When I first started my career as a graphic designer, I was eager to learn all the tricks of the trade.
I would watch the other designers in the studio curiously; taking in the conversations they would have day-to-day with clients and seeing how they would turn a problem around so it would have a really favourable outcome—and be an ongoing solution.
It truly fascinated me that designers were problem solvers. And it still fascinates me today!
It was something that was not taught in depth at university, but something I came to learn more and more as my career in the industry progressed.
Eight years on, I love the problem solving side of the graphic design industry!
It’s my favourite part of the initial client discovery. Hearing about the frustrations and fears a client has around their business and then implementing strong, creative design changes so they can really be understood by their customers.
But there’s one common problem I see almost on a weekly basis.
That is: the function (or should I say, dysfunction) of a client’s existing logo.
A poorly designed logo is like a pesky little critter that you have to try and tame, usually because it hasn’t been well considered, constructed or resolved. Perhaps it was created by an amateur or was created too quickly, and it’s causing ongoing frustration to the owner of the logo years after it was created.
The solution to this problem is quite simple—and I feel it’s my duty to share the top 3 questions you must ask before signing off on a logo design:
How legible is your logo at a small scale?
How does it look when it’s scaled really small? Is the text legible? Think about how small you would ever like your logo to appear—would it ever appear even smaller on a pen or pencil for example?
While most likely, the smallest your logo will appear is about the size of a business card, you still want to make sure that you will never have issues when your logo is scaled smaller.
Do you have multiple files for when your logo needs to appear on different backgrounds?
It’s highly unlikely that your logo will always appear on a white background. Because of this, you want your logo to be versatile enough that it can appear anywhere without restriction.
Perhaps you want to place your logo on a photo, on a solid background colour, or even on a background that’s the same colour as one in your logo?
You want to make sure your logo is supplied in multiple formats and comes in different versions, so regardless of what background it’s placed on, it will look amazing!
Is it over-complicated?
Are there too many graphical elements in your logo that the words are being lost with the distraction of the other elements?
Perhaps the logo could be pared back and you could use the graphical elements in other parts of your brand, like on your web banners, or as an element in your printed marketing materials.
Over-complicated logos are also so difficult to print on different mediums like fabric. In these cases, your logo might lose it’s quality!
There’s a lot to consider when you’re getting a logo designed and we have heaps of other tricks of the trade up our sleeve to share with you!
Why don’t you check out a few of our tips on getting your logo design right from the get-go.
As you can tell, we are really passionate about branding and we have a wealth of experience in the department of making sure your logo is flexible and versatile for the long-term.
If you need help with a pesky logo that’s causing all kinds of problems for you—please get in touch with us!
Co-owner of Verve Design, Teegan’s 12+ years of experience in design and marketing, and her love of mindfulness and meditation brings strategy with intention and creativity with purpose.
