SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF A BAD LOGO.
A wise woman once told me that to really know what is good, it helps to know what is bad. With this in mind, I figured it would be useful for business people to know about the seven deadly sins (a.k.a. flaws) that make a logo bad. But first allow me to briefly define what I mean by a bad logo. A logo is “bad” when it is a liability to the business it represents. Liabilities can show up in many different forms, two that come to mind include: business lacks credibility due to poor image and potential customers confuse a business with a competitor.
1. IMITATION
This brings me to the first of the seven deadly sins, which is when a logo looks similar to an established logo. Sure imitation is the sincerest form of flattery among individuals, but in business it’s just unprofessional. The business with the copycat logo is flirting with double trouble in the form of confused customers and a possible lawsuit for passing off.
2. FRIVOLITY
Frivolity is when a logo lacks meaning and doesn’t make a powerful statement about the business or organisation that it represents. Its meaning is either cliché or simply nonexistent. The result is customers and potential customers scratching their heads wondering what it all means, that’s if they can be bothered. Most of the time they will simply ignore the logo.
3. COMPLEXITY
Another sin that is common among bad logos is complexity. There’s great wisdom in the saying, the devil is in the detail. A detailed logo might look okay when large, but things get ugly when it’s reduced in size. There is a tendency for It to become an indecipherable blot.
4. GIMMICKRY
The idea of a logo being a victim of fashion might seem a bit strange. But as strange as it seems this happens to relate to the next deadly sin. Heavy reliance on gimmicks that include special effects, design fads and clichés result in a logo that lacks integrity. In other words, it’s more about style than substance, which brings me to the fifth deadly sin.
5. INFLEXIBILITY
The substance or meaning of a logo plays an important role during branding. In short, it articulates the brand promise to potential customers. Unfortunately a bad logo compromises this important function by not working well across various applications such as embroidery, black and white print ads, signage, faxes, etc. Fine detail, special effects, design fads and design clichés are major contributors to a logo being inflexible.
6. IMPRACTICALITY
Even at the best of times an impractical logo is bad. Three factors influence impracticality, namely, aspect ratio, scalability and legibility. A logo that is overly tall or wide takes up more space to remain legible. Another common flaw with a bad logo is the use of type that is difficult to read. It does not matter how fancy or cool it might look, it is all for nothing if the type is illegible.
7. MEDIOCRITY
By far the most pervasive of all the deadly sins is mediocrity. The reasons for this are that mediocrity is easy and safe. It is easy for the designer to base a new logo on an obvious idea or existing logo. Equally, it is safe for the businessperson to accept this new logo.
We all know that being creative and taking risks are one of the hardest things to do in business.
Unfortunately the allure of easy and safe blind even the astute businessperson to the perils of a bad logo. The primary reason for this is that its effects on business performance are indirect. But with current economic conditions as tough as they are, who can really afford to ignore the insidious effects of a bad logo?