Knockout

A knockout version of a logo is one where the design is cut out of a solid background, revealing the background colour or material through the logo shape. Knockouts are commonly used when a logo needs to appear on a dark or coloured background: rather than printing the logo in a colour, the logo shape is reversed out of the background, leaving the logo in the colour of the background material itself. On a dark navy background, for example, a knockout logo would appear in white (the paper) with the navy ink forming the surround. Knockout logos are an important part of any logo system and should be designed and tested as part of the initial design process. They require careful consideration of which version — filled mark, outline, or reversed — is most appropriate for each background condition. Brand guidelines should specify exactly which knockout versions are approved and in which contexts they should be used.