Linux Foundation Branding Guidelines

These guidelines outline the general rules for anyone who wants to use The Linux Foundation’s brand assets. Consistent use of our logo and assets helps people easily identify references to The Linux Foundation and protects our trademarks. It is important that your marketing materials use The Linux Foundation standards and use our approved assets correctly. Please note that any and all use of The Linux Foundation’s trademarks must comply with our Trademark Usage Guidelines, in addition to the visual branding guidelines shown on this page.

Our Logo

Our logo is our flag. It represents us as an organization, the amazing people who work here, the open source communities we collaborate with, and the members who support us. It is also a reflection of our purpose and professionalism. It is important that it is always used the right way, so that people are able to identify us at a glance. The logo has two variations: the primary “stacked” version and a secondary “horizontal” version.

Primary Logo

This is our primary logo and should always be used where possible.

lf-stacked-color

 

Secondary Logo

This is our secondary logo, and should only be used in instances where the primary logo will not be able to display correctly.

lf-horizontal-color

 

Variations

In the instance where the full-color logo can not be used, there are two variations available.

lf-stacked-knockout


The dark primary logo should be used in print where color or white variations are not usable.

lf-stacked-white

The primary logo should be displayed in white when used against a dark background.

lf-horizontal-knockout


The dark horizontal logo should be used in print where color or white variations are not usable.

lf-horizontal-white


The primary logo should be displayed in white when used against a dark background.

Spacing

lf_logo_spacing_prm

lf_logo_spacing_sec

 

Clear space is the minimum “breathing room” maintained around The Linux Foundation logo itself. The clear space for the primary lock-up is determined by the height of the “X” in The Linux Foundation type.

The clear space for the horizontal lock-up is also determined by the height of the “X” in The Linux Foundation type. This area should be kept free of graphics, text and other marks. This space also to the edge of a border, page, screen, etc.


Other Linux Foundation Logos

These logos represent specific Linux Foundation departments or initiatives. The same rules as the main logo apply to these logos. You may download the fill logos sets for your use here.

Colors

LF Colors

 

Legal

Fine Print

In general
Please don’t use our name, logos, or screenshots (“brand materials”) in ways that may be confusing, misleading, or suggest our sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation. For example, your name and logo should be more prominent than The Linux Foundation name or logo. And please don’t edit or change The Linux Foundation logo — we like it how it is!

Advertising, promotional, and sales materials
Please check in with us before using our logo on websites, products, packaging, manuals, or for other commercial or product use. It’s ok to say in text “Member of The Linux Foundation” or “Linux Foundation Individual Supporter” (as long as it’s true!).

Education and instruction (books, guides, publications, and conferences)
You can use our brand materials for educational and instructional purposes, but please remember that it shouldn’t be confusing or misleading, or suggest our sponsorship. We generally don’t allow use of our logos or screenshots on book covers, for example.

Also remember to include this statement (or something like it) in your printed materials: “(Title) is not affiliated with or otherwise sponsored by The Linux Foundation”

Products, websites, names, and logos
Please don’t use our name as a part of your company or service name, website name, trade name, or product name. Don’t use our logo or incorporate our logo into yours. Don’t use a domain name containing “linuxfoundation” or any confusingly similar words.

Linking to The Linux Foundation
If you want to promote your organizations affiliation with The Linux Foundation, you can use our logo if it meets our guidelines. For example, “[Company Name] is a member of [linked logo].”

Merchandise
While we do produce lots of t-shirts for our events that have our logo on them, we don’t generally allow third parties to make, sell, or give away anything with our name or logo on it.

Attribution
Please include appropriate attribution of The Linux Foundation’s ownership of its trademarks when you use them. This attribution notice can be included in the fine print at the bottom of your content. An example is: “The Linux Foundation and The Linux Foundation logo design are registered trademarks of The Linux Foundation. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.”

More questions?
Feel free to email brand@linuxfoundation.org. It helps if you send a mockup of your intended use so we can be specific in our response. We’ll do our best to get back to you ASAP but please give us two weeks to get back to you. (Please note that no response doesn’t mean approval and that we’re currently only able to respond to inquiries made in English.)