9 Mistakes Made By Logo Designers
Logo is an important aspect of any business. In fact it can be easily said that logo is the most important thing as far as representing your business is concerned. A unique and of course a memorable logo is a great way to distinguish your company from other similar brands. I have seen so many designers creating logos however, not all of them are up to the mark. I am obviously not judging or criticizing anyone’s work however, I believe, a lot of logo designers make some silly mistake and the end result makes a logo look bad.
As a logo designer, it is very important for you to understand the importance of a logo design. You cannot jut design anything for your client. I have seen some worst logos and yes, some of the best logos ever. Sometimes, there is a very thin line between creating a good and a bad logo. Today, in this article we will be discussing some common mistakes made by logo designers and of course the things they need to avoid for designing a great logo. These points will also help businessmen understand the entire procedure of logo designing so they’ll be able to be a better judge and will invest wisely.
Let us take a look at a few mistakes made by logo designers.
1. Ignoring the design brief
Well, this is actually a silly mistake but sadly most of the designers make it especially in the beginning of their careers. You can only design without a brief if you are working on a personal project. A briefing will help you in knowing your client’s perspective and you will know what to design and how to design. Without a proper brief, as a designer you won’t know what to design and obviously your client’s won’t really know what to expect from you. As a professional, you should take a design brief very seriously and without it I can assure you that your project will be nothing but a disaster.
2. Hasty Designing
Rushing to create a logo will obviously not result into something great. You need time to think over the design brief, understand it and then start designing a logo. Understanding client’s requirement is very important. If you are too busy to focus on logo designing, I will recommend you declining the project instead of taking up the project and designing a worthless logo. Your design will reflect the amount of time spent in designing it.
3. No interaction with client
I have seen a lot of designers who will take up the project and won’t interact or discuss the design’s progress with the clients. As a designer you need to learn about your target audience before you start designing a logo. Put yourself in their shoes and then see what they would like to see in a logo. If you are truly passionate about your work, you will take out time to interact with a few people belonging to the target audience. You must keep one thing in mind while you are designing i.e., you are designing for your target audience and not for yourself.
4. Unaware of client’s USP
We all know that each business has its own USP and as a designer you should learn about it. Most of the designers these days do not even care to learn about the project, business and it’s USP. I can assure you that learning about client’s USP will help you a lot in designing a logo that will truly represent your client’s business without being literal.
5. No competitor analysis
Again, one of the most important thing but is ignored by designers is brand positioning. As a designer you need to understand that these details are important. You must analyze the logos of the competitors and then come up with something unique and something which can overshadow other brands. Also, this analysis will help you in designing a logo that will look like that it belongs here.
6. No Research work at all
You should not consider your work done once you have learned about client’s USP and brand positioning. There is a lot more that needs to be researched upon. You should take out time to learn about your client’s business so that the information you get can help you in designing a logo. As a designer you know the logo designing procedure a lot better. Sometimes clients’ will not provide you with all the relevant information so do not hesitate in asking as many questions as you want. This will also leave no room for any misunderstandings in future. Always remember, the more you know your client’s business, the easier it is for you to design a logo.
7. Ignoring the reproduction factor
I will say that at some point all designers have made this mistake. However, you can easily avoid making this mistake and a very simple way to do this is by asking relevant questions to your client. You should know if the logo will be used for print i.e., on banners or on various items for promotional activities. If the logo is supposed to be used for such reasons, make sure you design a logo that looks good on anything and most importantly, can be easily printed on anything from a shirt to a company’s vehicle.
8. Confusing clients with multiple options
Well, most of the designers think that showing multiple options to clients is a great way to build a reputation in front of the clients. However, this is not the case. You are not only confusing the client but you are wasting your time as well by designing so many options. I would seriously recommend you to spend time on designing one logo but it should be the best one. Designing multiple logos should be an option only if a client has requested for it.
9. Overlooking client’s feedback
A lot of beginners cannot handle criticism positively. Do not take the criticism personally because by doing this you are simple overlooking client’s feedback. Criticism and feedback will only help you in learning and improving your skills. Also, a client’s feedback is very important for you to design a logo that pleases your client.
Conclusion
Well, let’s be honest here that we all make mistakes. You might make these mistakes even after reading these. The key here is to learn. You can learn from your own mistakes or from someone else’s mistakes as well. But, try to keep these points in mind and avoid making these mistakes. Sooner or later you will able to design a perfect logo.
Great advice! I also agree that giving the client a few options is always a good process. One thing I always do, and highly recommend, is to draw thumbnail sketches once you’re ready to start the design process. Depending on how well you draw, you could actually show the client the sketches and expand on those instead of spending hours and hours on the computer trying to refine just one or two concepts.
Another solid post, thanks again!
Definitely, a good summary of the complexities present when designing a logo. Having to produce a simple result (easy to remember and quick to reproduce) doesn’t mean the design process behind it is simple or fast.
With all the research and testing necessary to develop a good logo design, rushed solutions would lead to unsatisfactory results.
Excellent Tips!
Logo design is definitely a process, but I would say that the ability to reproduce is at the top of my list of concerns when I dive in.
I can definitely say that not taking things personal took a while to understand, but now I just shrug it off and keep moving.
Great advice in here. Thank you.
Thanks for information 😀
Most designer forget reproduction factor of LOGO DESIGN on various media. Thats i think most important while designing …thanks for sharing
yes, definitely i agree about the research paragraph if you cannot research before making your design so how could you make such a great designs . thanks for sharing
I agree with all these points, excellent article!!!
Well said.
However I am not really sure about creating only one version of a logo for your client.
My practice is to usually prepare two or three different ideas for a logo, one of which is then chosen and further developed.
It is good to present client at least some options, not only present the first thing that popped into your mind. There should be some creative process behind it.
However I am also guilty of proposing too many versions, and it is true that this consumes way too much time and at the end creates confusion for the customer.
All tips are worthy.. Thanks, Smashinghub!