Four Mistakes That Can Ruin Your New Logo

Your company logo is the single most important aspect of marketing and can work seamlessly with a solid business plan to establish the identity of your company. A good logo conveys the company's mission in a manner that is readily understood. Weaving the design process into the early stages of business development will ensure that your logo becomes an effective marketing tool that reflects your product or service.

A good sports logo can be a symbol that unites players and fans along a common purpose. Your logo should appeal to the intended audience without being offensive or excluding potential customers. Paying close attention to cultural and gender stereotypes that may be conveyed by your logo will go a long way towards creating loyalty and a feeling of inclusion among brand customers. The most common logo creation errors include mistakes in design, uniqueness, relevance and meaning. Here is what you need to look out for.

1. Choosing the wrong design elements

Color palette - Choose colors that are complementary, contrasting or contiguous to avoid clashing shades. If you are designing your own logo, you can get help with palette choice from a free online color generator. Keep in mind the message each color contains, and design accordingly

Contrast - Pay close attention to the foreground and background to enhance contrast, carefully avoiding colors that clash or blend together.

Graphics - Avoid complex graphics and elements that have no direct connection to the brand concept.

Fonts - Fonts should be easy to read and should display well in any size. You can use Canva for help with logo and business card design.

Typography - Some logos contain typographical errors or use fonts that are incorrectly spaced. Always proofread a logo before committing it to final form to avoid embarrassing mistakes.

2. Creating a logo that is not unique

While it may be tempting to copy another logo, this practice may be an infringement of trademark or copyright and will do nothing to set your brand apart from the competition. If potential customers have to decipher which company the logo belongs to, your design will not effectively promote your brand.

3. Creating a logo that ignores context

Your logo should have a high degree of relevance to the company's mission and should display properly in any context. Consider your website's layout throughout the design process. Pay attention to where on your website your logo will appear and choose style elements accordingly.

The fonts in your logo should be legible on any medium, whether digital or print.

Design a logo that displays equally well on any screen size or device to support a broad-based audience.

Avoid the temptation to design your logo to match social trends. Your logo will not promote brand recognition if it cannot stand the test of time without undergoing frequent redesign. The best logos are evergreen and continue to be relevant at all times and in every context.

4. Creating a logo that is difficult to decipher

While a logo should directly address the intended audience, it should never contain elements that are cryptic or ambiguous. Logos that contain obscure elements tend to appeal only to niche groups and may not be an effective marketing tool if you are hoping to establish a strong market presence.

Conclusion

Your company logo is synonymous with your brand name and can make or break your business. A poorly designed logo will fail to reach the intended audience and will ultimately detract from your customer base. Designing a logo with your customer in mind, paying close attention to context and carefully choosing style elements will promote brand recognition and serve to cement your customer base in the years ahead.