Logos create visual identity for the companies. One of the most creative branches of graphic art, these creative logos imbibe brands with instant recognition, and in most of the cases contribute to its success as well.

But are all the logos equally successful in giving brand recognition to the companies? NO. There are certain errors that may occur in the designing that weakens the brand value of the logo. Here are a few examples of such errors that are commonly found in the copycat logos that are visible these days in a number of websites.

The year 2006 saw the trend of adding reflection to the logos. But an indiscriminate use does not only make it cliche, a thoughtless use of this feature— just because it is a current trend— may make the logo irrelevant for the product. This is true of other features like use of droplets, smilies as well.

The basic teaching of successful logo designing is: resist the provocation of using too much gradients in your design. In such cases, the gradients become the major feature and distract the attention from the focal point. As such the objective of creating a logo is lost half way.

To enhance the visual impact, many logos tend to use screaming color. This is another blunder. Try to utilize as few colors as possible. If brand creation is the objective of your logo, you can never achieve it through the use of color only, as colors only distract the viewers. Instead try to interpret the message through minimalist use of basic hues. Just think about the IBM logo where the magic is created only through two colors.

Then there are the custom logos. You might be tempted by the urge of using cartoons of famous figures. But resist the urge; using the face of a person alive is a strict no no in the grammar of logo designing. Even if the person is dead, it does not look very creative to use faces of famous figures. Why take short cut? Work out more creative solution.

Another forbidden area is religion. Before using imagery, make sure it is not a religious symbol or an icon of national importance. In addition to religion, also avoid the use of any culturally sensitive imagery like that of national flag of any country.

Another thing you should keep off is the use of photography. Try to avoid all forms of complex imageries like clipart for the simple reason that they reduce the brand value of the company.

Just keep in mind that a logo is meant to promote a brand of the company and as such it must be apt and to the point. For logo designing remember one thing: simple is powerful. Before giving up to the temptation of creating complex symbolic logos, just think of the magic created by straight forward logos like that of IBM and Nike. Try to inflict the company’s characteristic traits into its logo—this concludes your job in success.