11 Logo Mistakes You Need to Avoid!

Most designers design logos with intense concentration and put all their creativity into the final product. Sometimes the awful result of a logo design is that the results don't turn out to be amazing and cutting edge. The competition to be the best is tight and each logo design needs to be perfected due to the growing logo design awareness in the general public. There is no room for mistakes baby! Here at Integraphix, a Chicago Marketing Company, we're pretty sure almost every designer can relate to this situation. We'll be humble say 'Yes, it's happened to us." Now that we've learned from our mistakes being in the field of graphic design in Chicago, we are going to share with you. This list will most definitely help you come up with better results.

1. Do NOT adhere to logo design trends. Your designs should be able to stand the test of times.

2. Your logo design should be able to switch mediums - print, web, embroidery, etc. 

3. Avoid designing busy logos - remember: the most memorable logos are always the simplest.

4. Don't stick to design software right off the bat - sketch your ideas out first!

5. Take your time when making final touches, it will make all the difference.

6. Never make the mistake of designing a logo in Photoshop. Always use vector or you'll never be able to resize your logo.

7. Never use stock images in a logo design. It's ugly and noticable.

8. Only use readable fonts - don't overuse Helvetica anymore than it already has been though. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

9. Never think a super colorful logo is best. Sometimes it's just gaudy.

10. If your logo design fails in black and white - don't even bother adding color to it. Redesign.

11. Don't be a copy-cat. Be inspired by successful logo design, but never, ever copy.

Cheers!

- Integraphix, a Chicago Marketing Company and Chicago Graphic Design Firm

10 Coolest Snowboard Graphic Designs

This past winter, snowboards became incredibly popular, especially for countries that were inundated with snow. Extreme sports lovers will always find ways to take advantage of the snowy seasons of course. With the designs below, they can find themselves taking flight in style! Like funky car designs, next to a great snowy trek, what could make an extreme snowboarder happier than having their own fantastically designed and personalized board?

Below you'll find colors and amazing patterns of some of the best and 'rad-est' snowboard graphic designs on the internet. Great Graphic Design can be found anywhere - Integraphix has designed its own share of strange things, but not yet a snowboard. It would be a great challenge though! Scroll down and inspire yourself to go beyond the flat piece of paper.

~ Integraphix, a Chicago Marketing Company and Chicago Graphic Design Company

Chicago Graphic Design Company

This is the Integraphix Staff personal favorite since it's different on either side. Great graphic design guys!

Thanks for looking at this great graphic design of snowboards. If they were in Chicago this past couple of weeks, they could've snowboarded around our streets!

~ Integraphix, a Graphic Design and Marketing Company in Chicago

We Know Branding and Graphic Design

We are Integraphix. we're going to design your branding.

We are the leading Chicago graphic design company, offering an wide variety of services to our diverse clientele across the Chicago area. Recognized by our peers as outstanding and inspiring web designers, we are the graphic design company that will bring your vision to life. Whether you seek to develop a brand identity for your custom social networking site, utilize our SEO services to boost your current website, or something in-between, we offer superior one-stop services as a Chicago graphic design company, SEO company and web design company. Bored by all this reading? Speak with us personally: Call us at 847.537.0067.

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We Love Graphic Design!

Here are some perty photos for you to look at while you're sitting at work bored and in need of some brain stimulation. We think they're amazing examples of great graphic design. Our own Graphic Design Companycreates some pretty awesome artwork, but I believe in plugging artists too. Enjoy!

Chicago Graphic Design Firm
Broken Glass

Chicago Graphic Design Firm
Ink Lady

Chicago Graphic Design Firm
Face Off!

Chicago Graphic Design Firm
Octopus Invasion

Chicago Graphic Design Firm
Beauty and the Beast

Most of these images are examples of some pretty cool photo-manipulation done by great artists, and some of them are actual ads we found that tickled our fancy. Enjoy them at your leisure!

Chicago Marketing Company | Chicago Graphic Design Company |Chicago SEO | Chicago Web Design

I just need a logo

"I want you to design a brand for my business - all I need is a logo." This is a common phrase uttered by some of our Integraphix clients, and it is a misconception in the minds of many business men and woman who are looking to brand their business. They misunderstand that a brand is not merely a symbol, logo or 'mark' used on a sign outside their doorstep. The reality is something more. The logo design is just one part of a larger branding process. A brand is what huge corporate giants from smaller competitors. The problem that faces most graphic designers and chicago marketing company studios these days is clients with almost no knowledge of what a brand is. Sometimes the graphic designer creates a logo design for a client that may fail to establish its presence, but this is hardly the fault of the designer. The client, perhaps, didn't want to pay for the full branding process and therefore the designer was not allowed to fully develop the brand for the client. It was not the failure of the logo, but the failure of the brand to be designed.

Think of this scenario…you have never heard of Apple or before (just assume for a moment). You are unaware of the corporation and what it has to offer to you. Now imagine… if you pass by a someone on an Apple laptop sporting the logo or drive by an Apple billboard, would you be amazed by it?… Probably not. It's just the silhouette of an apple.  Back to reality!  Famous brands like Apple have actively marketed their logo and established its connection with the company, which is why you have a strong awareness about it. That strong association created in the minds of customers is the brand that has been established and is a large part of why the company has had the success it has. Why buy a computer that costs $2000 rather than a computer you can get for $500? Granted Apple has quality on their side too, but it's also the stigma of having a Mac on your lap rather than an HP.

This is the biggest downfall of branding decisions made by many business owners and entrepreneurs. A brand is not just a mark or a symbol that you put on your company sign board. On the contrary, a brand leaves a mark on your customer that is long lasting. Another major distinction between a logo and a brand is their focus span. Logos illustrates what a company stands for, what it has to offer and what is its purpose of existence. In contrast, a brand has strategic focus. It depicts a vision of the firm as to what the brand will be and what it promises to its customers in the future.

A logo design is a visual representation of any company or business. It projects the image of the company existence in the industry. A brand goes one giant step further in PROTECTING the image of the firm. Whatever you establish through your logo design is inevitably protected by your brand.

Think of the Gap fiasco. The company unfortunately decided to redesign their logo. This attempt failed horribly at the mercy of their customers. But their longstanding BRAND power protected them from any serious damage.  

Wrapping it up, logos lay the foundation of a brand but are not sufficient to establish their presence. Brand Marketing does not end with a logo. They must be communicated through a brand in order to be recognized. Think about it next time you ask your marketing company for a logo - perhaps invest in the whole package!

Integraphix, a Chicago Marketing Company