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Great article for beginers :)

excellent! the amount of people i see trying to get their “future big business” logo designed for dirt cheap is crazy

Great Article just when i needed.
Thanks a lot.

This is a great article, I’ll think about this!

I believe that logos should be designed as vector and in pixel formats, especially if your main presence is online. If your going to display in pixels, you need to design for pixels, or else the anti-aliasing on a vector image is not going to look sharp on a computer screen.

A great article. Like the above. It important that the logo works to small scale and also looks good when photocopyed in black and white. Lot of new / fresh designers need to be aware of those facts. Im sure most designers here would agree with this: Never use Clip Art!

Never follow trends as mentioned, it becomes to common and not original.
The key is to be original/Unique.

good job smashing!

Wonderful collection. We know most of them but still great as a refresher.
thanks

TOO MANY PEOPLE IGNORE NO. 6!!! IT MAKES ME RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAGE!!!!! >:[ >:[ >:[

Keep it simple, stupids. The best logo is an easily recognisable, reproducable and understandable one. Look at McDonald’s, Shell and Nike for some unbeatable and timeless logos.

Great article. These are just a couple of the mistakes I’ve seen in Logo Design. I actually wrote a blog titled “Design for Client, Not Yourself”. I think that designer egos are one of the biggest hurdle for most designers.

If you aren’t willing to LEARN and EXPAND your designing abilities, you might as well quit and take up crochet or something.

lunetta: I thought I was the only one. Thanks.

I design all my logos in Photoshop but have software to convert them to vectors. Slowly but surely learning illustrator but I work so much quicker in photoshop.

COMIC SANS FTW!

Nice article, the smashing productions logo is neat :)

Thank you for stating the obvious! So-called designers today are doing a huge disservice to their clients by abusing Number 5 (designing for yourself). That leads to overly complex, color-dependent logos (Numbers 6 and 7). The commenter “lunetta” above is missing the point when saying technology today allows for greater detail and use of detail. So what?? Just because you can zoom in 1600% in Illustrator doesn’t mean you won’t end up with mud when viewed or printed at 100%. I tell clients that their new logo should look good at any size, whether on their business card or on the side of a bus. I also tell them their business card should be distinctive when viewed from across the room. Meeting those two objectives is not easy, and it’s why great logo design is never cheap.

I dont usually make a lot of logos but use them and it is so frustrating to get a bad logo and try to use it in good design.

Another good suggestion that I have to explain to clients a lot is:

Try not to make a TALL logo, its hard to use in various formats. Especially if the graphic is tall and the words are small… When you shrink it down the words just go away. It happens more than you would think.. ><

Great article! cheers!

good article. I second Nathan’s comment above; those kind of ads should not have a place on such a website as this.

Great article, gives me something to think about…

Quick question – on the image for #2, what font is used for “Like everyone else”?

I agree with all of the common mistakes except for point number 7. Color is just as important as the imagery and typography of a logo. I understand the reasoning in the past for making sure that your logo looks well in a monochrome situation but I believe that’s not the case anymore. Digital printing is obviously overtaking all types of materials. Everything from wide format printing down to small micro sized printing is done digitally.

The time to switch from thinking in just black & white is yesterday.

@freshalex if there wasnt no client input my portfolio would be 3 times the size. There is just no telling them sometimes “dont be a sheep and follow trends”.

All of these are very valid and if you consider any of them then your not really a designer, just someone who knows how to use design software (and there is alot of those people around, you know who you are)

I cannot agree completly to point 7. Okay there is no doubt that in professional logo-design you should use colors with a high contrast. But the logo you marked as “good” on the right side suffer from something different I was taught: Don’t use small geometrical patterns in logos!
When you think of greating a good logo, just forget all the gradients, shiny effects and small details like shadows. Rely on one simple rule: Design a logo as if you would design a coat of arms! Because the rules of heraldy are the same as for logo design: Recognizable, easy to remember and unique. As long as you keep those rules in mind you will create great logos! I will do a tutorial for German designers on my website in the nearer future!

Really nice article! Logo design isn’t one of my best skills.

@MArc, I definitely understand the reason for creating some logos that can translate well into black and white for a company that has to budget their production quality for their identity. But for the businesses that were mentioned above as a “future big business” they should not limit their designs to limited printing. Especially since digital printing is the production way of the “future” and now.

People would not question companies that adopted technologies quickly in the past, such as a store that incorporated digital store, an online store. And now its a no-brainier for a serious store to do.

