5 common mistakes of corporate logo design

6 logo designs

It is very important that every business represents itself with integrity using the appropriate branding. A key aspect of branding is the company logo. A great logo immediately communicates your corporate identity in a glance, but a bad logo does exactly the opposite. Although tweaks to the logo are expected throughout the years, for the most part, your logo is something you need to get right at the beginning because it will represent your brand forever – hopefully that makes you feel excited rather than nervous about developing your logo! Here are some of the common mistakes to avoid when creating a company logo.

 

1. Amateur design work
The logo is the physical symbol of serious work defining what your company is all about and what sets it apart from others in the same field. Strategic thinking, creativity and originality must be applied to the logo design so that you end up with a logo that helps your business communicate effectively and stand out.

So, unless you’re a professional graphic designer who also happens to run a business, don’t attempt to create your own logo. There is a time and place for being shrewd with your business resources, but cutting costs on logo design is an absolute no-no. Similarly, paying an amateur designer a ridiculously low rate to knock something together is not a good idea. There are plenty of people who will graciously accept a job offering for logo design for less than £100 on sites such as Upwork and FiveSquid, but as with anything in life, you get what you pay for. You want your logo to be a shining beacon for your brand, isn’t this worth investing in quality design? Always choose a designer with plenty of positive testimonials and work examples.

 

2. Attempting to communicate too much
Your business might be multifaceted, but by attempting to communicate too much information in your company logo, you generally end up confusing consumers. Think about some of the most iconic logos such as Nike’s swoosh or McDonald’s arches – simplicity should always be the objective. The more convoluted your logo is, the less people will remember it.

 

3. Copying competitors
You might really love a competitor’s logo, but that doesn’t mean you should plagiarize it. If you are in a competitive niche, hopefully your positioning is distinct enough for you to stand out from your competitors. In a similar vein, your logo should be distinct too. Your customers should immediately be able to differentiate your logo from the competition – this might be because of your unique colour scheme or perhaps the iconography.

 

4. Neglecting to think about the future
You should never create a logo based on current trends. Try to picture the state of your industry 10 or 20 years down the road before you commission your logo. Imagine how the customers of the future will view your brand – will your logo still be intelligible to them? If the answer is no then it’s time to get back to the drawing board.

 

5. You give too much or not enough input to the designer
In order for a designer to do their best work, it’s essential to give them sufficient input and communicate the key points about your brand. However, if you attempt to exert too much dominance on the production process, this will hamper the designer’s creativity, resulting in a less-inspired final logo. Similarly, if you give the designer free reigns to do whatever they like, you’ll get a logo that may be well designed, but doesn’t effectively communicate your brand. In other words, communication is key but trust the experts to work to the best of their abilities.

In relation to communicating with your designer, Will Gibbons recommends taking an open minded approach to benefit both parties. He states:

“To a non-designer, finding a logo or design can be very exciting and hard to part with when somebody points out the possible downfalls of the design. Designers spend years undergoing harsh critique, which explores the shortcomings of their solutions. In college speak, designers have been told ‘why their ideas suck’ for long enough to spot weaknesses in design very quickly. Trusting the designer’s opinion and being open minded will increase the chances that you’ll end up with a strong design that you may have not ended up with otherwise.”

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