
According to LOGO.com data, the five most popular colors in sheriff logos created on LOGO.com over the past 12 months were white at 26%, yellow at 18%, black at 13%, blue at 13%, and grey at 10%. White and yellow lead by a wide margin, which makes sense for a badge look, since a pale metal ground with a gold star reads as authority at a glance, and the black, blue, and grey sitting behind them do the work of an official uniform. If you want a sheriff logo that holds up on a shoulder patch, a truck door, and a small website icon, start from a white or metallic base, put the gold on the star, and save the darker colors for the lettering.
When it comes to the icon, the star is the obvious starting point and it earns that spot, because a five or six point star reads as law enforcement at any size and still leaves room to tuck initials or a small scene into the middle. The hat is the most underused symbol here, since its curved brim makes a natural shelf for a wordmark and its silhouette alone says western without a single other element. Scenery gives the mark a sense of place, so try a ridge line, a cactus, a setting sun, or a lone rider on the horizon sitting under the name. Animals and gear round it out, with a horse, a longhorn skull, a horseshoe, a coiled rope, or a pair of spurs all working as anchors. Before you settle, think about what your outfit actually is: a security company can keep the star clean and modern, a barbecue joint can let it go rough and smoky, and a ranch brand can burn the whole thing in like a cattle mark.
The lettering follows the same official instinct. According to LOGO.com data, sans serif typefaces made up 75% of the font choices in those same sheriff logos over the past 12 months, with display faces at 13% and serif and handwriting styles at 6% each. The favorites were Afacad and Afacad Flux at 18% each, Open Sans and Geologica at 12% each, and Archivo Black at 6%, every one of them plain and sturdy rather than decorative. Set the name in one of those at a heavy weight, curve it around the star if you are building a badge shape, and the mark stays legible whether it is stitched onto a sleeve or shrunk into a browser tab.