Your logo needs to be done right, or its effectiveness will lack. A logo has a personality that reflects the brand, and without being cluttered or confined, instantly conveys what the company does. It’s colouring, font, and message are all effective. An effective logo grabs the eyes, conveys the message, and draws interest. However, there are common mistakes to be aware of and avoid when making a logo, as the results can mean failure. Custom Gear offers the top 6 mistakes to avoid when designing a logo.
Clutter
Clutter is a typographic fail when it comes to a logo. Logos need to be kept simple, all the while conveying the intended message. Whether you’re promoting bags or clothing, your design your should be simple yet effective. One common mistake made while designing is not following the typographic aspects of the design. Fonts should be kept to a maximum of two, and predictable, off the wall, and ultra-thin fonts should not be used. Spacing is essential, just as kerning and sizing.
Not The Right Font Choice
The wrong size font, and you’ve lost the effectiveness of your logo. Do not rush when choosing the font as it is an element in the design that can break the logo. Research all the fonts that can be used for the design, then narrow them down to see the effectiveness of each with the logo mark. Remember, your designer can create their own font, modify a font, or purchase a font.
Too Complex
A logo should convey the history or message of a company without clutter. You want human eyes to instantly recognise the logo. Simple is always best in a logo. The logo should stand out from the crowd; and, therefore it must be simple and unique. Simplicity makes logos more memorable, as well as versatile. A good example of simplicity is a logo that would work on the size of a postage stamp as well as a billboard and have the same effectiveness.
Don’t Rely on Special Effects or Color
While you may use colour and special effects in a logo, they should never be needed to make the logo strong. Start your work in black and white and then add the special effects and colour later. This will help to distinguish between a weak and strong logo during its design. It also allows the designer to better focus on the shape and concept of the logo rather than the special effects to bring it out. Never use embossing, shadows or layer styles to gloss up a logo. A strong logo will stand out on its own.
Avoid Raster Images
When designing a logo it should be designed in a vector graphics program. Your logo at your products which could be pens or drinkware should be easy to understand and should be appealing to the eyes. Doing so will allow the final logo to be scaled to any size, allowing the logo to easily be applied to other media. With vector graphic consistency across all mediums and sizes is ensured as the graphic is made up of mathematically precise points. When logos are made on a raster image, they are made out of pixels and cannot be scaled to any size.
Monogram
Never settle for a monogram such as business initials. A company would have to be nearly world renowned for the logo to convey the credibility and message intended. Initials are most often ineffective as they cannot build credibility or convey a message. Another mistake is to shorten a business name into acronyms unless, again, it is a company that is world renowned.