The most important goal of brand identity elements for a business is to communicate its unique message clearly. Logo is the the most effective and easiest way to recognize a company
So here is 10 examples of logo design with mistakes you should avoid if you want to save company image and make it successful:
1. Logo design by amateur
You always get what you pay for. The work of professional designer can not cost a little. So, avoid websites that promote ridiculously cheap logo packages.
A professional business should look professional. New business owners often invest a lot of time and money in property and equipment, but do not often match it by investing suitably in their logo.
Here are the most common reasons why many logos look amateurish:
- The business owner wanted to save money by designing the logo quickly themselves.
- A friend or relative who claims to know a little about graphic design does it as a favor.
- The wrong people are commissioned. (Local printers are not likely proficient in logo design.)
- The business outsourced the job via one of several design competition websites, which are mostly populated by amateur designers.
- The job was given to an online company that offers really cheap logos.
All of the above can result in disastrous outcomes. If your logo looks amateurish, then so will your business. A business should know where to look when it wants a new logo.
Here are the advantages of hiring an established and professional logo designer:
- Unique and memorable logo as a result
- No problems with reproducing it
- Your logo will have a longer lifespan and won’t need to be redesigned in a couple of years
- Your logo will look professional
2. Relies On Trends Link
Focusing on current logo trends is like putting a sell-by date on a logo.
Trends come and go and ultimately turn into cliches. A well-designed logo should be timeless, and this can be achieved by ignoring the latest design tricks and gimmicks. The biggest cliche in logo design is the dreaded “corporate swoosh,” which is the ultimate way to play it safe.
As a logo designer, our job is to create a unique identity for your client, so completely ignoring logo design trends is best.
3. Uses Raster Images Link
An example of how raster graphics can limit reproduction.
Standard practice when designing a logo is to use vector graphics software, such as Adobe Illustrator. A vector graphic is made up of mathematically precise points, which ensures visual consistency across multiple sizes. The alternative, of course, is use to raster graphics software, such as Adobe Photoshop. A raster graphic — or bitmap, as it’s commonly called — consists of pixels.
Using raster images for logos is not advisable because it can cause problems with reproduction. While Photoshop is capable of creating very large logos, you never know for sure how large you will have to reproduce your logo at some point. If you zoom in enough on a raster graphic, it will appear pixelated, making it unusable. Maintaining visual consistency by making sure the logo looks the same in all sizes is essential.
The main advantages of vector graphics for logo design are:
- The logo can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
- Editing the logo later on is much easier.
- It can be adapted to other media more easily than a raster image.
4. Contains Stock Art Link
Using stock vector graphics in a logo puts your client at risk.
This mistake is often made by business owners who design their own logo or by amateur designers who are not clued in to the laws on copyright. Downloading stock vector imagery from websites such as VectorStock is not a crime, but it could possibly get you in trouble if you incorporate it in a logo.
A logo should be unique and original – using stock art breaks the rule.
5. Too Complex Link
Highly detailed designs don’t scale well when printed or viewed in smaller sizes.
What better analogy for thumbnail images than fingerprints? You’ll notice the intricacies of your fingerprints only when looking at them really close up. As soon as you move away, those details are lost. The same holds true for highly detailed logo designs.
When printed in small sizes, a complex design will lose detail and in some cases will look like a smudge or, worse, a mistake. The more detail a logo has, the more information the viewer has to process. A logo should be memorable, and one of the best ways to make it memorable is to keep things simple. Look at the corporate identities of Nike, McDonald’s and Apple. Each company has a very simple icon that can easily be reproduced at any size.
6. Relies On Color For Its Effect Link
Without color, your great design may lose its identity.
This is a very common mistake. Some designers cannot wait to add color to a design, and some rely on it completely. Choosing color should be your last decision, so starting your work in black and white is best.
7. Poor Choice Of Font
Font choice can make or break a logo.
When it comes to designing a logo, choosing the right font is the most important decision a designer can make. More often than not, a logo fails because of a poor font choice.
Finding the perfect font for your design is all about matching the font to the style of the icon. But this can be tricky. If the match is too close, the icon and font will compete with each other for attention; if the complete opposite, then the viewer won’t know where to focus. The key is finding the right balance, somewhere in the middle. Every typeface has a personality. If the font you have chosen does not reflect the icon’s characteristics, then the whole message of the brand will misfire.
Bad fonts are often chosen simply because the decision isn’t taken seriously enough.
8. Has Too Many Fonts
A logo works best with a maximum of two fonts.
Using too many fonts is like trying to show someone a whole photo album at once. Each typeface is different, and the viewer needs time to recognize it. Seeing too many at once causes confusion.
Using a maximum of two fonts of different weights is standard practice. Restricting the number of fonts to this number greatly improves the legibility of a logo design and improves brand recognition.
9. Copies Others Link
This is the biggest logo design mistake of all and, unfortunately, is becoming more and more common. As mentioned, the purpose of a logo is to represent a business. If it looks the same as someone else’s, it has failed in that regard.Copying others does no one any favors, neither the client nor the designer.
Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/10-common-mistakes-in-logo-design/
