Having a distinct and memorable logo is one of the most basic methods to define a company; nevertheless, establishing a distinctive and memorable logo is not as straightforward as it appears.
A logo is a visual that uses an emblem or mark to identify a company, a brand, or a product. A professional logo makes a positive first impression, provides identity, outperforms the competition, makes your product stand out, and much more.
Top 8 Common Logo Design Mistakes
Here are eight common logo design mistakes, so read on to know what it is you’ll want to avoid in your design process.
1. Inadequate Market Research
A logo is intended to communicate with the target audience. As a result, a designer should constantly be aware of who the target customer is, what the product is, and which industries the firms operate in.
It is impossible to comprehend what the market wants and what your target audience wants without conducting adequate market research. This is a rather typical logo design blunder.
The logo will be unable to effectively communicate with customers unless the guts of the organization are brainstormed and researched. As a result, always do preliminary research to determine which logo design mistakes to avoid.
2. Typographic Confusion
Knowing your typographic ABCs is crucial since typography has the power to create or ruin a design. First and foremost, you want your logos to be as straightforward as possible. Secondly, they need to communicate a specific message (whatever that might be for the brand) in a subtle yet memorable way.
Limit your use of typefaces and weights to a maximum of two for each logo you design. Avoid using erratic, thin, or predictable typefaces. Make sure to choose appropriate fonts for the job at hand, paying special attention to kerning, spacing, and size.
3. Not Striking a Balance
Because most people perceive a well-balanced design as more attractive and acceptable, symmetry is crucial in branding. Make sure the overall logo has a nice balance of colors, graphics, and size.
Recognize that your logo represents your company throughout the world and is seen by many individuals, including prominent designers. The most effective method to present it is with a well-balanced design.
4. Plagiarism
Creating an original logo is an art form. And like with other art forms, it is vulnerable to inspiration vs. imitation. Brand inspiration exists, but there is a fine line between being inspired and outright plagiarizing.
Having a design that appears similar to another company’s logo, whether intentional or unintentional, will harm your design efforts. It is not only illegal, but you will almost certainly be caught sooner or later.
Of course, you can’t reinvent the wheel. To stay on the safe side, always do a quick assessment of your biggest competitors to see if there are any major red flags.
5. Using Unique Effects or Colors
Color cannot be the one thing that makes your logo memorable. To avoid the mistake of creating a poor logo that relies only on color to stand out, start your design process using only black and white. Later, you can experiment with colors or add special effects. This way, you can focus on the substance, that is, the shape and concept, rather than the effects.
You can also create multiple logo versions to see how your design works in color, grayscale, and simple black-and-white.
6. Creating Logos with Clip Art
If you want to make a logo, you should think about using clip art. However, if you want your logo design to stand out, we recommend avoiding it. Make your symbol or mark to make your design one-of-a-kind and stunning.
Almost everything available online makes extensive use of clip art. If you utilize clipart to create your logo, it will not be original. Our advice is to use other visuals that are offered for a fee. As a result, not everyone will employ such logos.
7. Relying Excessively on Client Feedback
A customer is paying you as a professional designer for your work, and they need to rely on your expertise to point them in the right direction. So, use your knowledge and experience to take the lead and steer the design process.
If a client asks for a modification that you know cannot work well, first try to explain why it won’t work. Then, offer them a better solution and make sure to explain why it would work better. If they still insist, submit both your design choices and their recommendations.
Through good communication, you might be able to reason with some clients so that you can truly work together on creating the best possible design. Nonetheless, you, as a designer, still need to keep an open mind when hearing out their suggestions and proposals.
8. Lack of Inspiration Before Establishing the Logo
The goal is to create a certain style or theme by collecting images or words that best represent the brand’s personality. The mind map can tremendously aid you in deciding what you are looking for.
Consider patterns, textures, colors, shapes, fonts, people, objects, and products, among other things, but don’t just toss pictures at random; think about what they mean in connection to your client brief.
Sometimes you don’t need the complete image as a reference, only a segment that you particularly like. So download it, crop it, and add it.
Final Thoughts
Several things could be improved while attempting to build a great logo for your client. Fortunately, it’s a process with a natural learning curve, so the more you do it, the better you’ll get.
Meanwhile, while you’re still polishing your skills, watch out for these typical blunders. Avoid them, and you’ve already won half the battle.
Author Bio
Jordan Smith is a veteran web designer based in Tulsa, OK with more than 10 years of experience in designing and developing websites. He believes in providing honest, reliable and efficient web design services to businesses of any size and has built hundreds of custom websites tailored specifically to each client’s brand and goals.