A powerful business logo design can greatly enhance overall image of a company. However, designing a logo is not an easy task. You need to design a logo that is simple, unique and conveys purposes of the company. While designing a logo, one can commit certain mistakes. This in turn, affects quality of the logo.

Today, in this article, we will discuss impact of these mistakes. Furthermore, we will provide you with strategies that will help you to avoid them.

1. Complicated Designs

Some designers believe that developing complicated designs can attract attention of the people. Unfortunately, this is a wrong concept. A simple and affordable logo design can be your best bet for creating a positive impression. This is because of the fact that simple designs are easy to understand, which in turn contributes to its recall value.

2. Wrong Choice of Fonts

As a logo designer, consider the fact that poor choice of fonts can ruin your creations. For this reason, devote sufficient time for selecting font of a design. Experiment with various styles, before finally choosing one. Do not shy away from buying a font or modifying the existing ones.

3. Over-Relying on Colors

A logo that depends on colors for conveying its meaning is a weak logo. Therefore, while creating a logo, do not rely on colors excessively. Of course, you can use colors to enhance visual appeal of the designs. However, do not depend on them to convey any meaning.

4. Typographic Inconsistency

In the quest for experimentation, do not include three or four fonts in your designs. Interpreting a design that uses various fonts is difficult and disturbing. To retain simplicity of the design, stick to one or two fonts.

5. Incorporating Raster Images

A good logo is scalable. This means that it can be scaled down to any size, without affecting its quality. If you use raster-based editors for creating logos, it will not allow you to develop scalable creations. Rather, using a vector graphics program can be a good idea.

This is because vector graphics maintain visual consistency of designs in various sizes and mediums.

6. Taking Help of Visual Clichés

If you want your design to be unique, avoid popular clichés. Some of these clichés can include swoosh and speech bubbles, which represent dynamism and conversation respectively. Rather, come up with fresh ideas.

7. Copying Designs

We understand the fact that in certain situations, copying designs seem the best solution. However, consider the fact that copying other’s designs can harm your reputation as a designer. To avoid any unwanted situation, avoid stealing works of other designers. However, if you want, you can modify them.

8. Using Monogram

If you are designing for a small company, using monogram (initials of the business name) cannot be a great idea. The reason is that people may not trust an almost unknown company that uses monogram in its designs. Of course, if your client’s company is established, you can consider using monograms.

9. Not respecting your own Expertise

Most designers have the experience of handling clients who are unaware of the fact that their ideas can have a negative impact on the creation. The best way to deal this situation is to explain your point of view. Furthermore, inform the clients how your ideas would benefit the designs. Do not insult your expertise at any cost.

10. Offering Excessive Concepts

Offering excessive concepts to clients can confuse them. For best results, send them 2 or 3 ideas. If you possess good designing skills, sending few ideas will help you to acquire the project.

11. Avoiding Necessary Changes

Before sending the final design, making necessary changes to it is important. Curves, for example, should be smooth. The symmetry should be perfect. Modifying these aspects will create a positive impression on clients.

12. Sending Incorrect Files

Sending right files is an easy way to ensure that the client does not demand a revision or another version of the logo. For best results, offer your client four files. These can include a pure white file, a pure back file, a pure CMYK file, and a spot-color one.

Avoid these mistakes to create good designs.

 

Invention of modern technologies has convinced some designers that sketching and drawing are no longer necessary. However, this is a wrong concept. Sketching offers various advantages, which can be beneficial for any designer. In this article, we will discuss why you should start sharpening your drawing skills.

1. Helps you to create innovative ideas

The major advantage of drawing is that it helps you to come up with innovative ideas. After receiving a project, most of us juggle with various ideas. Later, we narrow down these ideas to select the perfect option. Sketching simplifies this process.

Let us assume that you are creating corporate logo designs for a mobile phone company. This means that your logo should revolve around mobile phone. However, for attracting attention of consumers, you will have to present this logo in a unique way. Now, this is where the importance of sketching lies.

With sketching, you can create various ideas, modify them, and finally, choose the best one. In brief, with the help of sketching, you can utilize your creativity fully.

2. Requires simple tools

To sketch, you need a pen and paper. Compared to laptops, carrying pen and paper is easier. Moreover, you may not be allowed to carry laptops everywhere. However, no such restrictions regarding pen and paper exist. You can carry them at museums, amusement parks, riverside, rural areas-in short, anywhere and start sketching.

