Logo design, start to finish

Member lesson

Colour and one-colour versions

Lesson 9 of 12 in Logo design, start to finish.

Checked against the makers' documentation on 9 October 2026.

Mastercard Brand Identity Evolution · Mastercard News
Lesson

Draw in black. Add colour last. A mark that works only in colour is not finished, and Tom Geismar's Chase octagon had to work in black and white because it would be printed in newspapers. The Branding course lists the versions every mark needs, from full colour to one-colour white. This lesson is how to make them and test them.

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  1. Question 1, locked

    A label will be printed on uncoated cream paper. Why does the lesson say to pick its Pantone colour from the U swatches?

    • U swatches are cheaper to print
    • Pantone says the same colour looks quite different on coated and uncoated paper
    • Uncoated paper can only take CMYK
    • U swatches are the only ones built into Illustrator
  2. Question 2, locked

    How was the overlap of Mastercard's circles coloured in the 2016 redraw?

    • Lighter than the red and darker than the yellow
    • Darker than both circles, as before
    • The same red as the left circle
    • Left white, to suggest a gap
  3. Question 3, locked

    How is a spot colour swatch made in Illustrator, according to the lesson?

    • By ticking Overprint Fill in the Attributes panel
    • By converting the document to CMYK
    • By typing a hex value into the Color panel
    • By choosing Spot Color as the Color Type in the New Swatch dialog

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