4 common design mistakes that are easy to fix

The logo machine is constantly sent design for analysis: in the social network, in the comments on Habré, on our live broadcast. Very often, it can be easily improved by correcting some trifle: colors, sizes, distances. We made a collection that was sent to us, which will help you notice the most common problems and easily fix them.

Confideal: we clean dirty color

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This logo was sent to Log machine in VK.


There is an obvious problem with the transition of colors - gradient. A “dirty” color always appears between the shades that stand at different ends of the color wheel. Lebedev Studio has made the same mistake in its express design for 100,000 rubles:


Such a logo is difficult to use in life - objects with this color look dirty:

To fix this is easy - between complimentary colors you need to add one or more shades to bypass the "dirty". For example, like this:

Instead of dirty green, we used a fuchsia shade - the logo became warmer, brighter, and most importantly, cleaner. You can pick up other shades. Such a sign will be more noticeable, and branded business cards and T-shirts will not look dirty.

Kuznetsk technical school: improve readability

We were sent the following logo:

People rarely look at the logo closely. More often we see a logo in motion, in a small format or at a distance. To test how the logo will look in combat, blur it a bit - this is called the “squint test”.

It became obvious that the text on the red plate is very difficult to read. There are three reasons for this.

First, it is typed in uppercase. IT'S KIND OF EVERYTHING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT READING SUCH A TEXT IS DIFFICULT - ON THE CABLE EVEN THERE IS A RULE WHICH I NOW VIOLATE IN THE NAME OF ATTRACTION. BUT WHEN BUSINESS COMES TO LOGOS, EVEN VERY LONG NAMES ARE CAPTIVATED. This can be done, but carefully.

Secondly, the text is made by a “twist” - white on red. This also reduces readability.

Thirdly, the font is chosen thin, so you should squint, it immediately dissolves in a red background.

We will not change the composition, we will fix only the font in the middle - remove the uppercase letters, the scrolling and select a more massive font:

Check:

Even despite the fact that the letters have become smaller, the inscription reads better. Now there is a chance to understand that this is the Kuznetsk Technical School without even looking.

Aircraft: remove the stroke

In this simple sign, which was sent to us, you can see the favorite technique of novice designers - to circle around everything that is possible. We have already removed the stroke in one of the past issues :

Stroke itself is a useful technique if used in place. But more often, you can simply get rid of it - it creates unnecessary noise and complicates the logo. Compare:

Just remove the stroke and see if the sign has become "lighter", better without it:

Raznotorg: improving the composition

Department Store Network Logo:

A common problem in logos and design in general is bad composition. It is difficult to read, there are no accents - it is not clear what is important and what is secondary. The creator of this logo simply “played Tetris”, trying to put all the details into a compact rectangle:

The result was a disproportionately large “P”, a flower emblem that hung in a random place and a descriptor that was not aligned. Compare how much clearer such a composition would be:

The elements are the same, with the exception of the giant letter P, but the layout is simpler and more understandable. Let's apply this scheme:

We changed the location and size of the elements. It turned out not perfect, but better than the original. When composing a composition, one should look at mutual subordination and location of objects, and not just “play Tetris”, driving the elements into empty spaces. Then the accents will be correctly placed, the signs will be better perceived and recognized, and the inscriptions will be easier to read.

As a result

These were four common design mistakes that are easy to fix. Send your design directly in the comments or in our public VK . We analyze errors, and sometimes completely rework the design and show a new style.

And, as always, good luck to you and your projects!