3. Utilizes your artistic potential

Even in this technologically advanced age, some designers would agree that holding a pencil is different from holding a mouse. Drawing with the help of pencil is a natural process. When you use a pencil, your drawing becomes more natural and fluid.

Using a mouse, on the other hand, is artificial and somewhat forced.

4. Helps you to develop a crucial skill

One cannot deny the fact that pencil sketches form the basis of any design. If you want to succeed as a graphic designer, you should be aware of the basics. For this reason, sharpening your drawing skills is critical.

Moreover, as a designer, you should possess various skill-sets, which include pencil drawing as well. Powerful drawing skills will enable you to produce ideas quickly on paper. This in turn, can impress your boss or client.

5. Encourages you to understand various aspects of design

As stated earlier, pencil drawings form the basis of any design. If you create pencil sketches during the initial stages, you will gain a deeper understanding of the overall logo design. Familiarity with the base will help you to understand various other elements that create the design. This in turn, will allow you to justify your designs, before the clients.

We discussed various advantages of drawing. Hope you enjoyed reading it!
 

Many companies, especially new ones, prefer to split their corporate identity project between two firms. More specifically, they choose one firm for designing their website and another for creating print marketing materials. Unfortunately, this strategy may not yield an impressive result.

Since two different design firms work on a single project (though in different areas), chances are high that inconsistency between these two aspects will exist. This in turn, can confuse your target customers. Still, in certain situations, this may appear as the exclusive option.

Today, in this article, we will highlight situations, where you can think about dividing your corporate identity design project. Furthermore, we will offer tips that will help you to maintain consistency between works of two different firms.

Reasons for splitting a project:

1. Lack of time- This is the primary reason why many companies opt for services of two different companies. Let us assume that you need to launch a product within a specified time. Unfortunately, you fail to find a firm that can complete the project within the deadline. In such a situation, dividing the project between two firms will be a great idea. Both of them will receive limited workload and manage to complete the project within the specified time.

2. Lack of options- You find a firm that offers excellent web design services. Unfortunately, you do not find their print design samples interesting. The logical way to handle this situation is to find a firm that offers good print design services. If you find such a company, you may split the project.

3. Lack of money- You come across a company that excels in web and print design services. Unfortunately, their price is high. In such a situation, you may consider handing them over a particular aspect of their project, such as web design. For print design services, you can contact another company who offers affordable rates. This way, you can stick to your budget and yet, complete the project.

Tips that will help you to handle the post-split situation:

1. Be honest

If you have decided to split the project between two firms, explain the reasons to both of them. Honesty is important, because it may convince these two firms to communicate with each other and create a consistent brand identity. However, remember that two firms may not always be ready to interact with each other.

2. Assign separate deadlines

The main disadvantage of splitting a project is inconsistency in brand image of a company. You can minimize this disadvantage by assigning web design services to a company first. Once they are done with web designing, you can get in touch with another company for logo design services. This will ensure that the printing materials are consistent with your website designs.
Dividing a project can mess up brand identity of your company. However, if you do not have any option, you may consider it. In such a situation, opt for these tips to reduce the disadvantages.
 

In recent times, logo designing has become a popular career choice. Many youngsters are taking up this profession and facing challenges successfully. However, before you start out as a professional logo designer, you need to be aware of few issues:

1. Study works of famous designers

Studying works of reputed designers will help you gain an in-depth knowledge about logo designs. With the help of this strategy, you can understand the techniques these designers chose to create unique designs. Examples of designers who can inspire you can include Saul Bass - a reputed Jewish-American designer and Paul Rand - a famous American designer who worked for magazines such as Apparel Arts and Esquire.

Apart from the fact that they were talented designers, they were humble individuals. By studying their personal and professional lives, you can learn about creativity and virtues, such as humbleness and simplicity.

2. Practice

You may possess natural drawing talent. However, if you do not practice and sharpen your skills, you cannot leave a strong impression.

After you have drawn a basic sketch, try to improve it. Modify the basic sketch in various ways and observe the uniqueness of each design.

3. Carry a sketchbook

In the 21st century, every one carries a laptop or tablet. Therefore, many may feel surprised at the idea of carrying a sketchbook.

We are suggesting this idea because anything can inspire a logo designer. If you carry a sketchbook and come across any source of inspiration, you can create the design immediately. Memorizing it and drawing it later may not allow you to stick to the original idea always.

