You only get once chance to make a first impression – with your business, it’s likely to be with your logo. But the possibilities are endless; how do you know how best to represent your business? (Read here for tips on brilliant design.)

Sometimes knowing what to avoid in logo design is just as important. So when (re) designing your logo, beware of these three mistakes many businesses make.

1. Requiring a symbol of your profession in your logo

Think about the most famous global brands.

• Nike doesn’t have a shoe in their logo.
• Ford doesn’t use an automobile.
• Pepsi doesn’t use soda.

The most successful businesses set themselves apart not by what they do but by what they have to offer and why they’re unique. They build their brand around who they are, not what they produce/sell/service.

The greatest logos are often subtle and clever.

• FedEx has an arrow (can you find it?).
• Baskin Robbins combines their famous 31 flavors into their initials (BR).
• Cisco‘s logo associates both their founding location and an abstract of their business into one brilliant mark.

The point is, when (re) designing your logo, your brand doesn’t absolutely need a symbol of your profession.

2. Complicating the design

To paraphrase a great brand identity designer, David Airey, a great logo has one memorable, eye-catching element. One. Not two or three. One.

Most logos get a passing glance as it goes into a pocket, passes by a window, or scrolls off a screen. Therefore the most iconic logos are generally the simplest because a complex logo is difficult to remember.

• Old Navy and Ikea. An oval with their name inside.
• Apple is an apple.

When designing your logo, less is more.  – Click to tweet

Furthermore, a complex logo generally doesn’t translate well onto different mediums (t-shirts, web ads, copies/faxes, etc.).

3. Underestimating the value of a brilliant logo

As I said before, your logo is your face to the world. It is how your business will represent itself for years to come – on business cards, on the internet, on billboards, on t-shirts. In every way you present yourself to your customers, your logo will lead the way.

Your logo will sell your products and services. It will be seen by thousands of people from every corner of the globe, some of whom won’t speak your language.

When you’re (re) designing your logo, budget appropriately.

What is making the right first impression worth to you?

Set your business apart from the crowd today with a brilliant logo by Greer Genius. (Contact me now.)

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