Common Mistakes That Should be Avoided in Logo Design

In the modern world of internet based marketing, the viewers pay a lot of attention to the manner in which an organization clearly communicates its message in a unique way. A logo is an effective way to communicate an organization’s business perspective. However, if the icon is not properly portrayed, it might convey a wrong message. Mentioned below are some common mistakes which should be avoided while designing an icon.

1. Not Investing Properly on Logo Designing

An organization should have a professional look. Owners of new organizations often invest a lot of money and time on equipment and property, but overlook investments on icon design.

Icons may look amateurish for the following reasons:

• The owner wanted to save money by designing the icon themselves.
• A relative or friend who claims knowledge on graphic design does it as a favour.
• Wrong people such as local printers are commissioned for the design.
• The organization outsourced the job to a design competition website which are full of amateur designers
• The job was bestowed upon an online design service provider who offers cheap icons

All of the above mentioned steps can lead to disastrous results. A logo is the identity of the organization; hence if it looks ameturish so will the organization.

Advantages of hiring a professional designer:

• The icon will be memorable and unique
• It can be easily re-produced
• It will have a longer life span and will not have to be redesigned in a few years
• The icon will look professional

2. Relying on Trends

Trends are a temporary craze and do not last. A logo design should be unique and timeless, this is best achieved by disregarding or going beyond the latest trends. A logo designer should create a unique brand identity for their clients, thus it is best to completely ignore trends. In fact, a designer should be aware of the latest trends in logo design so that they can avoid them.

3. Using Raster Images

While designing an icon it is a standard practice to use software such as CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator which are Vector Graphics software. These software produce mathematically precise points. This ensures constant logos across various sizes. An alternative approach is to use Raster Images through a software such as Adobe Photoshop. Graphics produced from such software have pixels. Using Rastar images is not a good idea to design an icon as it may cause problems in reproduction. Photoshop can create large logos, however it is difficult to estimate how large a logo is required for the stipulated purpose. If an icon is zoomed too much on raster graphics, it may look pixelated, thereby becoming unusable. To maintain visual consistency an organization should ensure that the logo looks the same in all sizes.

Advantages of Vector graphics for icon design:

• The icon can be scaled to any size without losing the quality of the logo.
• A design edited by vector graphics can be edited at a later stage.
• They can be adapted more easily on other media.

4. Incorporating Stock Art

An organization which designs their own logo or outsources it to amateur designers, often makes the mistake of using stock art for logos. Using stock art can get an organization into trouble as it may fall under the rules of copyright.

A logo should be original and unique, and should be exclusively licensed to the organization.Usage of stock art breaks both of these rules. A stock vector image is not unique as it can be used by anyone across the globe, thus it does not satisfy the purpose of a logo. Stock logos can be easily identified due to their familiar shapes such as silhouettes and globes.

5. Designing For Yourself Rather Than The Client

A logo designer often makes the mistake of designing logos by trying to incorporate a fancy font into a logo without thinking if it will be appropriate for the organization they are designing it for. It is important for a designer to place the client first while designing an icon. Some designers make the mistake of using their own trademark on the logo which imposes their personality on the same. This should be avoided.

It should always be remembered that the logo is the visual identity of the business, so it must create a positive impact on the minds of the target audience. The fundamental mistakes discussed here should be avoided to come up with an effective icon that reflects the organizational perspective in every respect.