4. Originality is critical

Observing works of talented designers is important. However, this does not mean that you will blindly copy their ideas. Remember that a creative logo design can earn recognition when it is original and unique. This means that as a logo designer, you need to develop creative ideas.

While developing logo designs, opt for brainstorming sessions. Draw a design various times and pick out the best one.

5. Be open to criticism

Some people are sensitive about criticism and take it negatively. They are unaware of the fact that with the help of constructive criticism, one can understand the weak areas and work on them. This in turn, helps a person grow and polish his/her skills.

As a designer, you should accept feedback with an open mind and evaluate it honestly.

6. Create a good portfolio

For a designer, a portfolio is especially important. Other jobs require well-written resumes and smart cover letters. However, in case of a designer, portfolio acts as the resume and highlights his/her talent. For this reason, create the portfolio carefully and work on it regularly.

Remember that the career of a logo designer usually depends on the amount of effort he/she has invested for developing the portfolio.

7. Learn the necessary tools

Modern technologies have changed the way people used to create logo designs. To stay updated with current trends, you need to know the usage of modern software applications. However, at the same time, you should also possess good knowledge of pencil drawing. Possessing both basic and advanced skills will provide you with an additional edge over your colleagues.

Consider these tips, before taking up logo designing as your career.

Creating a unique logo design is not an easy process. You need to opt for several brainstorming sessions and develop original ideas. Additionally, you should ensure that the logo represents values of the company correctly. In the midst of all these activities, it is easy to commit mistakes that can hamper quality of the design.

In this article, we will discuss why you should avoid these mistakes. Furthermore, we will highlight the alternative strategies.

1. Using legal phrases in business logo design

Many people are desperate to convince people that their companies are genuine. For this reason, they ask logo designers to incorporate legal phrases, such as LLP, Inc., or LLC in designs. However, this is not a right strategy.

Consider business logo designs of famous companies, such as IBM, KFC, and Shell. Did they include legal phrases in their logos? No. Still, they have managed to convince people about their authenticity. Likewise, you can also encourage people to trust your company, without putting phrases in logo designs.

As mentioned above, people are not used to seeing legal phrases in logo designs. Therefore, if you incorporate them, chances are high that it will confuse them. Rather, incorporate these legal phrases in legal documents.

2. Incorporating contact information in logo

Placing contact information in logo messes up the design. The aesthetic appeal of the logo is lost and it appears like a forced advertisement. Another disadvantage of this strategy is that your contact information may change occasionally. In such a situation, you will have to redesign your logo.

For these reasons, avoid putting contact information in the logo design.

3. Relying heavily on colors

A creative logo design should be simple and soothing to the eyes. For this reason, sticking to one or two colors can be a great idea. Consider logos of famous companies, such as Coca Cola, Shell, and Starbucks. They have used one or two colors in their logos - red, yellow and red, and green respectively.

If you use excessive colors in logo designs, it may confuse the viewers. Furthermore, it may interfere with the recall value of designs. People usually associate a company with a particular color. If you use excessive colors, they will fail to pick out a particular color that could have helped them to relate with the company.

We highlighted few logo design mistakes. Avoid them and consider the alternative strategies.

Most people will agree that when it comes to developing logo designs, creativity is the most critical skill. An intriguing and original logo design is bound to attract attention of people and increase awareness about the company it represents.

The latest trend in the logo designing industry is to incorporate eye-catching fonts and symbols in logos. Apart from these, many designers now use images of fruits and vegetables in logos to create an interesting effect. Colorful fruits and vegetables symbolize health, happiness and have a positive effect on the minds of people. Many designers are utilizing this psychology cleverly to lend a unique appeal to their logos.

Read on to know more about creating fruit and vegetable logos:

• Pay attention to simplicity

Some designers mistakenly believe that complicated designs will leave a lasting impression on people. However, this is a wrong concept. Complicated logos include more elements and this in turn, interferes with their recall value.

A simple logo, on the other hand, has a clean appeal and allows people to remember it easily. Therefore, if you want to create a logo that people will recall even after many years, go for simple ones.

• Color is crucial

When it comes to fruit and vegetable logos, color is a critical factor. If you are highlighting a particular fruit or vegetable, retaining its original color would be a great idea. This means that if your logo includes a cherry, do not change its color to yellow for the sake of creativity. Retaining original color of the fruit or vegetable will help people to identify it more quickly.

Additionally, if you are using two or more colors in the logo, ensure that they complement each other. Make sure that the logo has a refreshing and soothing effect on the eyes.