I agree that the logo should be colorless.
Web pages today make it a possible to change themes easily and now a colorful log clashes with the theme. So I try to make a good black and white PNG, so the transparency shades the color giving it a hue no matter what theme is used.

great article, definitely a topic which can be hard to find decent free info on. As mentioned above logo lounge is a subscription site, so these article are quite useful and informative. cheers

You could use one of the links here in SM for a $100 logo, and then combine that with some of the free icon sets, and one of the free wordpress themes, and you’re going to look VERY professional! (note sarcasm).

Thanks you. Very usefull

While I agree that following trends can cause problems, being able to keep up and design by these standards is important.

Sure, you want to be “ahead of the curve”, but realistically you need to make a buck. If you’re a professional, that is.

What I mean is this. There’s a reason that certain designs are trendy… because for the most part they are successful and popular. Yes, in a perfect world, you will innovate and lead clients towards an original design. However, for the most part, clients will want “something like that one” or a logo that is in some part based on another successful logo. I can’t tell you how many designs I’ve made that were finally sold because I added a web 2.0 style reflection.

These are great guides though… each one could have it’s own page full of examples and how-to guides for designing, from inception to completion.

Just understand that having a foundation based in originality and avoiding trends may not get you much work. Even if they aren’t portfolio-worthy, learning the techniques behind trendy design as well as practicing making some (even if you never use them) is important.

Sometimes you just have to do what the client wants. You gotta eat!

This is a great article. Lots of good advice for people who are new comers to logo design and design in general actually. Gives business people a chance to create a design brief from and informed position.

Don’t get me wrong, I love coming to this site and reading the articles, but doesn’t this article completely contradict the several other “beautiful and creative logos” posts? Most of the logos showcased were shiny and full of overused gradients (#2), and relied heavily on color (#4). Sure they looked awesome as designs, but it’s kind of confusing to have one post saying these are great designs, then another post saying to avoid doing what most of them did.

Otherwise, great tips!

@ Tom
I think the point about color is not to “rely” on color in logo design. As you can see from the concenric circles in color in the demo – this design clearly doesn’t work in color

I like these ideas…but… I think many times designers think that they are the most important part of a new business. While I wish that was true, most start up businesses are hitting the ground running and just need something to put on their stuff. Their cash and time is tied up in their new equipment and new business and unfortunately can’t drop $500 on a logo. It’s up to designers if they want some money (which is better than none), or to hold out for some someone willing to pay top dollar.

So for those that are on a budget where do you go? I guess the stock answer is “find a good logo designer” but for those not in the industry this is sort of like finding a good doctor or dentist. You know they are out there but for most it’s hard to tell the good from the bad.

i kinda like the fingerprint logo! a lot actually lol

i would have add:

1. using gradients
2. using shadows

btw: what’s the smashing magazine logo : just S or S + SMASHING MAGAZINE ?

Very good.

Great article. I hope people realize the common attributes of disposable logos.

It is one of the best and simple article on logo designig till date. Thank you verymuch.

Boring Article

Hah…great article but you guys break #2. I find that hilarious.

Thank you! Excellent and timely. I need a logo right now, and was already figuring out that I need to a) not do it myself and b) not get a friend / amateur to do it. This also gives me some guidelines to check against when I do get something submitted to me.

So where do you find logo designers when even $500 is stretching a budget? LogoWorks?

Ha! Love #8… Comic Sans should be permanently banned from EVERYTHING!

Troy – lets not forget to add Papyrus to that list…

I’ve been working on my own logo for a few weeks, and this article changed my curse. Thank you smashing for these beautiful things you show me everyday!!!

Needs to be read by the clients, unfortunately, and not (just) by the designers.

…and every time I’ve suggested vectors, or the importance of clarity when small and in black and white, people often roll their eyes and say, ‘This is 2009. Those rules are for years ago.’

What’s difficult is when the client wants everything on this list, I feel like the last couple of clients I’ve had have been over the top ridiculous with their demands for inappropriate or multiple fonts, too many colors, too complex, and yes even using stock art from istockphoto. Methinks I need to get better clients :)

not bad, just had to notice that i violated against at least 3 of your rules when making the last band logo design :-/ but oh well, i was aware of not applying all that “business” rules.

ehh, I dunno about color anymore. I used to agree but if you can stomach the printing costs I dont think it matters overly much anymore. of course it depends on what your plans are, if shipping boxes are involved then it is somewhat difficult to print that pretty logo on it in bulk.

On another note I disagree with how the bevel/glow (add in gradient/shadow too for this) comment is handled. The logo should be designed without these since they are not really features of the logo at all. They can be added later if you want but the logo should not contain them at all.. they are just decoration.

