Avoid Designing a Bad Logo by Learning From These Mistakes

It takes as little as 1/10 of a second to make an impression. That’s not a lot of time, especially when you’re trying to grow a business.

Your logo is your #1 tool for making a good impression, so it’s important to come up with a successful design. Luckily, there are plenty of design mistakes to reference in order to avoid coming up with a bad logo.

Read on for our top logo design mistakes to avoid.

Too Many Fine Details

Your company logo should be simple, memorable, and easily recognizable. Avoid complex logos at all costs. A bad logo has too many fine details, making it impossible to create brand recognition as your company grows.

Too Abstract or Unclear

In order to have a visually successful logo design, it should be at least vaguely related to your company name and/or products offered. A bad logo design will just confuse your audience and send them to your competition. Try different designs on this logo maker until you come up with a solid concept.

 

Illegible Text= Bad Logo

Another bad logo mistake to make is using a font that is difficult to read. Cursive logos and other hard-to-read fonts can muddy your message and sabotage your marketing efforts. 

Too Similar to Another Company’s Logo

One of the top bad logo mistakes is copying, borrowing, or otherwise plagiarizing another company’s existing logo design. While it’s perfectly acceptable to look for inspiration in an established business’s artwork, you have to be sure you’re creating something original for your final design.

Not only is a copycatted design illegal, but it also presents a bad look for your company in general. If your logo creation is too similar to a competitor or another established brand, your customers are bound to notice. This can ruin your marketing efforts and immediately tarnish your r.eputation. 

Poor Color Choice

Your logo’s colors are almost as important as its overall design. If you pick the wrong colors, you could end up with a bad logo that is illegible, ugly, or just plain painful to look at.

Here are a few examples of bad logo color choices to avoid:

  • Not enough contrast, such as light colors on a white background, can make your logo difficult to read.
  • Too much contrast might make it difficult to feature your logo on print materials.
  • Loud colors, like bright neons, can hurt your eyes and be difficult to look at.
  • Not using the right colors for your message, such as using red for medical care (red is associated with blood, making it a bad logo color choice in this case).

Different colors are associated with different emotional responses in humans. In order to choose the right colors, research different colors and the emotions they typically trigger.

Not Suitable for Marketing Merchandise

You should design your company logo to be printable on all types of media, including 2D prints, pens, hats, clothing, and any other type of print you can think of. Choose a solid design with minimal detail that could easily be used for any future marketing merchandise.

Start Your Logo Design Today

Coming up with a good logo is one of the most important things you can do to promote your business. Now that you know the top bad logo mistakes to avoid, start designing your logo today!

For more business advice, check out our other posts.

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.