• Consider your target audience

Before you create fruit and vegetable logos, consider your target audience. If you own a serious corporate website, for example, a fruit or vegetable logo will not be appropriate. On the other hand, if you specialize in online delivery of fruits, vegetables, groceries, and organic foods, this type of logo is suitable. Additionally, graphic design companies and even restaurants can opt for this type of custom logo design.

• Make it memorable

Try to create logos that are stylish and memorable. For example, you can twist a certain aspect of the fruit or vegetable to create a smiley. Furthermore, ensure that the logo contains a timeless appeal, so that people will remember it even after 10 years.

Fruits and vegetables represent health and happiness. Incorporating them in logo designs, therefore, can evoke a positive reaction from your target audience. However, these logos may not be suitable for every target audience. Therefore, evaluate preferences of your target customers, before creating fruit/vegetable logo designs.

Did you know that a business logo design consists of three aspects and each part has a specific purpose? These aspects can include icon, color scheme, and font. All these three aspects work together to convey message of your company to the targeted audience.

Isn’t attracting attention of people the only purpose of a business logo design?

This concept is partially true. One of the purposes of the logo design, of course, is to attract attention of the target audience. However, it has other purposes as well.

The main purpose of your logo’s icon is to convey your brand story to the clients, via the symbols. It can be added here that using symbols to tell a story or deliver a message is known as symbology. Implementing this strategy is a good idea because it will help you to connect with your target customers.

To gain better understanding of the concept, you can consider logo of the popular ice cream store, Baskin Robins. You may think that their logo highlights initials of the company, i.e. BR. However, if you look closely, you will find that the number 31 is highlighted in the logo. The company has used the number 31 in their logo to spread the message that it sells 31 varieties of ice creams, a different one for every single day of the month.

Types of symbols

Symbols are usually of two types - representational and abstract.

• Representational symbols usually highlight animal, person, or an object. Logo design of the famous Jaguar car company smartly utilizes a representational symbol (a jaguar) in its logo.

• Abstract symbols, on the other hand, highlight basic shapes that can include circles, squares, and even swooshes. Logo of the Nike company utilizes abstract symbols.

Which symbol should I Choose?

Picking out the right symbol can be quite tricky. You need to consider your brand story, target audience, and the message that you want to deliver. It is difficult to state the type of symbol you should choose, without observing your logo.

However, we can advise you to study meanings of various symbols. It will help you to choose the one that complements the story of your company. Gather as much information as you can about logo designs. Alternatively, you can hire a logo designer for developing an interesting design.

Other purposes of a logo design

Apart from telling a story, a logo needs to fulfill other functions. It should be-

1. Memorable- It should leave a lasting impression on minds of the audience.
2. Unique- It should possess a unique appeal.
3. Timeless- It should not rely on current trends. Rather, people should be able to relate with the logo, even ten years down the line.
4. Scalable- The logo should be scalable. This means that it should look good, in any size.

If your logo possesses these qualities, chances are high that it will be able to win hearts of the audience. Consider these tips to create an intriguing logo design.

As designers, we create logos for various projects. While clients approve some designs, others wait to be picked. These rejected designs, in turn, can lead a designer to various types of dilemmas and problems.

Let us assume that you developed a corporate logo design, one that highlights your skills. Unfortunately, the client, for whom you created the design, rejected it. After few months, you find a client who offers a brief description of his requirement. Immediately, you realize that the previously rejected logo would meet requirement of this new client.

This situation lands you in a dilemma. You are aware of the fact that if you tell the truth to your client, chances are high that he will pay you a negligible amount. The client may argue that you did not research about his industry and target audience, and therefore, he will not pay you your usual fees.

On the other hand, you think that you have invested sufficient efforts (for a previous project) and deserve to receive the normal rates. You realize the fact that honesty may help you to earn appreciation from the client. However, it will not help you pay your bills. The problem lies in the fact that you want to be honest and acquire your usual fees at the same time.

Therefore, what should you do? We offer few tips that will help you to deal with the situation. You can choose any one of these or even combine few strategies:

• Logo design is a constantly evolving industry. Therefore, the design that you created few months ago, may not be suitable currently. To prevent suspicion of the client, evaluate the old design and make necessary changes

• It is true that you have not invested any effort for this particular project. Charging a client full amount, without researching about his/her industry and audience is ethically incorrect. Therefore, even if you think that the logo is perfect, you should evaluate it and make modifications, if required. This will allow you to stay true to yourself.