Take the smashing logo, it works in single color and on here it has a gradient and shadow.

@josh
I think you’ve got it spot on… it’s not that thatGareth Hardy is saying that your logo is should be black/white, it’s just that it should work in b/w… and by designing it that way ensures it does.

btw… I see a lot of people dismissing the black&white/greyscale logo as a thing of the past, but you’d be surprised how many companies still use a fax. (and as far as I know, they still don’t print in color)

I agree with Wouter–don’t dismiss the notion of ensuring that logos will still work in B&W. The whole idea of a logo is to create an identity that will last and can be used in any type of application into the foreseeable future. Who knows where that company may expand in the future and there may be situations where the use of a B&W logo is not only practical because it’s cheaper to reproduce, but may be aesthetically more desirable than a colour logo.

This is the best post I’ve seen on the very real SPECIFIC drawbacks of not going with a professional logo designer. Any business that starts out with a logo that only works on the Web will be faced with a far more expensive and risky rebranding challenge when they expand into print media or any medium that requires grayscale or resizing for other uses.

I am currently researching a post about the differences between inexpensive logo design, logo design contest sites, and working with professional designers with a major emphasis on what you don’t receive and how that can impact you in the long run. This post really contributes and will, of course, be recommended and linked.

LMAO article!

There is no such thing as a ‘professional’ logo designer.

Everything about this list is bad, because:

1. Logo’s acquire meaning not through their design, but through a company’s actions. If you need a logo, you can start with a simple black dot. What helps your business is your brain and how you act, not your logo. Your logo represents nothing, if you don’t.

2. Logo’s should not be made for anyone else but yourself. If it is your business to make logos for others, you are in the business of pretending that you care or understand what someone else represents. You don’t. You just want a stupid design award for your design work (and are probably willing to pay a jury for it). Start realizing that revenue is the real reward. Why don’t you design for yourself and trade products or services? Are you so confident in your skills?

3. The first point of this list is a fabrication, written to appeal to designers who sell logo design, and not written to inspire any understanding about logo design. “amateurish” and “professional” are words without meaning. Hallelujah.

4. A logo should reflect a purpose (note that I didn’t write: “have a purpose”), which means that its conception should be attached to something you have already done. If you allow an agency to make up scenarios, you are just paying for creativity, and diluting your identity.

5. Theorizing logo design is as futile as theorizing about naming. The name Michael Jackson carries meaning not because someone put that name together.

6. Each of the points in the list can be refuted by real-life examples. If you are a logo designer, find those examples. That could give you all the reasons not to design for others, but only for yourself. The world will not get better if everyone wants to tell everyone else how to run aspects of a business. Are you satisfied by living in a meta-economy?

The purpose of life is to trade, not to creep into the lives of others and pretend that you can paint success into a logo.

g8 article
thanks

It’s very useful for me,great:)~~

Awesome article!

Excellent stuff – in my short career as amateur logo designer I have already made all of those mistakes – good to see them again.
Currently trying to become amateur++ – see you later ;-)

Andreas

A couple of technical things that was not mentioned in this article, esp. in point one, talking about amateur vs. professional logos. One outcome from an amateur logo designer is basically that your logo cannot be used, because it has the wrong technical specs. So I thought I would just list some technical stuff, since this article did focused more on the design, and not the tech stuff. Needless to say, the tech stuff needs to be in place for the logo to even be used. So here are four very common errors I meet in my job:

1. Outlining of fonts. There is nothing more annoying to me, I work for a design agency, than to get logos together for projects from other “professional” graphic designers have made, and they have not outlined the fonts, so the font gets replaced when I try to open the file, and it just messes up the whole logo. ALWAYS remember to outline your fonts!

2. Logos made on white background instead of with transparency. You have no idea how many times I have basically gotten an image inserted into an eps-file. From ”Professional” designers Basically logos that are made for only one background color instead of making them so they can fit on both dark, light and colored backgrounds. This was briefly mentioned, but I wanted to emphasize on the transparency! Please remember to put the logo on transparent background!

3. Not making compound shapes of the logo-elements. Very often combined with the point above, so it takes forever to make a logo monochrome for printing stuff i.e. in black and white. Clean up your file before you send it away to others!

4. Not making monochrome and black and white and inverted monochrome versions of the logo. This article did mention the point that many designers rely on color, but should have also more specifically mentioned that a professional logo designer should always make versions of the logo ready to use for different kind of print jobs, or make the logo in such a way that it is easy for me to change the logo into 1 single color for black and white printing.

