Don't Make These 4 Basic Design Mistakes With Your Brand

Graphic Design

Nothing says 'homemade' like a poorly designed graphic and that is probably not something you want to be associated with your brand. Here are 4 mistakes that you can easily avoid to make sure your brand doesn't stand out for the wrong reasons.

If you're like me, then you want to make sure that you are presenting your brand in the best possible light at all times. Whether we like to admit it or not, we're all influenced by subtle visual cues that lead to snap judgements about a brand's identity.

I bet you'd much rather people's snap judgements align more with 'premium', 'reliable', and 'tasteful' than with 'cheap', 'disposable', or 'tacky' when they see a brand identity touchpoint like your website, social media account or business card.

With 73% of businesses investing in design to 'stand out against the competition' (Social Media Examiner), it's more important than ever that you don't stand out for the wrong reasons. Discover these simple design fixes to help in marketing your brand.


White Box

Nothing looks worse than a white box around a logo on a dark background. Fact. This is what happens when you use a JPG with a white background instead of an image format that allows transparency, like PNG. So make sure you use a PNG file with a transparent background when designing to avoid this faux pas.

If you only have a JPG version of your logo with a white box around it dark backgrounds and it doesn't work as-is with the PNG file (not all PNG files have a transparent background), consider commissioning one from your designer.

Spacing

When the spacing in your designs is off, it will not do justice to your brand. Whether it's the space around your logo (yes, you do need to have space around your logo) or line spacing between lines of text, you need to make sure that you've hit the sweet spot so your design can 'breathe'.

If you take a look at the brand guidelines for Uber, you'll see that they keep clear space around their logo equal to the distance of their capital 'U'. This simple design tip will make sure your logo can breathe.



Logo Placement On Images

If you're going to place your logo over an image, make sure the image has sufficient clear space in the frame so that your logo is legible. If you're putting a logo over a very busy picture with a lot of detail, it may get lost in the mix.

If there's no clear space, consider altering the design so that there's some space with a solid colour to make sure your target audience can identify your logo.


Size

If you want people to know about your 30% sale, you don't hide the promotion down in the fine print. You put it front and centre, and it will probably be the biggest or second-biggest element on the page. Make sure you don't size your logo too small in designs you're sharing.

Graphic design is all about communicating information through a visual medium, and the size of an element is one of the most striking ways you can convey content hierarchy.

A lot of designs make use of a system that includes elements in one of three sizes – large, medium and small. So make sure that you size your logo appropriately to be one of the first things people notice when they see the post, display ad or letter. Your logo may not be the largest element on the page, but when you combine this tip with spacing, it can help your target audience know what they're looking at first glance.  


Those are four simple design mistakes you can easily avoid with just a little bit of extra insight. Now go out into the world, confident in the knowledge that you can present your brand in the best way possible.

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