weights or keep a font license in the workflow. Outlined type is the usual delivery form for a finished mark, because the receiver then does not need the original font file. Do not outline until spacing, alignment and any custom letter tweaks are finished, and keep a live-type working file if future copy changes are expected.

Kerning and tracking even across the word; optical gaps around letters such as A, T, L, V and punctuation.
Consistent stem weight, overshoot on rounds, and alignment of baselines, caps and x-height across mixed styles.
No substituted fonts, missing glyphs or faux bold/italic generated by the editor instead of a real cut.
Customised letters still related to the rest of the alphabet, unless a true monogram is the intended mark.
Outlined letters converted to clean paths: no overlapping compound debris, no unexpanded strokes on glyphs, no clipped diacritics.

• Kerning and tracking even across the word; optical gaps around letters such as A, T, L, V and punctuation.
• Consistent stem weight, overshoot on rounds, and alignment of baselines, caps and x-height across mixed styles.
• No substituted fonts, missing glyphs or faux bold/italic generated by the editor instead of a real cut.
• Customised letters still related to the rest of the alphabet, unless a true monogram is the intended mark.
• Outlined letters converted to clean paths: no overlapping compound debris, no unexpanded strokes on glyphs, no clipped diacritics.

5. Colour, contrast and production pass

Score colour against the documented palette when one exists. If none exists, record the values you measured in the file as findings, and recommend a single master definition rather than inventing a standard. Check one-colour and reversed (light-on-dark) versions if those uses are in scope. Contrast must hold at the smallest tested size and in the reproduction method named: a fine grey hairline that reads on a backlit screen can vanish in print, embroidery or vinyl.

Note colour mode as a delivery setting, not as a brand idea: RGB for most screen work, CMYK or spot inks when a print specification already names them. Do not declare a conversion correct without the receiver’s documented profile and ink list. Overprint, knockout and transparency flattening behave differently on press than on screen; if print is in scope, inspect whether overlapping inks are meant to overprint or to knock out, and record that as a production instruction rather than a visual preference.

6. File hygiene and export pass

Open the layers, symbols, clipping masks and hidden objects. Delete unused swatches, stray guides, empty text boxes and artwork parked off the artboard if they are not part of a stated system. Confirm the artboard or drawing bounds match the mark plus any documented clear space or bleed; do not treat a generous empty canvas as padding you can crop later. Linked images must be either removed (if the logo is meant to be vector) or replaced with a stated raster asset at a resolution the named use already requires.

Export settings belong to the named use. Typical deliveries, when the receiver has not specified otherwise, include an editable working file, an outlined-path vector master, and raster proofs for review. Match colour mode, artboard cropping and outline-versus-live-type to that use. Because commands and default presets vary by editor and version, write the settings you actually used into the audit log instead of assuming a menu path will match another operator’s copy of the software.

Build the after file against the notes

Only after the defect list is complete, duplicate the before file into an after working file and repair in the same order: identity first if the concept failed, then paths, type, colour, then hygiene and export. Each repair should map to a written note so a reviewer can see cause and effect. If a defect is accepted rather than fixed—an optical quirk that is part of the character, a live font kept for a template—state the reason beside the note.

Keep construction economical. Prefer a small number of well-joined paths over stacked copies that only look correct when filled. Expand or outline only at the delivery stage that needs it, and retain a working file with live type and unexpanded strokes when future edits are likely. Do not clean the file by rasterising it; that converts the problem into pixels and ends the vector audit.

Before-and-after comparison

Place before and after proofs on one sheet at equal size: a comfortable viewing size, the smallest documented or tested size, one-colour, and reversed. Outline or wireframe views of both files belong on that sheet so path repairs are visible, not only the filled mark. The after file passes this stage when every written defect is visibly resolved or explicitly carried forward, and when no new defect (shifted alignment, lost hole, substituted font, clipped viewBox) has been introduced.