• If you want to be honest to the client, tell him that you already possess a design that fulfills his requirement. As mentioned earlier, the disadvantage of this option is that you may receive a negligible amount, despite investing efforts earlier. To protect your interest and retain your values, request the client for a security fee beforehand. This means that even if the client pays you a reduced amount, you will still manage to pay your bills.

We highlighted few strategies that will help you to deal with the situation. Opt for the one that helps you to maintain your values and protects your interest at the same time.

People starting a new logo design business often prefer spending limited amounts of money for marketing their products. The reason is that they have limited cash flow and customers initially. They think that once they acquire more customers, they will opt for professional services for marketing their products.

Unfortunately, they are unaware of the fact that not taking help of professional services for creating a logo or marketing their products can complicate the goal of drawing more clients. Additionally, it may create an unprofessional image of one’s business. If you want to know how amateur marketing can harm your business, read on.

1. Your business will appear unprofessional

Professional marketing can create a polished image of your logo design company. Amateur marketing, on the other hand, can make customers feel that you are not serious about your company. This in turn, will convince them that you do not care about the quality of your work or services.

2. It will create an unstable image of your company

Unprofessional marketing can never earn trust of clients. Rather, it will convince them that your business will fail within few months. It is obvious that no one prefers to associate himself/herself with a company that is likely to fail soon.

3. You will not appear a genuine company

Companies willing to establish themselves as reliable companies always opt for professional marketing services for enhancing their image. For this reason, if you use amateur services or avoid using a logo, you will fail to create a positive impression on minds of the people. Furthermore, they may suspect that you are a fraudulent company.

4. You will appear uncoordinated

Uncoordinated marketing products can create a confused image of your company. More specifically, if your website and business card have different looks, it may confuse your target customers. Sometimes, they may not even realize that all these products represent the same company.

Surveys reveal that nearly 50% of new companies experience failure within 2-3 years. They further state that ineffective marketing is one common factor that contributes to the failure of most new companies. To avoid such a situation, it is important to opt for professional services that will distinguish your company from that of your competitors and provide you with an extra edge.

Take the help of professionals to create awareness about your company, highlight your products and you will receive a loyal fan following within a short time!

Some logo designers believe that only creative skills are required to gain a strong foothold in this industry. This concept, unfortunately, is only partially true. Of course, when it comes to developing unique logo designs, creativity plays a crucial role. However, to sell your designs and create a strong identity as a designer, you need to implement additional techniques.

We provide you with few tips that will help you to impress any client, enhance your income, and most importantly, acquire more logo design projects.

1. Identify your potential clients

Figuring out for whom you would like to work, is critical. It helps you to identify people whose requirements and values match with that of yours. This in turn, would save your time, money, and energy.

Let us assume that you want to start a logo designing project as quickly as possible (for reasons such as money, impending holiday, or whatever). If your client says that he/she can approve after the project, only after his/her higher authorities agree to it, it can be a difficult situation for you. You are already running out of time and in this situation, you have to wait for an indefinite period.

In this case, if you had identified your potential client beforehand (a single person or a small group of people), it would not have resulted in such a complicated situation.

2. Ask the client to provide you with detailed information

Before agreeing to the project, ask the client for detailed information. You can ask questions, such as ‘What logos you like the most?’, ‘What message you want the new logo to convey?’, ‘Who is your target audience?’ Asking these questions will help you to modify the design, according to the client’s preferences.

3. Research about the client’s company

This step is important because it would help you to set your price correctly. If you ask for a mere $500, for example, from a company that is worth $30-50 million, you will not gain anything financially. Moreover, it will lower your value in the industry.

For this reason, before you quote a price, research about the client’s background. If he/she is unaware of how the logo should be used, arrange an educational session for the person. This will help you to enhance your worth, in eyes of the client and get your quoted price.

4. Opt for full color

Presenting logo designs in full colors will help you to earn appreciation of the client. Even if the client does not offer any color specifications, always present colored logo designs.

5. Highlight a great logo by comparing it with a horrible one

Many designers use the trick of presenting few great logos, along with a horrible one. This horrible logo forces clients to observe positive features of a good logo and reaffirms the belief that they are on the right path.

Of course, sometimes, clients nearly cause a heart attack by picking out the horrible logo. In such a situation, excuse yourself for few minutes and think about the possible options.

Opt for these tips to earn what you deserve and maintain a warm relationship with your clients.