Unique and memorable branding sets your business apart, and when done right can act as a symbol for your values and messaging.
But it isn’t always easy to get it right. Designing your logo can be a tough creative challenge, so we’ve compiled some of the common mistakes we see being made, and what you can do to ensure you’re designing a logo that will stand the test of time.
Not thinking big (or small) enough
When it comes to logo design, size matters.
The simplicity and complexity of your branding choices play a big role in how they can be used. So, is your logo scalable? Think of your brand as a Bat-signal – If you had to shoddily carve out your logo to shine it up in the night sky, how recognisable would it be? On the flip side, take a look at one of your thousand currently opened internet tabs – see that little logo? It’s a favicon and it’s a mere 16 pixels wide.
A good logo is recognisable in large format, teeny tiny format, close-up and from far away.
This is where your file types are essential. Your JPEGs and PNGs are raster images made of pixels that are set in their size. They are great for general digital work but lose quality when scaled. You’ll also want your logos to be designed as vector files, such as an EPS. These files convert the lines and shapes of your logo using mathematical formulas, making them fully scalable.
Designing with only social media in mind
As your business or project grows, the use of your logo will extend far beyond your Instagram grid and website header. With good planning and clever design early on, the branding possibilities are endless.
When designing your logo think about where in the world you can visualise it – is it embroidered on uniforms, hand-painted on a shop window, stamped onto a paper bag, or projected onto the side of a building? Thinking about the textures, shapes and silhouettes can help you home in on the relevant elements your logo needs.
With this, also comes your colour choices. Make sure your colour palette can translate from RBG (the mix of red, green and blue light that digital media uses) to CMYK (the mix of cyan, magenta, yellow and black that is used in printing and pigments).
Keeping it secret before the grand reveal
Feedback is your friend.
While developing your logo it’s a great idea to test it out. When you’re making your design decisions alone, it’s easy to get engrossed in the process and often we can overlook things that may cause problems down the track.
Get a second or third opinion from people with fresh eyes and different experiences. You might have been staring at your logo for so long that you couldn’t see the obvious innuendo, the cultural insensitivity or lettering that reads wrong.
Whilst a grand reveal is exciting, you want to know about any issues with your logo before you get it plastered around town.
Everything we do is connected to brand. If you’re looking to launch your business or refresh your branding, reach out for a chat. We’d love to help.
