5 Things to Avoid in The Creation of Your Business’ Most Powerful Tool

By Claire Harbour
culled from:http://entreprenista.com
Your logo is one of your single most powerful tools, it can help create an image which appeals to customers and make your company memorable. Here are 5 things you should avoid at all costs if you want to create a logo which doesn’t shrink into the background.

1)  Use logo makers or templates

Your logo is supposed to be unique. It’s job is to easily translate the aims, products and services of your company into an easy to remember, attractive, relatable logo. Therefore, stopping off at a “logo maker” and picking out a generic graphic, is not the way forward!  In addition, there will probably be hundreds, if not thousands, of other companies that have the exact same logo! What were we saying about being unique?

2)  Go with something that represents your tastes, not your company.

Lets say you are a super hip guy or gal who is passionate about the grunge movement. You love all things grimy: graphics, textures, logos – the lot! It’s good to know what you like, but when your company doesn’t match your personal tastes – it can cause an image that’s a real mismatch. For example: a grunge logo for a company that provides baby clothing, or a bold curvy web 2.0 logo for a victorian style bed and breakfast. When you want a logo designed, think about what your company does and make a bullet list of what comes to mind. It might also help you to put your logo desires on a scale; i.e. out of ten how serious / bold / modern / masculine or feminine do you want the logo to be? This will help you to get your logo in line with the core values of your company.

3)  Mimicking your competitors

There is nothing worse than being a copy cat, especially in business. Basing your company logo on your competitor’s is a real no-no.  Firstly, because you’ll end up looking rather the same; mimicking is the greatest form of flattery. If you design your logo to look like your competition there is a very little chance that it will end up embodying your company values. Remember, just because everyone else in your industry has done it, doesn’t mean you have to too.  Recognizing and building on your differences can become a strength, helping boost your USP and make you stand out from the crowd.

4)  Using illegible fonts

This has always been a big no-go for me. If you take a look at the evolution of some famous company logos you’ll see that in most cases they’ve been simplified. Pepsi is one of the best examples, take a look for yourself at: http://www.boredpanda.com/21-logo-evolutions-pepsi-cola-apple-nike-nokia/

5)  Use many colors and gradients

Sometimes you can go too far and this is definitely the case with color. Instead of using tons of gradients, shades, and colors, try and stay simple. Stick to a minimum of three colors and your logo will be more memorable. Often times using multiple colors can make a logo busy and harder to understand. Another great way of using color in your logo is to stick with complimentary colors: i.e. green and grey, or red and blue (as seen in the pepsi logo).
So there are my top five things to avoid when creating a logo for your company. Looking to have your logo designed? I’m a freelance web and logo designer from the UK who has a passion for outstanding design. Get in touch and we can get the ball rolling on your project!