TWO-COLOR LOGO VARIANT REVIEW
Original educational symbol and palettes; no brand, recognition study or press proof.

RECORD
File revision:
Variant and exact filename:
Ring/accent role assignment:
Approved background or treatment:
Actual smallest delivered use and export:
Geometry/gap check:
Surface and production method:
Conversion owner and agreed ink specification:
Actual separations/proof revision checked:
Unresolved questions and next action:

Teal and copper | #155E75 | #B45309 | white text contrast: 7.27:1 and 5.02:1
Navy and rose | #1E293B | #E11D48 | white text contrast: 14.63:1 and 4.70:1
Slate and ochre | #334155 | #A16207 | white text contrast: 10.35:1 and 4.92:1

Ratios are opaque sRGB color against #FFFFFF, not print results, a logo score or whole-site conformance. Threshold decisions use unrounded values.
A one-color fill is not a grayscale preview. Two visible colors do not prove two ink plates. White SVG fill does not establish the physical white/knockout method.

1. Your symbol is two overlapping colored discs. In a one-color version it becomes one undifferentiated outline. Has exporting black solved the problem?
Answer: No. Redesign the needed separation rather than relying on the original hue boundary.
Explanation: Decide what must be identifiable in the mark, then inspect the actual one-color silhouette. A gap, changed contour or separate component can preserve a distinction when both parts have the same fill. The sample uses a broken ring and detached diamond for this reason. Do not add a white rectangle to a transparent file as an accidental repair: it may cover an unintended area when placed elsewhere. Inspect the exported result on its stated background and keep any geometry revision intentional.

2. The colored symbol looks clear on white. You change every fill to white and place the file on a pale photograph. Is that an appropriate reversed use?
Answer: Not without a suitable, controlled surface and a check of the final placement.
Explanation: A reversed variant is designed for an appropriate dark viewing surface; it is not a universal way to place a logo on any photograph. Bright areas may hide the white shape. Use the approved variant or an agreed background treatment, and inspect the entire mark at its actual size. Keep that treatment in the usage sheet so the next person does not improvise a different patch or shadow. The dark panel in the comparison is a screen illustration, not evidence that an arbitrary material or photo will work.

3. A supplier says a two-color logo exported as a CMYK PDF still has four process plates. Does two visible colors prove two ink plates?
Answer: No. Agree the ink specification and inspect the actual separations with the supplier.
Explanation: Adobe explains that process output commonly separates cyan, magenta, yellow and black, while each spot color has its own plate. Two visible sRGB colors do not establish two printing inks. Ask who performs the conversion, which inks are intended and how the final file will be checked. Inspect the agreed file revision rather than counting the swatches on a screen. Do not silently convert the design to guessed CMYK percentages or call a digital black fill a verified K-only plate.

4. The logo is a brand logotype. Can the same pale accent be used for small menu descriptions without further contrast checks?
Answer: No. The logotype exception does not extend to unrelated menu or interface text.
Explanation: W3C explicitly distinguishes logo or brand-name text from other text constrained by corporate identity. Check each actual menu description, price and label against its own background. Ordinary text normally needs at least 4.5:1 under Contrast Minimum; qualifying large text has a separate 3:1 threshold. Use the unrounded result to judge the threshold. A logo’s brand status is not a reason to make a price hard to read, and a passing text pair is still only one part of the page’s accessibility review.

5. A 160-pixel source SVG looks neat, but the detached diamond is difficult to identify in a 16-pixel favicon export. Which size should control the decision?
Answer: Review the actual 16-pixel use and create a deliberate small-size variant if needed.
Explanation: The source canvas is not the display size. Inspect the raster or vector export at the intended size and in the intended interface, including the gap and the smallest component. Our sample has no tested universal minimum size. Enlarging a screenshot does not show what the original small icon looks like. A simplified variant may be useful, but document how it relates to the full mark and which contexts use it. Recheck its shape rather than removing a component and calling the result equivalent automatically.

6. The supplier approves a black sample on light paper. Does that approve the white reversed artwork on a dark material too?
Answer: No. Obtain a separate decision for the dark material and the required production method.
Explanation: White in an SVG is a screen fill, whereas a physical result may require a substrate knockout, an opaque white ink, an underbase or another agreed method. The right arrangement depends on the supplier and product. A light-paper black proof does not establish opacity or detail on a different material. Record the exact variant, surface, file revision and approval before ordering. Adobe notes that on-screen separation preview also has limits; it does not replace checking production settings with the print shop.

SOURCES
https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html
https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/use-of-color.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/printing-color-separations.html