That is a question we often get asked when someone is interested in buying custom logo embroidered apparel from us at Customized Guys. And it is a very good question.
If you want your logo embroidered on the left chest of a shirt, size matters, right? Too big and it will out of proportion and goofy on the shirt. Too small and it may not be easily seen or read by the people you want to see it.
The answer of course is more complicated than it first appears but in this post I will try and explain two quick ways you can see what sized your logo might end up being.
First of all, there is no real standard size for every embroidered logo. And that is simply because every logo is different and must be treated differently. However there are some guidelines that can help you understand how big a logo will be on a shirt.
Because nearly all of the logos we embroider on the left chest of apparel, we will concentrate on that application. Obviously if the application is a full front or full back, the discussion is very different.
The Logo Shape
The final size of an embroidered logo can depends a great deal on shape of the logo. For example, we approach logos that are a circle shape differently than ones that are more horizontal or vertical. By the nature of their shape, circle logos look bigger because the cover more area.
Therefore, we usually recommend circle logos be sized to 2.5 inches in diameter. At that size, the elements are generally big enough to embroider well and the circle image still doesn’t look out of proportion on the left chest of a shirt.
The America’s Best Companies is a good example of a circle shaped logo.
The Moss Landing logo is more of a square shape. A square shape can appear very large because of the area it covers. Therefore, we need to be careful not to make it too big. In the case of logos that have more a square shape, we like to keep them at about 3 inches wide or less. Anymore and they don’t look good.
Business Card Size
Most everyone is familiar with the size of a business card. If you are looking for a quick and dirty definition of logo size, this is the one. Most logos, either horizontal or vertical in orientation end up about the size of a business card. The standard business card is 3.5 inches by 2 inches.
When asked this question, I have even recommended that people take a business card and put it to their left chest so they can get an idea of how large a logo will be.
The Chocolate Pink logo is a good example of a logo that is about the size of a business card.
Too Big
We have found that any logo that is over 4 inches long or 4 inches tall is too big for the left chest of a shirt. Not only does it look out of proportion, but larger than 4 inches wide and it starts to dive into the arm pit-which never looks good.
As you can see, answering the question about logo size may not be as easy as it first appears. Hopefully we have helped you answer this question and therefore make a more educated decision about your embroidered logo apparel purchase.