What are the common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid when creating a brand logo?

Step 2: Check Your Personal Bias at the Door Have you let your personal preferences dictate a brand's color and design scheme? You may have an eye for what looks good, but is it really what your audience wants to see? By researching and evaluating your competitors' branding, you can ensure your brand is eye-catching, resonates with your target market, and stands out. Listen to your designers. They have the skills and expertise to bring your vision to life while ensuring it aligns with your audience's preferences. Feel free to ask questions and express your ideas and concerns, but ultimately, let them guide you. You would hire a plumber to fix a leak. You wouldn't stand there and tell them what to do. Think of designers the same way.

Find the things that make you and your business unique, share your story and then find a branding designer that cares about your business as much as you do and is creative enough to craft a logo that truly reflects who you are.

Make sure whatever your logo style becomes your designer has created responsive various. Think Instagram profile picture and your website favicon. All these areas need branding too so your logo needs to be adaptable whilst still being recognisable.

The best logos are simple and provide a visual connection to the brand. Don't attempt to tell a long story with a logo by including symbols and elements that confuse your audience. Aim for one feeling or impression. You'll also want to consider the variety of uses. Will the logo be printed? How small will the logo appear? Can you create a horizontal and vertical version that works in the proper scenario? Your logo should "work" in black and white before attempting to add color. Here's a tip: Squint your eyes. Can you still understand the logo? You'll also want to consider which is the "star" of the logo. Is it the shape or the type? Don't create visual competition between the two.

In a sea of vanilla be the pink one (if pink is aligned with your brand and you like pink of course) what I'm saying is if all your competitors are vanilla and beige. Don't copy them, stand out. Also make sure that lovely font is legible when your reduce it down. Can it still be read at 25 mm?

Make sure it looks proper in black and white as well as color. Try a version in all black and in all white as a png to test it against various backgrounds. Make sure there is enough clear negative space.

Be aware of the cultural implications of the colours by territories, there are some that have become political and you need to be conscious of these nuances

If you're a designer the info listed above is best practice (apart for the Canva part, please don't use Canva to design your logo. Just don't.) that most designers know. If you're not and your trying to DIY your logo. Don't do it alone, save some time and get an expert in.

Everyone's got an opinion so be careful when sharing logos with people that haven't been a part of the process. If you've don't your discovery, strategy and concepts work right. You and your designer will know if your logo is right or not.

Don’t leave it to the agency or be persuaded to go down a route you don’t love yourself though - it’s your company, your life, sometimes it’s actually you yourself - to everyone else its another project so make sure you love what gets selected and reject the things you don’t like

Get feedback on your logo. Post versions on social media and allow your audience to vote on 2 or 3 versions. Don't give them 10 to pick from. Ask for specific feedback on various elements of the logo; color, type, visuals. You may have a clear winner. Or, you may need to go back to the drawing board.

The logo variations should be done early in the process, if you're doing it at the end it's too late. Do this during step 4 and you'll be onto a winner! Then share with the world and see the impact it will have on your business.