3 Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make When Creating Their Logo
I wasn't always at the level in designing logos where I'm right now. I sometimes even feel embarrassed when looking at my old work. What the heck was I thinking? However, looking back at my old designs shows the progress I made as a designer. It is crazy how much you can improve in 9 years. I went from not knowing design principles and what software to use to creating brand identities for ambitious entrepreneurs.
Over these years, I've had the chance to see and learn firsthand some of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when designing their business logos. To help you avoid some of the most common pitfalls, I collected The 3 Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make When Creating Their Logo. After all, I think you would agree, “A smart person learns from his mistakes, but a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others.”
Without further ado...
The 3 Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make When Creating Their Logo:
Using Canva logo templates
Not accounting for all types of usage
Not focusing on emotions
Using Canva logo templates
Canva is an excellent online tool. However, when you are working hard on people recognizing your business, one of the worst things you can do is using a template for your logo. It may look more professional than a Clipart but guess what. The template is available to thousands of other business owners. Hence your logo WILL NOT be custom to you and your business and WILL NOT help you stand out. I also just recently learned if you use Canva to design your logo, you WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO trademark it because Canva owns your logo according to their Terms and Conditions. It can also potentially cause legal issues down the road if you used any of their free or paid images in your logo design. Always use a professional's help to create your logo!
Not accounting for all types of usage
Not accounting for all types of your logo usage can cause headaches. Sometimes you don't have enough room to display your logo and still keep it legible. It is wise to have multiple versions of your logo in case you are tight on space. For example, if you have a website, you will need an icon version of your logo as a favicon (tiny icon in the left corner of your browser tab). Or maybe you would like to have your logo embroidered into T-Shirts. Your vendor will have issues if your logo doesn't translate well to only one color. Before designing, try to think of all the applications your logo will appear in!
Not focusing on emotions
If you have a business, you are selling to people. According to Inc. Magazine, about 95% of purchasing decisions are subconscious, emotion-based decisions. However, when it comes to logo design most business owners dismiss the emotion factor. Is your business bringing sunshine and happiness into your customers' lives? Then your business will benefit more from a logo that is not elegant and expensive looking. What emotions will your customers feel after purchasing from you? Have a logo that stands for that feeling.
Who would have thunk that you can avoid the most common mistakes way before selecting shapes and fonts for your logo? That's alright. I'm not perfect either and have made some of these mistakes myself in the past as well. It took me a long time to get to this point and be able to do it professionally.
Have you made any of these mistakes yourself?
Leave your answer in the comments below!
