Brand Manual
04Logo
Construction, clear space, sizes, versions and misuse.
- 4.0Overview
- 4.1Construction
- 4.2Clear space
- 4.3Minimum size
- 4.4Colour versions
- 4.5Backgrounds
- 4.6Placement
- 4.7Avoid misuse
- 4.8Files
The logo is our most important sign. It is made of the red M-square and the METZLER wordmark. Neither is ever redrawn, recoloured or changed: always use the original file.
Overview
The full lockup is the main form. Use it wherever there is room. The M-square alone is the short form for very small spaces.
Full lockup (left) and brand mark (right)
Specification
- Main form
- Lockup: M-square + METZLER wordmark, horizontal
- Short form
- M-square alone (favicon, app, stamp, engraving under 25 mm)
- Source
- Original files from the logo pack only
Construction
The logo sits on a grid where the square is 20 units high. All distances are fixed: 5.2 units between square and wordmark, the wordmark is 93.8 units wide and 12.9 units high.
Construction on the unit grid (1 u = 1/20 of the square height)
Specification
- M-square
- 20 × 20 u
- Gap square → wordmark
- 5,2 u
- Wordmark width × height
- 93,8 × 12,9 u
- Total width
- 119 u (aspect ratio 5.96 : 1)
- Wordmark vertical
- Cap line 3.8 u, baseline 16.7 u
Clear space
The logo always keeps free space around it. It is called X and equals half the height of the M-square. No text, image edges or other marks go inside this zone.
X = ½ of the M-square height, on all four sides
Specification
- Clear space
- X = 0.5 × M-square height, all sides
- Brand mark alone
- also X = 0.5 × square height
- Status
- Set new in v1.0
Minimum size
Below these sizes the wordmark is no longer reliably legible. Use the M-square alone instead.
Minimum widths for print and screen
Specification
- Lockup print
- ≥ 25 mm wide
- Lockup screen
- ≥ 120 px wide
- M-square print
- ≥ 5 mm
- M-square screen
- ≥ 16 px (favicon)
- Engraving / embossing
- Lockup ≥ 25 mm, otherwise M-square
Colour versions
There are exactly four versions. Red + black is the default. When in doubt, use the single-colour black or white version.
Specification
- 01
- Red + black: default on white and light surfaces
- 02
- Red + white: on Teal 500–900, Digital Black and dark photos
- 03
- White single colour: engraving, embossing, print with one light tone
- 04
- Black single colour: newspaper, stamp, fax, laser engraving on light
Backgrounds
The logo needs a calm background with clear contrast. On photos it only sits on a calm, even area.
Specification
- Allowed
- Pure white, paper white, Graphite 100, Teal 500/700/900, Digital Black, calm photo areas
- Not allowed
- Metzler Red, Teal Mint, gradients behind the logo, busy photos
Placement
The logo sits top left or top right, always aligned to the type area. Its width depends on the format.
Logo to scale on A4, A5 and business card
Specification
- A4 (210 × 297 mm)
- Logo 50 mm wide, margin 20 mm
- A5 (148 × 210 mm)
- Logo 40 mm wide, margin 15 mm
- Business card (85 × 55 mm)
- Logo 30 mm wide, margin 7 mm
- Status
- Set new in v1.0
Avoid misuse
These are the most common mistakes. Each of them weakens the brand.
Specification
- Never
- stretch, rotate, recolour, shadow/glow/outline, rearrange, blur, place on busy ground
