Logo design is undoubtedly a high pressure, high risk industry. 2010 saw many a fine agency crack under the pressure and turn out a frankly rubbish design. The most offensive was the redesign at Gap, which took a logo that needed an overhaul and somehow made it a lot worse (before they U-turned barely a week later). How then, does an aspiring genius Logo Maker avoid making the kinds of design mistakes that characterised 2010 design? Well, any designer (and any corporative, considerate client) know that the process needs time, first and foremost. But there are elements of good practice and general advice worth taking.

Part of the Custom Logo Design challenge is in walking the line between conflicting excess and asceticism. People don’t really put out particularly complex logos any more, and they meet with limited success when they do. However, going too simple results in a design that looks frankly anaemic. Monograms and logotypes can be extremely un-engaging if they’re presented without some kind of visual element. You can tip back into excess with illustration though. Don’t try to cram too much in, and don’t just drop a single element in, clipart style, unless it has a genuine function. Never, ever fall back on cliche in the later example. Step back from the brink and remove that globe and aircraft duo from your ‘international’ luxury airport connection logo. If your company is female focused in any way, you stick a dancing stick figure in there to show how dynamic and expressive ladies are. It’s pretty puke worthy.

Design process also has its code of practice. Being a Logo designer comes with much the same design baggage as being a cartoon character designer (that is, a designer of cartoon characters. Not a character designer in a cartoon). The silhouette of a cartoon character should be functional and instantly recognisable, and so should a logo. It’s all too common for the modern designer to start their design journey by indulging in the use of two tools that should be reserved for later: computers and colours. Sketch your design out on paper in black and white. Just as the Coca Cola logo started as a hand-drawn logo that was eventually refined by vector methods, so you should be prepared to leave the refining to the machines. This isn’t just a philosophical point, and it’s worth pointing out that by working in black and white at the earliest stages, you’ll be defining up front how the brand will translated into newspaper print and black and white stationary.