When it comes to logo design, there are a few errors we see cropping up again and again in the industry. By keeping these 5 fatal mistakes in mind during your logo design process you can ensure you aren’t making decisions that will come back to haunt you later down the line.
Designing for the short term
There are a few mistakes that a graphic designer could make with a logo if they’re only thinking in the short term. The first is emphasising one element of the business in your logo – as you may grow and change directions, meaning that the chosen element is no longer representative of the whole company.
Another issue with thinking in the short term is that designers may follow trends in graphic design, meaning that ten years down the line your logo will be immediately identifiable as from a certain era. A logo is one aspect of building a brand – a process which takes many years, and should therefore be designed to last for decades, evolving subtly along with your business. It’s therefore important to recognize a fad and instead choose something more substantial to endure the test of time.
Not giving enough thought to font and typeface
Strong typography is one of the most crucial elements of a successful logo design. The font you choose will bring with it strong connotations that have a huge impact on the overall look of your logo. It’s therefore worth considering your industry, target market and brand personality when making your selection to ensure your font makes a strong positive statement about your brand.
To illustrate this with an obvious example: choosing an old-fashioned and prestigious font, such as Times New Roman may work for a respected law practice, but for an electronics company positioning themselves at the cutting edge of technology, it would be inappropriate.
Not considering rasterization
Your logo design should be effective in both larger and smaller sizes, so that it translates well to different mediums. For example, a detailed and intricate design might be powerful on the side of a lorry, but when viewed on the website via mobile your beautiful design may just look like squiggles. One way around this is to consider creating a simplified alternative design to use as a device when the logo is below a minimum size, such as 25mm or under 30 pixels.
To support this, using vector graphics programmes when designing the logos will allow it to be scaled up or down as needed, to avoid the finished product looking pixelated.
Designing for only one output destination
As touched on above, it’s crucial to consider where the logo will be going and how it will look in various formats and destinations. For example: on a website, on a t-shirt, on an app, on a pen etc, and making sure you’re happy that your design is suitable for all necessary purposes.
Not standing out from the competition
Although you probably want your logo to be in keeping with the style of your industry, you’ve also also got to be careful not to choose something too similar to your competitors’ logos.
This will stop your brand from standing out from the competition and making a name for yourself -and could at worst be considered plagiarism.
At Alchemist Studios we’ve got 20 years of experience in graphic and logo design, so we’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. Get in touch with us to find out how our team of experienced graphic designers can help your business build a powerful brand.