Seven mistakes in logo design

This article is for those who order a logo and do not know how to evaluate the quality of its design. Now we will talk about the seven most common mistakes. If there are more than two of them in the finished logo, it is better to redo it all over again.

Misake #1: Composition

Unsuccessful compositions are visible even to non-professionals. Asymmetry, elements that are too close or too far away, and falling parts of the logo are immediately noticeable.

One of the common compositional errors is the incorrect arrangement of elements.

UBS company logo

Mistake #2: Colors

Color problems in logos arise for a variety of reasons: too much or too little contrast, saturation, or mismatched hues.

The following are the main errors related to colors.

Too many colors in the logo

For more information about choosing colors, see the article “How to choose a logo color”.

Bad color combinations

When creating a logo that has several colors, it makes sense to use a color palette - this is a special scheme where shades are selected that blend well with each other.

Another tool for finding the perfect colors is Nikolay Ironov. It is programmed to find an infinite number of successful color combinations using mathematical calculations.

Mistake #3. Retro style

Old-fashioned logos hurt a business because they make it look like the company itself is outdated. Therefore, the design must be updated in time.

Consider the main signs of old-fashioned today.

Dirty shadows

Excessive gloss

Mistake #4. Trendy style

Fashion logos are another problem: everyone makes them. For example, black and white text logos were once at the peak of popularity. At this time, major clothing brands simultaneously updated the design, and their logos became similar to each other.

Mistake #5: Too Much Detail

Logos overloaded with details look bad in small formats: on avatars in social networks, on business cards, pens and letterheads. They look great only in large format, but logos are rarely used this way.

In a large size, the details are distinguishable, in a small size, nothing is visible

Mistake #6: Ambiguity

It never hurts to check if the logo is perceived in two ways. To do this, it is enough to show it to several friends who did not take part in the creation.

It is better not to skip this stage, otherwise awkwardness may arise. For example, the logos of A-style clothing brands and the American Center for Pediatrics raise a lot of questions, since many people see them not as love for sports and children, but something else.

A-style clothing brand logo  and  American Pediatrics Center logo

Mistake #7. Template images

It's good when the logo is immediately clear what the company does. But it’s bad if this image is so common that it is found in every first competitor. It is better not to use obvious symbols in the logo.

The most unusual images for logos are created by Nikolai Ironov. This is an artificial design intelligence that thinks more freely than people and finds the most non-trivial solutions.

Here are the logos Ironov came up with for "Smile" dentistry.