How we design a logo that works in Welsh and English

Most bilingual logos are an English logo with Welsh added afterwards. You can tell, because the Welsh line is smaller, or squashed, or set in a different weight because the first font did not have the letters. We try to avoid that by treating both languages as the brief from the first sketch. These are the things we check.

Welsh is longer

Welsh words and phrases usually take more room than their English equivalents. A strapline that fits neatly under an English mark can be a third longer in Welsh. So we set the Welsh version first when we test a layout. If the Welsh fits, the English will.

Check the accents before you fall in love with a font

Welsh needs â, ê, î, ô, û, ŵ and ŷ. A surprising number of display typefaces, including some expensive ones, do not include ŵ and ŷ, or draw them as an afterthought. We test every candidate font with a line of real Welsh before it goes anywhere near a client. On this site our headline face does not carry the full set, so Welsh quotes are set in the body face instead. That is a decision, not an accident, and it was made at the start.

Equal weight, not equal size

Equal weight does not always mean identical size. It means neither language reads as the caption for the other. Sometimes that is two lines of the same size. Sometimes it is one mark that does not need translating at all. For Rownd a Rownd we shortened the name to RaR, which reads the same in both languages and let the title sequence do the talking.

Decide the order once

Welsh first, English second, or side by side: pick one rule and hold it across every application. Public-sector clients in Wales usually have a standard for this already. Broadcasters have their own. Ask on day one, write it into the guidelines, and the decision never has to be made again in a hurry.

Test it moving

A logo that works as a still can fall apart in a title sequence when the Welsh line animates in at a different length. We build the motion with both languages from the start, so the timing and the layout are designed for the longer line and the shorter one just has a little more air.

None of this is difficult. It is only difficult when it is left until the end.