Mistakes To Avoid When Designing Your Company Logo

Designing your logo needs to be approached with due caution and care. Your logo will quite literally represent your business, and as such, a poorly designed logo can do tons of damage to your reputation that you can spend years fixing afterward. Having said that, here are the most serious mistakes to avoid when designing your company logo!

Not looking for professional help

The first mistake to avoid when designing your company logo is trying to do it yourself. Many business owners decide that designing a logo is ‘easy’ and that only they can ‘do their vision justice.’ However, the cruel fact is that most people do not have the skill set required to design a good logo. You should really rely on professional graphic designers for a task as important as this!

Trying to make your logo too unique

There is an extreme people tend to reach for when having their logo designed. Namely, they want to look original, and some even insist on an ‘abstract and evocative’ logo design. What does this result in? A logo that in no way makes customers associate it with the field the business is in. And this is not a good thing by any means, mind you! People need to be able to look at your logo and immediately connect it both to you and the industry you are in. You may think this will impact the competitiveness of your logo and make it more similar to others. However, people follow this rule because it works and provides results!

Copying someone else’s style

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have people who want to take full advantage of association with successful companies and businesses in their field. After reading some tips for an effective logo design, you’ll realize that you don’t need to go overboard – you just need to find what works for you instead! Just think about one of the most infamous examples: Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Even now, decades later, people still make scathing and mocking remarks about Pepsi’s logo design. And at this point, they’ve managed to leave their own mark on the industry and get a consistent and loyal fan base! Imagine what this behavior does to new companies copying someone’s logo. Even if you can avoid a lawsuit, things won’t exactly go your way.

Not paying attention to color and font

Your logo’s color and font will become closely associated with your business. You should strive to copy them in every other aspect of your design, including when you are designing your website and your worker’s uniforms. Just as the importance of web design in digital marketing is paramount, so are the font and color of your logo! So, do not just dismiss this vital decision; think carefully about what you want people to associate you with. Of course, some industries use specific colors more often since they are associated with their profession, which can limit your choices somewhat if you want to follow this trend.

Not sending the right message

It would help if you were very careful with your logo’s underlying message. The typical trend for this can be showcased through the following example: Tech companies prefer logos with cold colors and a sharp, futuristic design. Restaurants, fast-foods and similar, on the other hand, prefer warmer colors and a design that signals trustworthiness and reliability. Either by using a mascot or a soft, more rounded design. This makes it easy to associate the business with a particular industry and quickly signals the customer what they have on offer.

Focusing on current trends

We’ve brought up ‘trends’ several times now. Such as when discussing the color and font of your website. However, it is crucial to make a distinction between different trend types. There is a wide gulf between new digital marketing trends vs. tried ones, and this includes trends in designing your company logo. Lots of businesses can jump on a trend bandwagon that is untried and untested simply because others have been doing it. But this by no means implies that the trend will be successful! Instead of following newer trends, you’d be better off sticking to the classics which work and doing your things in other aspects.

Making an ‘inconvenient’ logo

The concept of an ‘inconvenient’ logo might seem confusing, but it isn’t. Simply put, you need to be able to use your logo effectively in your branding efforts. This means you can’t afford to have important information, such as the name of your business, in a font that is hard to read, even when the logo is ‘normal’ sized. Putting it on an article of clothing or a small product can make it impossible to read properly. Another example of inconvenient logos are those that are too big or oddly proportioned and can’t properly fit on things. This is one of the most important mistakes to avoid when designing your company logo since it can ruin your marketing and branding efforts.

Plain bad design

One of the final mistakes to avoid when designing your company logo is using a rushed or badly designed logo, thinking you can fix things later. Once a logo has become associated with your business, even for a little while, the mistake stays there. You can end up with a poorly designed logo because of contracting someone who is not a professional. Or by insisting on specific design choices, such as clashing colors, which don’t work. Even accidentally using inappropriate elements in your logo is possible. This brings us to the solution to this: just do your research. Ensure you properly understand what things you should avoid including in your logo. Since insisting on them yourself ties the hands of your logo designer.

Final comment

Being familiar with the mistakes to avoid when designing your company logo, we’re sure you’ll be able to do a good job! Remember this, too: you are in no way obligated to accept the first design submitted to you. If you notice something wrong with the logo, then simply have those problems fixed!

Author Bio:

Amanda Jenkins is a digital marketing expert associated with digitaldot.us with ample experience in branding and customer base expansion strategies. As such, she draws on her personal experience for any blog posts she pens to help others avoid beginner mistakes.