10 Common Mistakes in Logo Design

The easiest way to recognize a company and distinguish it from others is by its logo. See what you should avoid for a successful and professional logo.

1. Designed by an Amateur
A professional business should look professional. New business owners spend more money on property and equipment, but do not often match it by investing suitably in their logo. Avoid websites that offer incredibly inexpensive logo packages. The old saying REALLY does go with this one--
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! A good logo is like a tasty chili, allow your creative to simmer and cook--all components must work together and complement each other. A good logo takes time.

The most common reasons why many logos look amateurish:

1. The business owner wants to save money and so they decide to design the logo quickly themselves in unprofessional programs for design. (Publisher, Word, Powerpoint--- NO!)
   
   
2. There is always that friend or family member taking a college course in graphic design who claims to know what they are doing.
   
   
3. The wrong people are commissioned. Even professional designers are not necessarily talented "logo" designers.
   
   
4. The business outsourced the job via one of several design competition websites, which are frequently populated by amateur designers.
   
   
5. The job was given to an online company that offers super inexpensive logos and can fire off a ton of versions in a ridiculously short turnaround time.
   
   

IF YOUR LOGO LOOKS AMATEURISH, SO WILL YOUR BUSINESS!

2. Trendy
Trends (swooshes, glows, bevels, etc.) come and go and ultimately turn into cliches. A well-designed logo should be timeless and will probably ignore most of the latest design tricks and gimmicks. Beware of the "corporate swoosh"!

3. Uses Raster Images
Raster and Vector--- what do these two terms mean? If your logo designer does not know the difference, hang up the phone. Standard practice in logo design is to use vector graphics software.
Technically--vector graphics are made up of mathematically precise points that ensure visual consistency at any size. Raster graphics are made up of a set number of pixels, therefore can be limited for size and reproduction. Think of a raster image as a sweater. If you stretch the sweater out and make it big, the cotton/threading will separate. The bigger you stretch, the more you will see between the stitching. With a vector image, no matter how much you enlarge and stretch it, the software program will automatically and mathematically fill in the holes so it looks seamless.

The main advantages to using vector graphics for your logo:

• The logo can be scaled to any size without losing any quality

• Editing the logo is much easier

• It can be adapted to other media, i.e. can be used on a billboard or stitched onto a shirt pocket. It is clean and simple at any size for the majority of professional vendors to use

4. Contains Stock Art
Using stock vector graphics in a logo puts your client at risk. Downloading stock vector images is not a crime, but it could possibly get you into trouble with copyrights down the road if you incorporate into a logo. Also, chances are, if you are using stock imagery in your logo, someone somewhere else in the world is also using the same art. Therefore, your logo is no longer unique and original and your brand will not stand out in a crowd.

5. Designers Who Design for Themselves Rather then for the Client
Designer's enormous egos are evident when the design isn't relevant to the client's business. Is the font appropriate for what the client does? Did the designer recently find a cool new font he/she wants to use? Yes, it may be a cool font, but does it really work to create the client's identity, brand and industry? A logo for a DJ with futuristic fonts would probably not be the best choice for a lawyer's office.

6. Overly Complex
Highly detailed designs don't scale well when printed or viewed in smaller sizes. Make sure your logo doesn't lose details when it is reduced to a small size. The more detail a logo has, the more the viewer has to process. Memorable logos are predominantly simple, clean icons.

7. Logo Relies on Color for Effect
Color choice should be one of the last decisions in designing a logo. If a logo can stand on its own in black and white, then color may enhance design. Most logos will be reduced down to a single color at some point or another. Make sure that your logo can be "colorless" and still be a strong icon.

8. Poor Choice of Font
The font choice for a logo can make or break the design. The font should match the style of the icon. Each typeface has a personality and a tone. Balance is key for the viewer to equally focus on both the icon and the font complementing it.

9. Too Many Fonts
Industry best practice is to use a maximum of 2 fonts. Reducing the number of fonts will increase the legibility of a logo and improve its brand recognition. If there are too many fonts, the viewer will get confused.

10. Copy Cat
The biggest mistake in logo design. The number one purpose of a logo is to represent a business. If it looks like someone else's, it has failed at making that business a unique identity. Copying others does no one any favors, neither the client nor the designer.

Final Points to remember:
Keep it SIMPLE and UNIQUE. Keeping it CLEAN will make it RECOGNIZABLE.
Your best bet--- Use a professional!

-- Much Information based on a similar article by Smashing Magazine