“I had a go at designing a logo but it doesn’t look great, can you help?”
Good question – here are some mistakes businesses make when designing a logo for themselves;
- They use amateur solutions
Avoid websites that promote ridiculously cheap logo packages. You get what you pay for. Or as the old saying goes; “buy cheap, buy twice”.
Here are the most common reasons why many logos look amateurish:
- The business owner wanted to save money by designing the logo cheaply themselves
- A friend or relative who claims to know a little about graphic design does it as a favour
- The job was given to an online company that offers really cheap logos
Your business logo should look good at any size, whether on a business card or on the side of a bus and a business card should be distinctive when viewed from across the room. Meeting those two objectives is not easy, and it’s why great logo design is never cheap.
Tip: Consider a professional!
- They go for the latest trend
We’ve seen trends come and go – from glossy bevels to drop-shadows and animated logos, we’ve seen them all. But where are they now? A well-designed logo should be timeless, and this can be achieved by ignoring the latest design tricks and gimmicks.
Tip: Don’t look at the latest trends, be original!
- They use low quality images
While Photoshop can create large images for print, you can’t be sure that the logo won’t be used on a much larger scale and a Photoshop bitmap file just won’t scale up. You need a vector file to be able to upscale the image to any size.
The main advantages of vector graphics for logo design are:
- The logo can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
- Editing the logo later on is much easier.
- It can be adapted to other media more easily than a raster image.
Tip: Always design with a vector program, never a pixel-based tool.
- They don’t design for all uses
A design might look great on a website or a business card, but does it work on a Social Media profile? Twitter, Facebook and most of the other platforms use a square format and your lovely new rectangular logo won’t look great when placed inside a small square. And can you actually read the text when it’s added to a business card?
Tip: Always design with a vector program, never a pixel-based tool.
- They don’t consider black and white
A logo isn’t always shown in full colour – what happens to a colourful logo when it’s reduced to two colours, or embossed on a sign? Not looking so great now is it?
Tip: Test your new design on a plain black background or over an image. Does it still look great?
- Designing for yourself rather than your client
The most important factor is; who is the logo for? Although the sight of your logo printed on an advertising board does make you feel all warm inside, it’s important to remember that the logo is not for you to look at, it’s to grab the attention of your future customers. It’s time to look at your business from outside. Hard to do, but essential for your logo to do its job.
Tip: Show your new design to some of your existing clients; what did they think?
- Overly Complex
Keep it simple! Less is definitely more! Hate these sayings, but so true.
A simple design not only grabs attention and shows a professional approach, it also means that the design can be used in lots of formats and situations. A complex logo will look a mess if used as an embossed sign, for example.
Tip: Test your new design in lots of situations to see if it still ‘works’.
So, can we help you design a new logo?