Your logo is your brand identifier. It’s what helps people distinguish you from the competition. It’s your trademark. When you design a logo you want it to be something that people remember, something that people see and appreciate, and something that promotes a forward-moving company. All that being said, a lot of people let their logo fall by the wayside when they should be focusing in on making it the best representation of their company possible. That being said, here are five common mistakes that people make in regards to logo design that you should actively avoid:

1. Using Stock Images
   You don’t want to look like everyone else, do you? So why would you ever even entertain the idea of using a stock image in your logo? You don’t want people to be able to Google your image and see it on 15 different sites, which is why you need to ensure that any images you use are original to your company and your logo.
2. Cheap or Free Logo Makers
   You know the phrase “you get what you pay for”? Well the same applies here. Any logo that you can get at clearance prices are going to be just that – the logos that are designed cheaply and quickly. And those “free” sites you can design logos on? Avoid them like the plague. You don’t want your company to come across as a joke, right? That’s exactly what you’ll get if you go the cheap or free route.
3. Disregarding Font
   There are a whole slew of rules about fonts, but probably the most important one is that each font has a life of its own. Do you want your logo to convey a strong company or one geared towards kids? Both of this can be done with distinctive fonts – make sure that yours is sending the right message about you.
4. Too Complex
   People will remember the simpler logos over the ones that have a lot of elements to them. If your logo is too complex it will be overwhelming and unmemorable. Think about the logos that are easy to remember: Target, Walmart, Exxon… all of these companies have simple logos that they’ve morphed into their brand.
5. Trends
   Don’t fall into the trap of picking a logo that is hip now. Your logo has to be able to withstand the test of time – it needs to fluidly move from one year to the next without needing to be redesigned every few years. Trends are bad. Timeless is good.

Picking a strong logo is arguably one of the most important aspects of branding and marketing that your company will encounter. Be sure to put a lot of thought and effort into designing a good one – play around with it and try out different things a couple times. And above all, keep it classy.

Kate Croston is a freelance writer, holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing cheap internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to:  katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.