Logo.dev core concepts

The names for the things Logo.dev returns, and the APIs that return them. The brand-asset names trip people up the most, so they come with examples.

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Brand and visual terms

Everyone calls these things something different: icon, favicon, symbol, wordmark, brandmark, banner. Here is what each one actually is. A logo breaks into parts: a symbol (the graphic mark) and a wordmark (the styled name), which together make a brandmark.

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Company logo

A brand’s actual mark at a resolution you can render anywhere. For most brands this is the symbol (also called the icon or mark): the graphic part with no text. It is what img.logo.dev/:domain returns. Also called: logo, logomark, pictorial mark, icon, symbol, mark.

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Brandmark

The wide, rectangular logo lockup: for most brands the symbol and wordmark together, and the wordmark alone for pure-type brands. The Brand API returns it in the brandmark field. Designers more often call this a combination mark, and many use brandmark to mean the symbol by itself. Also called: combination mark, logo lockup, horizontal logo, full logo.

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Wordmark

The styled text form of a company’s name, with no symbol. It is the whole brandmark only for pure-type brands like Sony or Visa. Also called: logotype, text logo.

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Favicon

The tiny icon a browser shows in a tab, usually 16 to 32 pixels. Logo.dev serves full-resolution company logos, not scraped favicons, though you can request a logo at favicon sizes. Also called: site icon, tab icon, shortcut icon.

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Monogram

A generated placeholder, a colored mark with the company’s initial, returned when Logo.dev has no logo for a domain so the image never breaks. Also called: letter avatar, initials placeholder, fallback logo.

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Social banner

The wide header image a brand uses on its social profiles. The Brand API returns these in social_banners. Also called: header image, cover image, OG banner.

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Brand colors

The brand’s prominent colors, roughly ordered by prominence, returned as hex values by the Describe and Brand APIs. Also called: brand palette.

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API terms

Logo.dev’s APIs, by the job each does. For when to reach for which, see each product’s overview.

• Logo API. Returns a company logo as an image from an img.logo.dev URL, by domain, ticker, ISIN, crypto symbol, or name. Also called: the image API, logo image API.
• Logo Lookup API. A REST endpoint on api.logo.dev (Pro and Enterprise) that returns a JSON logo record (resolved name, logo URL, freshness) for a domain, ticker, ISIN, crypto symbol, or name, distinct from the image Logo API. Also called: the REST logo API, the /logo endpoints.
• Search API. Resolves a typed company name to its domain and logo, built for autocompletes. Also called: brand search, autocomplete API.
• Describe API. Returns core company data (name, description, colors, socials) for a domain on any paid plan. Also called: company data API, domain enrichment.
• Brand API. Returns a domain’s full brand profile, adding the brandmark and social banners on Pro and Enterprise. Also called: brand profile API, brand kit.
• Transaction API. Matches a raw card-transaction string to a merchant and its logo; in early access. Also called: merchant enrichment, transaction enrichment.

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Key terms

Logo.dev uses two kinds of key; which one you use follows from which API you call. Full detail on API keys.

• Publishable key. A pk_ key passed in the token query parameter on img.logo.dev, safe for client-side use. Often miscalled a public key, public token, client key, or “the token”; the correct term is publishable key.
• Secret key. An sk_ key sent in the Authorization: Bearer header to api.logo.dev, server-side only. Often miscalled a private key, server key, or generic “API key”; the correct term is secret key.
• Domain restrictions. A per-key setting (the Allowed Domains Only toggle) that limits a publishable key to requests from domains you list. Also called: allowed domains, referrer restrictions.

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Next steps