Criterion | Before check | After check
Identity | Mark, hierarchy and distinctiveness recorded | Same criteria still hold after any redraw
Paths | Strays, overlaps, open fills, trace debris listed | Closed, economical paths; silhouette holds in outline view
Type | Live or outlined state, kerning, font embedding | Intended state locked; spacing and glyphs intact
Colour | Values and modes as found; contrast at small size | Values match documented requirements or a stated master
File | Hidden objects, rasters, bounds, fonts noted | Hygiene cleaned; export matches the named use
Rights | Source and reuse status unknown or stated | Unchanged: a cleaner file is not a licence

Criterion	Before check	After check
Identity	Mark, hierarchy and distinctiveness recorded	Same criteria still hold after any redraw
Paths	Strays, overlaps, open fills, trace debris listed	Closed, economical paths; silhouette holds in outline view
Type	Live or outlined state, kerning, font embedding	Intended state locked; spacing and glyphs intact
Colour	Values and modes as found; contrast at small size	Values match documented requirements or a stated master
File	Hidden objects, rasters, bounds, fonts noted	Hygiene cleaned; export matches the named use
Rights	Source and reuse status unknown or stated	Unchanged: a cleaner file is not a licence

Completion checks

The task is complete when both files and the log can be handed to someone who was not in the room. Use the checks below as observables, not as a second critique.

The before file is unmodified and identifiable by name and date.
A written defect list exists, with each item marked fixed or accepted.
Outline view of the after mark matches the filled silhouette: no slivers, no missing counters, no leftover trace paths.
Type is in the intended state (live in the working file, outlined in the delivery file when that is the brief), with no missing-font warnings.
Colour values in the after file match documented requirements where those exist; otherwise the measured master values are written down.
Export proofs for each named use open at the correct bounds, colour mode and scale, and they match the after working file.
No claim is made that the file format itself guarantees vector-only content, editability or permission to use the logo.

• The before file is unmodified and identifiable by name and date.
• A written defect list exists, with each item marked fixed or accepted.
• Outline view of the after mark matches the filled silhouette: no slivers, no missing counters, no leftover trace paths.
• Type is in the intended state (live in the working file, outlined in the delivery file when that is the brief), with no missing-font warnings.
• Colour values in the after file match documented requirements where those exist; otherwise the measured master values are written down.
• Export proofs for each named use open at the correct bounds, colour mode and scale, and they match the after working file.
• No claim is made that the file format itself guarantees vector-only content, editability or permission to use the logo.

Audit log template

Copy the block below into the project notes and fill it during the pass. Leave a field blank rather than guessing a measurement, profile or licence term that was not supplied.

LOGO AUDIT
Before file:
After file:
Date:
Intended uses:
Documented requirements (palette, min size, formats, fonts):
Rights / source notes:

IDENTITY
[ ] Recognisable at a glance
[ ] Hierarchy clear (symbol / wordmark / lockup)
[ ] Distinctiveness (cite known neighbours if any)
Notes:

PATHS
[ ] Closed fills / intended open strokes
[ ] No stray points, duplicates, slivers
[ ] Outline view matches filled mark
[ ] Scale test (size used, method):
Notes:

TYPE
[ ] Live or outlined (working / delivery):
[ ] Kerning, overshoot, alignment
[ ] Font status (embedded / outlined / missing):
Notes:

COLOUR AND PRODUCTION
[ ] Values as documented or as measured:
[ ] Colour mode for each use:
[ ] One-colour / reversed if in scope
[ ] Overprint / knockout if print in scope:
Notes:

FILE AND EXPORT
[ ] Hidden objects and unused assets cleared
[ ] Artboard / crop bounds
[ ] Rasters removed or justified
[ ] Exports checked for each named use:
Settings actually used (editor, version, preset):

VERDICT
Use as-is / revise / reject
Accepted defects (with reason):

If a documented production spec is missing—print profile, minimum reproduction size, required file set—the audit can still judge identity and path quality, but it cannot certify the after file for those uses. Record the gap in the verdict and withhold a use-as-is decision for any unnamed use until the missing requirement is supplied.