Biggest Mistakes Clients Make with Their New Logo

So you have your brand new logo, or you're in the process of commissioning a graphic artist to design your new logo. Most designers present you with a variety of rough ideas before you select the best ones for them to refine. Designing a logo is a process, and though you may be excited to show off your new organization's identity, there are a few HUGE mistakes you can make during this very delicate transitioning time.

You are identifying yourself through your brand, and an organization can only introduce themselves once (unless you're going through a re-branding process, in which case this is still extremely relevant).

If you're still in the decision-making process, be sure to avoid these potentially huge mistakes.

1. Posting your potential logo choices to social media.

You're opening up YOUR organization's branding future to tons of other opinions. You're also potentially setting up the audience for disappointment if a logo they prefer isn't ultimately chosen. The decision should be yours (or opened up to relevant opinions of others involved the organization), and once it's decided, only then should it be presented to your audience.

In addition, opening up such important decisions to your audience insinuates that you can't make your own decisions, and you depend on the input of others.

Not to mention, you may not have rights to all of the designs you don't plan to choose as your final, so you may be breaching an agreement with your designer.

2. Missing the opportunity to announce your new branding.

If you've recently started your organization or are re-branding, it's a golden opportunity to make a huge announcement to entice clients to visit (or revisit) your organization to see what's new. Simply changing your branding overnight could not only confuse your visitors, but also cause you to lose your following.

3. Not incorporating your logo seamlessly throughout your brand, if you are re-branding.

You have a small window of time to change over all of your branding at once, eliminating your old branding from view. The quickest change needs to be the incorporation into your website and social media. Everything needs to flow together to avoid confusing your clientele. Don't forget to update your e-mail marketing and print materials at the same time.

4. Not having alternate versions of your logo.

What if your new logo is being used on a dark background? What if it's on a patterned background? What if it's in a 1- or 2-color format? Your designer should provide you with alternate versions (full color, one-color, dark background version, for example). In addition, if you have a more horizontally proportioned logo, you'll need an alternate version that will fit well into your social media's square proportioned space that can still be legible. If you have a logo with text and a symbol, they should also be able to work well without each other.

5. Not thinking about where your logo will be used until it's too late.

I've re-designed logos for countless clients who paid another designer for a beautiful logo that looked great on their website, but didn't work on their company apparel, or on their company vehicles, or even on their storefront. Be sure to clue your designer in on everything you plan to incorporate your logo with (even though they should ask).

And finally...

6. Drawing your logo yourself, and not taking your designer's advice.

You may have your heart set on a specific sketch you've done, and it's possible that your designer could use it as a starting point for your design. But if your designer has another suggestion for the direction your logo should go, you should listen to their advice. Remember, they are the professional in this field, they've done their research and they have the experience. No designer wants to steer their client in the wrong direction when building their identity branding. So feel free to submit your ideas, but be willing to let them go if they aren't ultimately right for your company.

Remember, your initial branding is a golden opportunity to announce to the world what your organization is and what it will do. The more you have to re-brand, the less memorable your brand will be and the more confused your clientele will become. It's not uncommon to re-brand your company as it changes in the future, but don't miss the opportunity to do it correctly and even use it as a fantastic marketing tool!