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How to develop a JYIV logo concept page
A logo concept page lets a buyer or team test the four letters visually before committing to a full identity. This guide walks through the decisions that make such a page useful and comparable.
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Step one: choose the primary lockup
Start by deciding whether the mark appears horizontally, stacked or as a single compressed glyph. Draw all three in plain black on white with no color and no effects. Compare them at large size, then shrink each to roughly the height of a browser tab. The version that stays distinct when small usually becomes the primary lockup. Keep the others as secondary options for packaging, social avatars or stamps. Writing down why one won, such as legibility of the Y and V gap, gives later designers a reason to follow rather than a rule to guess at.
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Step two: test one worked example
Take a hypothetical advisory firm called JYIV Advisory. Place the stacked lockup on a business card, the horizontal lockup on a letterhead and the compressed glyph as a favicon. Then show a one-color reversed version on a dark slide. Note where the J hook collides with neighboring space, whether the I looks too thin at small sizes and whether the Y and V need kerning adjustment. Four applications are enough to reveal most weaknesses. Record each finding as a short note beside the mock-up so the page doubles as a working brief.
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Step three: define color, spacing and misuse rules
Finish the page with a compact set of controls. Pick one primary color and one neutral, then state the minimum clear space around the mark, commonly the width of the I. Set a smallest permitted size for print and screen. Add two or three plain examples of what not to do, such as stretching or recoloring individual letters. Keep the page to a single scroll so a printer, developer or partner can follow it quickly. Review it after the first real use and adjust the spacing or contrast based on what actually caused trouble.