Do you know what are some common errors with designing logos? Did you know there is a bear featured in the Toblerone logo? It’s been there since 1990 when the brand opted for a new look celebrating its origins.
The animal is a reference to the coat of arms of Bern, known as the City of Bears. Toblerone has manufactured its products in this city since 1908.
The chocolate bar’s name also has meaning. It combines its creator’s surname, Tober, and the Swiss word for honey and almond nougat, i.e., torrone.
This level of detail is what makes a logo instantly recognizable and meaningful for consumers. You must avoid these errors with designing logos if you’d like your logo to achieve the same long-lasting appeal.
1. Using a Generic Image
Toblerone recreated an image of Bern’s Matterhorn Mountain for its logo.
Starbucks’ siren is a Greek goddess of the sea. This icon references the ancient allure of coffee, plus several other ties between the brand and the ocean.
From the above, you can see that a lasting logo takes considerable input, thought, and careful consideration of the messages it may portray.
Design and colors for logos should take people’s natural reaction to imagery into consideration while hinting at what your brand stands for. A generic image simply can’t do this.
Never ignore the negative space, Toblerone highlights how you can make use of this, as do many other brands like FedEx and NBC.
Brainstorming is an excellent way to come up with unique logo design ideas that showcase more about your brand and its history.
2. Ignoring Your Target Customers
All logo design begins with market research.
Take time to consider ways your logo can attract your audience’s attention and spark their curiosity. if you don’t study your audience in your design, you’ll miss the mark with your logo.
Research who your customers are, what they like and dislike, and some designs they might associate with your goods and services.
You must keep your customers in mind at every stage of the logo design process.
It helps to study what’s working and what’s not working for your competitors, too. By doing this, you may pick up some recognizable industry norms and get your creative juices flowing.
3. Following Trends
Trends come and go, right? So avoid considering them in your logo design.
You’re bound to come across a host of design trends that are supremely exciting at the moment. Don’t even think about applying them to your new logo.
Over time, trends can become clichéd and outdated. They hardly create a sense of originality around your business either.
Rather, aim to create a timeless logo that doesn’t belong to any era and is a unique representation of your business.
Trends are rarely unique or timeless.
4. Failing at Fonts
Your audience will judge you on the font you choose for your logo. The best logos have iconic fonts with symbolic meanings.
Fonts can create an impression of elegance, fun, or friendliness. Never choose a random font to represent your business.
Spend time studying what each font family portrays and how you can use this to your advantage in your logo design. If you choose to include a second font for the tagline, you should give the second one just as much consideration.
5. Errors with Designing Logos to Scale
Once you’ve completed your logo design, you should try to use it everywhere you can. This will involve resizing it to suit the situation.
Pixelated JPEG images aren’t going to impress anyone, so make sure you have your logo designed in vector format. A vector image is infinitely scalable without losing quality.
This makes your logo easily adaptable for a wide range of uses and materials, such as custom tablecloths with printed logo designs, web pages, or promotional gifts.
If you ever want to alter or upgrade your logo, it’s easy for a graphic designer to work on a vector image using any of the most popular logo design tools and software.
Don’t wait to discover that your logo is unsuitable for large-format printing. Rather, get it right at the outset.
6. Forgetting About Placement
Once you’ve created a logo that you love, take care when you place it on marketing materials. Logos on products can work well when centered, but they look terrible in the middle of a webpage.
Considering how you will use your logo is part of the design process. Make sure you have a logo that looks good wherever you intend to use it.
Before you approve the design, try placing the logo on products, promotional items, printed documents, and online.
7. Inconsistency
Another post-design error involves playing around with your logo once you’ve finalized the design. You must stick to the original design.
Your audience will come to associate your brand with your products and services. So, it’s important to stay consistent in how you represent yourself. Changing your logo can often create feelings of distrust.
Set up logo usage guidelines in the final stages of the design process. This document should cover the relationship between symbols, font, color, and background rules, as well as any allowable variations.
Branding Builds Better Businesses
Avoid these errors with designing logos, and you’re on your way to creating a timeless representation of your company that stands out amongst the competition.
Logo design is an important first step in your marketing strategy, so it makes sense to get expert help with this facet. If you don’t have an in-house graphic designer, get in touch with a freelancer, or contact a marketing firm for assistance.
Are you eager to master the ins and outs of running a successful business? Browse our website for more useful information on how to make your business the best it can be.