How to Avoid a Costly Logo Mistake

I recently worked with a client who had been in the office design business for over 13 years. Her business was about to make a big shift with the opening of a new co-working space.

She was excited about the new project but knew her company's logo needed to be updated. It highlighted the 10th anniversary (for the third year) and used a whopping five fonts! Most importantly, it didn't reflect her company's new direction.

I ran some ideas through a few artificial intelligence apps. This narrowed the options to just under a million! Still, the applications provided some inspiration and ideas. Here is a summary of the AI apps I used:

Once I had a million options, I felt no closer to finding the one. So I returned to the drawing board and deconstructed my client's logo in Photoshop. I used the match font tool to find the original fonts. I also used the color picker to find the brand colors. I prepared her brand guidelines, cleaned up the typography, integrated a new vector icon, and exported the logo in the formats she needed.

Still, it brings me to the philosophical question: What distinguishes a great logo design from a terrible one?

For entertainment purposes, let's look at some really ugly logos. Then, we can review some design fundamentals for making beautiful ones.

Be aware: these logos are really bad. If you're sensitive, you may not be prepared for how bad these logos are. I'm going on a professional limb to show you how awful it can be when your logo design goes wrong.

The Bad...

The Ugly

Now that we have reviewed some truly horrible logo designs let's review less controversial logos that are still ugly and upsetting. Again, prepare yourself; these logos are stomach-turning.

That was really painful. Here are 7 design fundamentals to help you with your logo design projects.

1. Style

Get inspired by the different design movements, such as modern, elegant, vintage, classic, baroque, deco, pop, or illustrated. Look for inspiration before starting a new design project.

2. Color Palette

Color influences people's moods and emotions, and understanding color theory can help you choose a beautiful brand palette.

Choose color palettes that will look great on light backgrounds and dark backgrounds. Limit the amount of colors you use. This will make your logo functional for various digital and print projects.

Here are some fun websites for researching color palettes:

https://colorhunt.co/

https://coolors.co/

https://color.adobe.com/

3. Typography

Did you know that fonts have been developed over the course of millenniums? Decide whether you want a stylish font or a font that values legibility. A general rule of thumb is to use no more than 2 fonts. I recommend a main font and an accent font.

4. Borders, Frames, Shapes, and Emblems

A fundamental of graphic design is framing. Decide if your logo will have a background with the logo elements incorporated inside the shape.

5. Symbols, Icons, Mascots and Objects

Logos typically include both typography and a trademark. The general rule of thumb is to avoid rasterized (pixel-based or photographic) images.

6. Accents

Digital printing advances have opened the doors to using gradients and accent graphics in design. Find creative ways to make your logo pop. Consider using lines, shapes, and gradients in a way that accentuates your logo.

7. Get Feedback

Get people's impression of your logo design. This can be from your team, your network, or even polling websites specializing in consumer feedback.

Ready for my top picks for beautiful logos? Here are some of my favorites!

The Beautiful

I hope you enjoyed these logo design tips and maybe even had a chuckle. Truth be told, some logo mistakes were far too controversial even for this blog on LinkedIn.

Reviewing these companies' mistakes reminds us of how devastating a logo error can be.

Good taste requires knowledge of design and perceptiveness to consumer psyches. The key is to diligently receive consumer feedback before making a costly investment.