Solo business guide
A logo is the shorthand for your business. It appears on your website, invoices, business cards, social profiles, and everything you send to clients. A good logo does not need to be complex — it needs to be distinctive, consistent, and versatile. This guide covers what makes a logo work, the three ways to create one (DIY, designer, AI), the file formats you actually need, and how to use your logo consistently across your business.
Most logos fail for one of two reasons: they are too complex to reproduce at small sizes, or they are so generic they could belong to any business. A strong logo avoids both.
There are three realistic routes to a logo. Each involves a different trade-off between cost, quality, and time.
| Route | Cost | Quality | Speed | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY (Canva etc.) | Free | Low | Slow | Generic templates, limited scalability, time-consuming |
| Designer | £300–£1,500 | High | Slow | Requires briefing, revisions take days, worth it at scale |
| AI (HatchSolo) | Affordable | Professional | Minutes | Iterative in WhatsApp, all file formats delivered |
For solo businesses: AI is the right starting point. You get a professional logo fast, can iterate in conversation, and receive all the file formats you need. Use a designer when you are ready to invest in a full brand system.
The quality of your logo depends almost entirely on the quality of your brief. A vague brief produces a generic result. These seven points give AI (or a human designer) everything needed to produce something specific to your business.
You do not need to have all the answers before starting. AI will ask clarifying questions and generate concepts based on what you provide.
Most designers deliver one or two formats. Most businesses need four. Here is what each is used for and why it matters.
SVG
For anything that scales — website, print, signage
Vector. No quality loss at any size.
PNG (transparent)
Email signatures, presentations, dark backgrounds
Raster. Use at the resolution it was made.
PNG (white bg)
Use on light backgrounds where transparency causes issues
Simplest format for most recipients.
Favicon
Browser tab icon
32×32px ICO or PNG. Keep it recognisable at tiny size.
HatchSolo delivers all of these as part of the logo creation process.
A logo only builds recognition if it is used the same way everywhere. Inconsistency — different versions on different platforms, stretched proportions, recoloured marks — dilutes the brand equity you are building.
Use the same version everywhere. Do not mix logo variations across platforms.
Do not stretch or recolour the logo. If you need a dark version, request one at creation.
Store your brand colours as HEX codes and use them verbatim everywhere.
Create a simple one-page brand guide: logo, colours, and approved fonts. Share it with anyone who touches your materials.
A logo redesign is expensive and disruptive. Do it when there is a genuine reason — not because you are bored of looking at it.
Consider redesigning every 5–10 years as visual standards shift. Redesign sooner if:
Also see: How to name a business — naming and logo work best when they are designed together.
For a solo business starting out, AI-generated logos are free to low cost. A freelance designer costs £300–£800 for a logo. A branding agency is £2,000–£10,000+. Start with AI, invest in a designer when the business has traction.
Not necessarily. AI logo makers have improved dramatically. For a clean, professional logo a solo business can use everywhere, AI is fast, cheap, and good enough. Use a designer when you need a full brand system.
Yes. Using a logo does not require trademarking. Trademarking protects it from being copied by others. Once your business is established, it is worth doing.
SVG is a vector format — it scales to any size without losing quality. PNG is a raster format — it has a fixed resolution. Use SVG for your website and print; use PNG for email signatures and presentations.
With HatchSolo, the initial logo concepts are generated within minutes of describing your brief. Iteration — adjusting colours, style, or layout — takes another 15–30 minutes in WhatsApp.
Describe your business to Maya. She generates logo concepts, takes your feedback, and delivers files ready for your website, invoices, and social media.
Talk to Maya — it's free