Logo design is far more complicated than an image and some text. A successful and effective logo requires research, thought and reiteration. Your logo is often the first impression a customer has of your brand; it should tell your brand story and convey its personality and what your company does. It needs to be clear and concise and it needs to do all of this in an instant. Got that? OK, well, here are five things you should NEVER do when designing yours:
1. Don’t get an amateur to design your logo
If you’re a startup, the worst thing you could do is get an amateur to help you – when you invest in your business, it can be tempting to cut costs in any area you can where you can, but your logo design should not be one of those areas. If your logo doesn’t look professional, neither will you, so forget asking your mate who dabbles in graphic design for a favour.
2. Don’t make things complicated
Good design is not decoration, and neither is your logo. It needs to be as simple as possible so it can be reproduced in one colour, in black and white, and in different sizes. It needs to be clear and to instantly project who you are and what you do. It also needs to be memorable. Making your logo complicated only lessens its impact.
3. Don’t copy successful brands
The last thing you want is legal bother because you’ve plagiarised another company’s design – if you think they won’t notice, you’re wrong. Copying someone else’s work diminishes your credibility and originality. Don’t go down the lazy route; keep your logo unique.
4. Don’t use an unclear or unsuitable font
Stay away from Comic Sans when designing a logo! Your font needs to reflect your brand’s personality – if it doesn’t match, the design will look awkward and inappropriate. Fonts need to be checked for their copyright usage, for their visibility when the logo is reduced in size, and how they render in various formats, such as on your website and printed materials.
5. Don’t forget to save your work in the correct format
If you’ve insisted on doing your own logo, you need to be aware of the need to save it in the right format. This makes a huge difference because, when viewed on different devices in different formats – think mobile and desktops – your logo must scale correctly with no pixelation issues. Save your logo design as a vector graphic, which also makes it easier to edit.
If you’d like an expert to look at your branding, call Bob on 0117 973 9326!