From ABCs to sketching, most of us have given our best to learn and become better at what we do. Logo designers are not the exceptions. In this article we share 6 Deadly Creative Logo Design Mistakes to Avoid
As the competition grew, logo designers made sure to diversify their range of skills. Certainly, the core skills include sketching, typography, colour psychology, and an eye for art.
However, we as designers have ensured to excel at clear communication, analytical observation, and technical skills with time. Well, is that the extent of becoming a creative logo designer?
Perhaps, perhaps not.
Yes, we do learn all that we can. Nevertheless, it is important to zoom out of our learning bubble and understand all that could be wrong with it.
“We must be willing to sit on the edge of mystery and unlearn what has helped guide us in the past but is no longer useful.”
-Robert Wicks
The concept of unlearning to learn may be new to some, but it is not as astounding as it was a few years ago. In order to progress in the field of logo designing, you will need to cut ties with approaches that do not serve you well at the moment.
Table of Contents
Present Landscape of Logo Design Industry
Statistically proven, by the year 2024, it is expected that logo designers will be facing cut-throat competition for landing a job. Furthermore, with time, many companies have been realizing how a logo is a symbol that visually communicates its unique selling point, principles, and scope. This has a bittersweet effect on logo designers.
The companies and brand managers are determined to invest in graphic and logo designing, this has led to an increase in jobs for logo designers. Be that as it may, most of these jobs are one-time gigs.
According to IBISWorld 2020, freelance designers had a hold of around 90% of the entire participants in the industry. Having said that, employment preferences vary from designer to designer.
All in all, either way, logo designers are expected to come across with growing competition and extremely high-quality design requirements from most of the clients. Therefore, to thrive as a designer, tossing out a design that has room for improvement is not an option.
Logo Designer Mistakes You Shouldn’t Fall For
With logo design being a dynamic field and activity, even the best logo designers sometimes have a tough time getting it all right. With this blog, I plan to get you started towards designing which is close to perfect. Here is what not to do:
Skipping research
To start at the beginning, you as a logo designer must be looking forward to initiating your design process. However, this is where most of us lose our battles.
Before doing even as little as brainstorming, it is important to let the clients play their role, and getting a design brief from them is one of the most important ones.
From there on, take some time to come up with well-researched information that, later on, will be applied to creating a custom logo design that would have an everlasting impact on your client.
Being Ignorant to Typography
In logo design, typography is something that makes or breaks it all. Even so, it is one of the most underrated elements of design. Thus, it becomes more crucial to ensure that typography does not go unchecked.
With numerous options available, you may have some font styles that are your go-to typography choices. However, it is important to look from a viewer’s perspective and check if that typeface aligns with the objective and other elements of the design.
Here are some things to consider: avoid using more than two fonts and weights, give attention to kerning and sizing, ensure the overall result in terms of typography is memorable yet easy on the eyes.
Going Excessively Abstract or Concrete
This is certainly a slippery slope. While clients, and their customers, value simplicity, at the same time, they want to be in awe of the design they come across.
On that account, you must make sure that the design is not a struggle for clients’ customers to understand. Instead, it is a perfect combination of versatility and clarity.
Through this tiny checklist, your logo design will not be too overdrawn while including something unique to stand out in the crowd.
Following Trends (Blindly)
Yes, there are numerous choices of colours (even a preformed colour palette) and fonts to select from; this sounds enough to come up with a design that is never made before.
Well, if you have been in the design industry long enough, you know that is not true. Even with so many options on the table, we are bound to look externally for ideas. This is where trends come in; and where you shall see the red flag.
Before following a trend, I would suggest you do research to understand if that specific trend is here to stay or not. In addition to the same, if a trend is tempting for you to implement in your design, there is a good chance that it is attracting other designers as well.
Therefore, regardless of you being for or against trends, make sure that your logo design is truly unique and not used by anyone else ever.
Delivering it Wrong
Now that you have ruled out the potential mistakes and risks that you may face while creating your logo design, the last step is to make sure that you deliver it right.
To do so, make sure you clean the files, keep the nodes to a minimum, symmetry is as expected, and at last, the format of file shared – suggestively, JPEG, TIFF, and EPS – opens up exactly as you plan (with no spot colours or other errors).
Bonus: How to Be Your Own Best Critic
I, for one, do not believe in second-guessing my work. However, that does not lead to sharing the final files without feeling content and proud of my designs.
In order to reach that stage, I let my inner critic do the job.
Upon completion, you can wait out for a day or so and revert to your work as a stranger. Not only will this help you see things differently, but will turn out a habit that will serve you unexpectedly in the future.
In addition to this strategy, you could also share your work with friends or colleagues, and get their opinion on the design. In the latter case, make sure that you do not break the confidentiality terms or policies of your client or company.
Lastly, as a designer, you will come across endless suggestions, from experts and even novices. Even so, the key is to be confident in your work and be open to suggestions without compromising on your design approaches.
Join The Logo Community
We hope you have enjoyed this article about Why Small Businesses Need Strong Logos. If you would like more personal tips, advice, insights, and access to our community threads and other goodies, join me in our community.
Learn from our Founder Andrew who personally writes our community newsletter. You can also comment directly on posts and have a discussion.
*TIP – Looking to learn logo design? We recommend the Logo Design Online Masterclass, it will teach you how to plan, design and execute logo designs. The course has also had great feedback from the design community.
Author Bio
Manas Chowdhury is a digital marketing enthusiast with a PG in Economics and a specialization in Finance. He is an entrepreneur who is interested in stocks, bullions, and blockchain technology. While running his startup, he also enjoys writing on a variety of topics. He is also involved in various activities contributing to the betterment of the environment and society as a philanthropist.