09 March 2013

What NOT to do in Logo Design

I found another awesome article from Smashing Magazine that I think could be very useful for all designers called "10 Common Mistakes in Logo Design."  Although I have little to no experience in logo design (the only logo I "designed" my client had already sketched out what they wanted for me) I think it is good to know this tips on what NOT to do so if I do start log design I have something to go off of.  The hardest thing for myself in logo design is knowing where to even start, so maybe knowing where NOT to start and having this information in the back of my mind may be helpful.  Most of these tips have to do with avoiding the obvious, what others are doing, or what already exists in logo design.  I think overall what I can take away from all these points in this article is to make your logo unique, ordinary, and professionally fitting for the business it is to represent.
If you don't have time to read the full article, here are the bullet points they say graphic designers should avoid in logo design:
1. Designed by an Amateur
2. Relies on Trends
3. Uses Raster Images
4. Contains Stock Art
5. Designing for Yourself Rather than the Client
6. Overly Complex
7. Relies on Color for its Effects
8. Poor Choice of Fonts
9. Has Too Many Fonts
10. Copies Others

6 comments:

  1. I think you're right when you say that the best way to start is knowing the "do nots" first, kind of like we learned doing design briefs in Kirkby's class. Great post! I definitely want to get into designing logos one time or another in my career.

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  2. Y'all will want to bookmark this one—for the next project. Spoiler. It's a logo.

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  3. Avoiding the obvious is definitely a god start as you mentioned. I believe that a good design starts from a random idea rather than a planned ides. Of course, once the initial design is thought up, a lot of planning needs to take place, however, knowing what not to do can turn a mediocre design into a great one.

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  4. This is great! There are so many things I know I overlook when I begin designing because I want to create something original, but half of my ideas usually evolve from the "trends." This definitely helps me rethink where I start my projects and sketches to make sure I can create something simple, memorable, and hopefully not tacky at all. The best advice I'm going to keep in mind is to NOT design for yourself, but for the client. It's hard to envision what another person wants based on how much information you are given, but this will help me try and see things from a different perspective.

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  5. This article is great for getting a feel for the absolute basics of logo design! Many of its points come intuitively when you follow your design sensibilities, but it helps to know why one design is less successful than another so that you don't have to put all of your stock in intuition. :)

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  6. Great article, I have a lot of trouble doing logos. Think it has something to do with boiling down something thats very complex into something simple. Numbers 5 and 6 are one I have trouble with when designing just about everything. Also they have a link to the author's webpage, if you dig interactive design like me you may find it interesting.

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