/ end whining, back to coffee

Great article. Worth five stars out of five.

funnily enough smashing magazine already broke rule number one, if not rule number two and so on already.
Smashing magazine didn’t only get non professionals to make the logo, they relied on people from their own community, most of the people in this community are trying to LEARN. its like getting a kid to build your house.
and don’t tell me that the shininess haven’t been a trend for the last 3 years.

Nice to see the word spread…

A good collection of good (and some bad) logo’s can be found here: http://logopond.com/

Just another big mistake that’s been done many times is to go to your client with just a single design! Always create at least three designs in a complete different style. Put away your old designs and clear your head (in your own way)… After that you can begin you new design.

Le Marquis

How funny, when i read this article (very good by the way) there was a banner on top of the page: PROFESSIONAL BROCHURE DESIGN TEMPLATES

Speaking of professional design :)

I agree! Great article, straight and clear to the points. A must read to both clients and designers.

I think the worse thing is to use the wrong fonts, I can forgive other things but when I see Comic Sans it makes me shiver

Excellent article, especially number 2 “Focusing on current logo trends is like putting a sell-by date on a logo.” this is so true.

Wow, actually some time we can dig goldmine, great points made here, lovely post!

Alter Falter, wie sich die Leute hier geben! Haben sich wahrscheinlich erst vor einem Jahr die nötige Software vom “PiratenStrand” gesaugt und spucken hier die großen Töne, von wegen, wie toll der Artikel für ANFÄNGER seih… aber sieeee würden noch dieses und jenes anders/besser(!) machen… das interessiert uns doch die Bohne, Leute.
Trotz allem finde ich den Artikel wirklich schön zusammengefasst.

Ich wünsch’ euch was SmMag

This is the sort of thing we try to ingrain to our clients!! Love it!

I’ve always found a common mistake is for a client to think that their logo should somehow literally reflect who they are, like a graphical cariacture of the people in the company. Instead, a logo should reflect what they are. The difficult part of a brand/corporate identity isn’t the logo, it’s creating the great product, service and support system that build loyal customers – would you think differently of Lexus or Apple if their logos were a different shape? Based on the teaching of Tom Hughes Iv’e written a short PDF summary, err rant, on this topic here.

Article is alright, another list of “rules”. If you follow them, again, you are not thinking outside the box. It is ok sometimes to break the rules, but no doubt all technical requirements should be always followed (resolution, outlined fonts, spot colors etc…., … or not, it depends on project).

Style wise – it always depends.

For example:

9. Has Too Many Fonts
logo for font online store – why wouldn’t they include couple of fonts just for fun to show variety of fonts they offer?

7. Relies On Color For Its Effect
what if the logo is for printing services company?

Every rule has an exception.

Every business should concentrate on their services better than logo itself. Every one would agree the logo is good if business is successful.

yeah… talking about staying away from trends – Smashing Magazine one great source of trends :) imho

good blog, nice showcases, but pretty pretty pretty trendy. I think a lot of people would agree.

no offense

Here is some simple advice. Spend money on not having a bad logo. Spend money so you don’t end up with a piece of clip-art and comic sans. But DO NOT spend money on having a GREAT logo (unless you’ve got money to burn.) Google did not have a great logo. Are there a billion CBGBs shirts out there because the logo is so awesome? Get a GOOD logo and provide a GREAT service.

very informative
Will keep the tips in mind while designing my lobo

Great tips, thanks for sharing :)

great! really clear post, nice read
thanks for it !

What is wrong with you people? You’re so amazed and so affirmative, it’s like a global disease. The article may have some good points, but it’s not exactly the groundbreaking revelation from the Design God himself!!

I love number 8.. xD You used Comic Sans!!! haha..

Nicely and briefly put.
The examples illustrate the points extremely well.

Well done :)

This article gonna help me to redesign my own logo.. All-over again ….Shukriya (thanks SM)

Good guidelines to follow (and break sometimes). Any of you seen/read any of Martin Lindstrom’s stuff (brandsense, buyology)? He’s got some interesting views on the future of logos and branding. Marboro did a billboard ad just displaying cowboys and no logo at all because they found out that that image is so ingrained in smokers minds it gives them a craving.

Agree with all, though I’m with Tom some of the way in that #7 is not an absolute. Google and Firefox look like good branding to me yet rely heavily on colour.

dissapointing article smashing, another cliched list from the traditionalist…#7 makes my head hurt.
The advise is great for a beginners however i was expecting something more juicy from smashing. Counterpoints:
#7
Clearly colour can ‘make’ a logo and is not a mistake logo designers make. Yes an interesting graphic form will almost necessarily make a logo work however this statement has plenty of counterexamples. I.e. Succesfull logos that work as result of color execution. google anyone? amongst many.

