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Article

Mistakes You Need to Avoid in Logo Design

  • by Lois Nur Fathiarini
  • August 08, 2022
  • 5 minutes read
  • 0 comments

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Each designer has their own capacity to bring ideas into work. But there are certain things that can be minimalized to avoid mistakes. One work that needs a lot of cautions is logo designing. Not only related with the client, but also for public responsibility. Make a good logo design and take pride when our work is displayed in various media. Here are some common mistakes that should be avoided when designing a logo that need to be highlighted to bring an original, creative design.

Unoriginal Work

Your logo has to come mainly from your idea and brainstorming. Logo and branding strategy has to become one part to create something unique and memorable for your client and consumers.

Blurry / Unclear

Every logo has to bring message to the audience. If potential customers don’t know or feel anything about your client after they see your logo design, then the task is failed.

Rastered design

A lot of people try to be a logo designer after they learn Adobe Photoshop. You need to remember that a logo needs to be scalable. Using vector softwares such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw is the best way to make a logo design. Enlarging or decreasing logo size will not lessen the quality of logo design if vector format is used.

Too complicated

A lot of new designers try to complicate their logo design by adding so much details, too much words, tagline, etc. Keep it simple and your logo design will be more impressive.

Too much effects

source: Pinterest

Generally, you need to avoid too much bevels, shadows, textures, filters and any other effects. In the mean future, logo will be used in various medium, so this has to be done carefully.

Typography

There are few general mistakes in logo typography designs:

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Spacing. Watch when to use wide spacing and when to save space. It’s unlikely to be effective when you use wide spacing when the space is too tight.

Typical font. Everyone knows Times New Roman, Tahoma, Comic Sans and Arial because it’s a daily font format. Try using something other than default.

source: Pinterest

Horrifying font. Don’t use font like Curlz or Comic Sans to make your logo. Try using a simple and readable font to look professional, unless the logo is made to target specific audience or a specific client request.

Font is too thin. A very thin font might look good on screen display, but will be difficult to use for printing purpose on paper, fabric or billboard. It’s also hard to read from afar.

Using too many fonts. Try to add only one font style (two maximum) in your logo design. This rule ONLY prevails when you’re doing logo designs and not other graphic design works such as posters or brochures.

Too many inputs

It’s okay to ask for inputs or suggestions from other people, but when it’s too much, it will confuse you and such a waste of time. Either it’s from client, friends, colleagues or your boss, they might give different opinions- and maybe not many is very useful for your work. Involve only key people who are needed on the design process, so you can focus on the main purpose.

Using Cliparts

source: Pinterest

Some designers accidentaly takingg shortcuts when they got creative blocks, by taking elements from cliparts found on the internet. Try to make an original work for your client and they will appreciate it so much.

Cannot be used in grayscale format

Another important thing to remember about logo design is that it will be often used in black and white or grayscale output. Fax or monochrome prints will use logos in monochrome format.

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Non-Scalable

Make sure that client get their logo with scalable use for various applications. A good logo needs to be able to put on a large billboard and also has to look good when it’s on 16px favicon format.

Not applicable in various mediums

When making a logo, we need to think that it will not only appear on the internet (unless the client says so). For a big company, logo will be displayed in various mediums. Think that your logo will be applied in many mediums in the future: on the internet, billboards, stickers, screenprints, etc.

Selfish

Do not design a logo with a purpose to make your portfolio looks great. The main purpose and the most important from every logo design is to be client-oriented, to reach their audience target effectively.

Too Abstract

An abstract logo can give a professional look for a company. They don’t have to visualize clearly about the company goals itself. But the designer need to think when is the right time to use an abstract logo. Unless the brand is powerful enough, an abstract logo design is not recommended.

Copycat Logo

source: personal

The worst thing is to duplicate or copy another logo design brutally. It gives a bad reputation for the company, and you can also get a lawsuit from stealing designs. A work ethic needs to be straighten here.

Bad color combination

Psychologically, every color has their own vibe and meaning. Try to combine colors by looking at corporate or brand values, and also from the market target.

By:

Hello! My name is Lois, I live in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. I am a tattoo artist and I also love sewing and making needleworks. I also do watercolor painting and illustrations.

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