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2. • There are some common mistakes made by designers not familiar with logo design
as well as by talented amateurs attempting to do it yourself with logos. These
common mistakes can undo all the hard work done in selecting the message and
color choices and ideally, these top 10 mistakes will be useful for both designers
and businesspersons choosing a logo.
• Using pixel-based software to design a logo is possibly the fatal mistake in terms of
logo design that can be made. A good logo is used consistently throughout the
marketing and branding campaign. That means on t-shirts, business cards,
newspaper ads, mailers and many other applications. A logo stands for the
company. However, a pixel based logo such as one made in the popular Photoshop
will only be scalable to a certain size. Once a pixel-based logo is enlarged, it begins
to lose definition and becomes blurry. Designing a logo in vector-based software is
essential if the logo is to be used anywhere at all but on the web as a banner
header.
3. • Swooshing or swishing is a term meant to imply speed and was used to give a
visual high tech effect; in fact, the effect was abused to death in the 1990s. With
perhaps the exception of Nike, the swoosh is not actually a design element that
really makes a statement, and will usually be unsatisfactory in the end.
• Using presets for font spacing is a definite mistake when it comes to logo design.
Letters that look well spaced on one monitor can be design horror stories when
printed. Kerning and spacing should be done manually in order to have a
professional logo, which can be used in any venue necessary. Clients should not
actually have to concern themselves with that, but designers should be aware that
ignoring manual spacing could ruin the logo when it goes to print. In addition, a
melange of fonts can ruin the effect of a business logo. One or two fonts can and
should convey a message effectively and more is probably overkill.
4. • Complex logos are not essential and in fact, they can be huge mistakes. A
logo that will be translated to many sizes on many items may end up being
as small as a postage stamp and for another use, as large as a billboard. If
there are too many visual elements included, then the complex logo loses
its effectiveness, and the artwork becomes squiggles or a visual nightmare
with different parts competing for attention. Keep it simple, is a very good
rule to follow in logo design. Advising the client to keep it simple will
increase the effectiveness of their logo.
• Distinctiveness is essential in logo design. Marketing material with every
truism ever written included in the text is hardly effective, in fact, it should
be avoided and the same applies to logo design. Some elements are so
overused that they are visual truisms. From the designer perspective, it
portrays a failure of imagination, and though a client may find them
attractive, they will not be distinctive. Avoid the overused design elements
in order to make the logo memorable, unique and original.
5. • Avoid complexity which has been stated before but it can have unexpected and
undesired results. Using design elements to convey a message about a brand is
common in fact, it is part of the job of the logo but if there are too many design
elements piled up in one logo. It can be confusing at best and end up not
resembling anything at all. In some cases, not checking the logo from all angles can
be catastrophic. Case in point is the famous OGC logo, which was professionally
designed, well done and followed all the rules however, when turned sideways
took on an unexpectedly sexual connotation. Never forget that people will be
looking at a logo upside down and sidewise too.
• Acronyms that no one will know are ineffective on a logo. Business names are not
normally created with logo designs in mind. Eventually long business names will
become shortened as in the case of IBM and FedEx. However if a business does
not yet have a presence then an acronym that no one knows is ineffective. Visual
accents are also essential and every designer knows that to accent the wrong word
in a name by lining up or emphasizing elements may mean that only unimportant
words are memorable.
6. • Taking someone else's work is one of the worst offenses in design. A logo
that is obviously influenced are taken from another site will not be
memorable, professional or useable for long. The original designers will
make sure of that. Furthermore, if it is a well-known logo, brand confusion
will assure the client receives no value from a stolen or borrowed logo
since it is associated with another brand already.
• Using pre-made art in a logo is a tremendous mistake. Artwork that has
been premade such as clip art is not unique, hardly memorable and
overused. In a word, it does not do the job a logo must do.
• The final mistake in logo design to avoid is to believe that any set of rules
is immutable. No one has a complete list of what will make a logo work or
what will make it fail. Things a person is told to avoid can be used with
success in some circumstances. In other words, though logos should be
designed with common sense and the client's satisfaction in mind, there is
no way to say that x or y or z design element will not ever work, it just
might.
