Overused, Overdone Logo Concepts

Finding a great logo design for your business is an important part of creating your brand identity. You want to have a logo design that is simple, memorable, and a good representation of what you do. Many people, in an effort to appear modern, choose a current design trend for their logo. One risk when following trends is that your logo could quickly get lost in a sea of similar logos out there on the web and in print. Trendy logos can also quickly become outdated.

We created this guide to help buyers recognize design elements that are overused in logo design. From swooshy people, to “green” icons, to geometric shapes – there are many graphics that are seen in one form or another everywhere you look. The challenge is to get a great logo that will help your company stand out from the crowd rather than getting lost in the crowd. The key to success is knowing your company, and communicating with designers to find just the right look, while avoiding the overdone trends shown below.

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30 Excellent Logo Design Tutorials And Walkthroughs

Designing a great logo is no easy task. It’s something people will remember, something that tells a story. In fact, your logo is a very important part of your branding. It becomes a way to connect your company with your promotional efforts such as advertising, promo products, etc.

We all know branding is not just a pretty logo, but creating something that’s memorable and that reflects what your company is about and effectively conveys your message will go a long way.

The tutorials featured in this post will walk you through the process of creating your own logo in Illustrator or Photoshop. Needless to say that the design process should start with a pen and paper, but these tutorials should give you the tools you’ll need once you sit at the computer.

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Why Your Logo Isn't Your Brand

Bad news, kids: your logo isn't your brand.

This weekend I attended AIGA Y Conference (Y17).  One of the first speakers, a name you probably recognize, Karim Rachid, immediately launched into logo vs. brand.  He pointed out how so many companies start with logo, and that this is a misplaced focus (my words, not his, although I agree) because your brand isn't just what your logo looks like -- it's about your service, the customer experience.  In some ways, he implied, maybe there shouldn't be logos anymore. Maybe you're misplacing your focus if you put more energy into your logo than into truly understanding what your brand means -- or should mean -- to people.

I can't count the number of times someone has come to me with a cute image, or even a not cute image that the spent serious time and money on. It's memorable, so they think they have "brand". They do not.

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Letterhead And Logo Design Inspiration – 60+ Cool Examples

The letterhead provides an important addition to a brand’s image, with a simple and careful placement of it’s logo and corporate design. It’s importance must not be underestimated when working on a company’s identity and stationery.

Finding letterhead designs for your inspiration is pretty hard, especially when you need something top notch to see in order to have some guidelines for your project. In this article you have a little over 60 cool examples of letterhead and logo design inspiration which should help you get an idea on how other designers have worked on the identity and stationery of various brands.

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21 Best Contemporary Worldwide City Logo Designs

Designing a city logo can be a difficult but rewarding process: when doing this one should keep in mind that, unlike company logos, a city logo involves a huge cultural background and will be representing the image of the city on many levels – from the political to the social and economical one. Therefore, a careful consideration of what the image chosen for the logo will symbolize and entail is absolutely necessary.

First of all, this sort of logos originate from the old city heraldics, and they still have a strong resemblance to them: when designing a city logo one should be aware that, much like in the old heraldics, each visual element is expected to be a symbol for something related to the city, and that this logo will become the image of the city and it should be very effective in essentializing its main features or its general cultural representation.

It is absolutely necessary to study the city’s past and present landmarks, its history, its main economical activities, its cultural symbols and to look at the old heraldic emblems of the city as well. That is why, managing to create a modern, functional image of the city can be a very difficult and elaborate process.

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Essential Characteristics Of Good Medical Logo

Do you need to freshen up your current medical logo or are you in need of creating a logo for a new medical practice or office?  If so, there are many elements to consider during the design process.  Considering specific elements will ultimately lead you to the ideal logo for your practice:  a unique medical logo that reflects your individual niche within the medical field.

What are some of the essential features in creating successful medical logos?

Speaking volumes about your dedication to your patients, a carefully designed medical logo will give you the opportunity to show your professionalism in the field.  Your medical logo assists you and makes you stand out among the growing number of practitioners in your community.  It is imperative that your logo contains characteristics that set you apart from the competition

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25 Corporate Mobius Logos – Creative Examples!

The main characteristic of an effective corporate logo is its ability to stand apart from its competitors. This feature is based on how unique and novel the design elements are. The fonts, symbols and colors employed in a logo design must be exclusive and distinguishing. That is why designers try to use unique shapes and symbols in their design efforts. One exceptional shape that is being utilized in corporate logos is ‘Mobius Strip’.

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A Simple Question That Will Streamline Your Logo Design Process

Design is subjective.

It’s not math.  Math is easier.  2 + 2 = 4.  There is no arguing that.  It’s a fact.
But design is interpretable.  You know… the whole “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” thing. As a result, there is nothing more nerve racking than hitting the send button on an email to your client that contains design concepts.

What will the beholder’s eye think of these designs?  You think it looks stunning, they might think your crazy. Logo design is particularly difficult.  It’s very subjective.

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5 Steps to the Birth of a Logo

I actually wanted to name the title "5 Steps to the Birth of a Brand", but unfortunately people still don't know the difference and that's why I'm writing today's post. You may be thinking it's time to invest in your brand and have a designer create your logo. Or perhaps you have a logo, but want to give it a good face lift. Well, I'm going to take you through the steps of such a process and hopefully create some converts. Let's face it, logo design is a big investment and some see it as one that is over priced. After all you're not a huge corporation. But success isn't measured in big or small. Size only matters in your way of thinking.