Excellent advices and great article !!!!!!!!!!

Nice article with good insights about logos.. It may help designers.

nice article,
if i hire an icon designer, i can test these things
thx a lot

I have to agree with ReadyPhotoSite, there no guarantee that an expensive designer won’t use the same concept as a cheap-o designer. Anyone, not just 20 year veterans, can come up with a good logo as long as the preliminary work, research, thought, communication and creativity have been put in place. The only way to get better at creating logos is… creating more logos. The more you do, the better you will get. -Henry

In reference to points 8 and 9; Doyald Young said “Every logotype is its own font.” After picking the right font modify certain characters for that particular grouping of letters, because the spelling isn’t going to change. The original font was designed for many possible combinations of letters. Also don’t fall into the “Pick a font, pick a color, here’s the logo” lazy design trap.

i totally agree. but you’re preaching to the choir. how do we educate our clients to these points without crushing their egos?

a good article and very informative

Good tips.

Some are really usefull.

Thanks
Truffle Apps

Great post! I think we all have had these conversations with a client or two. People just don’t realize the importance and power of a logo or brandmark.

createID – cr8id.com

Really enjoyed this post! Number 1 really is the number 1 rule – I wish more people would realise that you really do get what you pay for when you get design work done on the cheap. Thanks for sharing :-) Adam | Web Design Blog

logo, simply small but big deal, good article 4 starter

While all these points make sense and are completly true to a designer customers dont care what the logo design no no’s are if they they have it set in their mind what they want.

If they like and want 4 differnet font types thats what you do no matter what you think.
yes its a crime but they are the customer paying your wage at the end of the day no matter what design world rules there are.

And we were all “amateurish” at one stage or another

you`re 100% right with this! Many customers buy cheap logos, low quality and copied! That`s not right! The designers that copy and don`t have a personal idea are not designers, they are just humans that wants to make money without work!

Great post!

Nice article, for the beginners out there.

Definitely a good article for beginners, but also serves as a reminder now and again for the more seasoned vets too!

This is a great tool , especially the specifics on the vector vs. raster.

OK, I totally admit! I think this article is written for someone like me. I really strive to make logos unique, but never with too much success. Besides the point, I make logos for the people who have confidence in my designs. They know in advance that I am not a designer, that I have no design experience, and that I want to make them the best logo that I can. Therefore, the (few) people that I have made logos for have leaned to love them, and that is what I think makes my logos unique.
Here is a link to my site where you can see some examples of what I am talking about.

Number 7: The second one looks crappy, and the first one would not show up as just a circle when converted into grayscale. One side would be darker than the other because of the different color lightness. While it’s a good tip to avoid intricate details in slightly different colors that might be impossible to distinguish when black and white, most logos that depend on colors still look good in greyscale. (For example, ebay, google, pepsi, AT&T, NBC, etc)

very nice and important article…for all graphic designers, either they are beginers or professionals…..unfortunately most of the designers today, dont getting the purpose and the main guidline about logo design. i think everyone should know about the points you mark in the above article…..its a good overview … thanks.

Very well said! I agree, above are the common mistakes for creating a logo! :)

Very intresting!

Some good ideas about the behind-the-scene details of graphic design.

thanks this is very helpful for me

i liked your 10 common mistakes know your site sir thanks

This is a great article. I’ve been doing logo designs for a couple of years and have had many clients INSIST on breaking so many of these rules. I know I’ve lost a lot of jobs because of it, but I’d rather not be associated with amateur mistakes like these. Again, great article!

This was extremely helpful. I had no idea about the mistakes I was making. which happened to be half.

I think you should add tall logos to the list. For me those are the biggest pain and just don’t seem to fit right anywhere.

Awesome! I am definitely a beginner (took a few design courses, taking more for design certificate in jan) and this is a great article! I just designed a logo for my mom’s company and I’m happy to say I’ve avoided all of these mistakes! Thanks!

great article, helped a lot with some logo research i’m doing. great resource, simple and good information!

Really useful article… Now one can understand how many factors involve in making a good logo, because you have to display it from favicon to your product.

Too bad the Smashing logo looks exactly like Salon.com. Try again.

veeeeeeeeeery usefull :)

I could have sworn I posted a comment on this months ago but I have just read all of your replies and I’m happy that this article helped many people.

To all those who think the points are “obvious” you are forgetting the title of the article. These are the “most common” mistakes I see being made by designers and non-designers every single day.

Thanks for reading, it was a pleasure to write.