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70 Best Music Logo Designs Inspiration

These best music logo designs can be used by musicians, bands, singers, music production companies, talk show hosts, recording companies and more. Music logo designs are vital to any music company and music logo designs can incorporate both text and images. So you can be aware of new trends or simply new modern best music logo design inspiration that could help and guide you through your design process.

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40 Amazing Wine Based Logo Designs

Wine is a tasty alcohol beverage that is targeted towards elderly people. Don’t get me wrong thou, some younger adults drink wine as well. The suggested moods of wine is elegant, romantic, glamorous, and usually wealth. Each logo has a story behind it, and is very mysterious. These kinds of logos are unique and stand out of the crowd. Today we have collected some brilliantly designed wine logos. These examples will show you how the wine industry is changing and what kind of designs work.

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Creative Logo Design: 20 Bird Logos for Inspiration

An amazingly-designed logo requires a lot of research about various concepts and latest trends, hard work, creativity and above all, talent. Logo, as we all know used by both corporates and individuals, is one of the best strategies used to establish brand identity. Having a creative logo design will surely do the job to leave enough deep impression to the heart of your audience. They will remember your logo as well as your company identity anywhere, anytime.

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A Showcase of Transparency in Logo Design

These days the best companies introduce themselves with a logo that grabs the eye, then works subtly to communicate their business ethos and identity. But modern logos don’t necessarily need to be all bells and whistles. Simplicity is often king and the most delicate of design techniques can be used to great effect. Take transparency for example. We’ve brought together a showcase of 20 beautiful logos that demonstrate the different ways transparency can enhance a brand’s persona. Also take a look at this related article on Funny Logos for inspiration.

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Beautiful and Inspiring Logos

Browsing beautiful logos is always inspiring. Logos are actually a very good way to check out how designers put together colors, typography, textures and several other design elements. Today we gathered a few beautiful and inspiring logos to show you. From colorful, bold and textured logos to clean and monochromatic ones, here are 15 logos to keep you inspired.

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Shiny New Jaguar

Jaguar has unveiled a new logo and brand identity designed by the U.S.-based firm Spark 44. The first major overhaul of its visual identity in forty years, the rebrand has been created alongside a fresh marketing and advertising campaign, themed "Alive," and includes new custom typography.

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SF Asian Art Museum

Working with Wolff Olins, the San Francisco Asian Art Museum has launched a revitalized logo. An inverted letter "A" next to the word "Asian" brings mathematical symbolism into the mix (an upside-down "A" represents "for all"), as well as a visual space where collection highlights can be glimpsed. The new system will appear in eight different colors, whereas the previous logo was consistently red.

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Retro logo design, and retro branding, by a team of talented logo designers.

At the branding studio of Graphic D-Signs, we create stunning retro-styled logo designs for your business. A quality retro logo design can say a lot about your business - and give the viewer a unique appreciation for the quality known of businesses from the mid-century. Retro logos are wholesome, they instill confidence - and the designs resonate well with the viewer. The sense of nostalgia in retro logo design is comforting. Not only that, but retro logo design and art deco logo design can communicate longevity - the feeling that the business has been around for a very long time. As a logo design genre, retro logos is probably our most favorite type of logo design for small businesses. It takes a lot of research - but retro logo design is very rewarding.

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New logo: Google Chrome icon (?)

Over week ago, it was reported that the open source web browser Chromium was about to get a new icon, a flattened version of the previous glossy 3D model colored in shades of blue. Chromium is the attic cousin of Google's web browser Google Chrome, which uses a similar icon, but instead of a blue it is coloured with Google's signature colors. It was quickly assumed that Google Chrome would be getting a similar icon makeover.

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The New Apple Rainbow

An updated version of the rainbow-striped logo that first signified Apple to the world was glimpsed at the new iPad launch earlier this month.

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8 Famous Brands and their Funny Logo Evolutions

A logo design can take months, years or even decades to develop into a memorable brand identity. Just like the evolution of human beings, famous logos have their own evolution that tells their visual journey. As a logo designer, it is extremely helpful to study how renowned brands have developed their company logos since their inception.

While going through the creation and development of several illustrious brand identities, an amusing thought ran through my mind. Visualizing the future of famous brands, I decided to create my own collection of funny logo evolutions. Some of them even make sense while others are purely enjoyable.

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Salvador Dalí's Real Masterpiece: The Logo For Chupa Chups Lollipops

Salvador Dalí, the wacky surrealist known for his signature pointy mustache and painting melting clocks, was also graphic designer behind the classic Chupa Chups--an enduringly sweet, bright rendition of a daisy.

The Catalan lollipop made its first appearance in 1958, when the company founder Enric Bernat hatched the idea of placing a bonbon on a stick. He called the product "GOL," imagining the candy as a soccer ball and the open mouth a net. It didn’t go over well. So Bernat hired an ad agency that renamed his product "Chupa Chups" (from the Spanish chupar, meaning “to suck”). All that was left was the branding. In 1969, Bernat complained about what he had while having coffee with his artist friend--none other than Salvador Dalí.

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