Where Logos Go Wrong (and How to Ensure Your Brand Gets It Right!)

Promotional products are an investment in your company’s marketing, and there are standards that need to be met when it comes to adding your logo to a product. A logo is not just a business symbol that identifies a company, but rather it helps to create a strong brand identity which allows a brand to establish good rapport with its target audience. On the other hand, a badly designed or rendered logo can hurt a brand’s image and fail to communicate a business message. For this reason careful consideration needs to be put into the design element of your promotional products. Below we will take a look at some common mistakes companies make when customizing products, and will provide some ways to avoid making them in the future!

A common mistake when it comes to logos is not having one that is scalable. This will ultimately result in loss of image quality when trying to blow up your design for larger products, and likewise when downsizing it for smaller items. The solution here is to have a vector version of your logo readily available so it can be resized accordingly without distortion. If you are working alongside a designer or graphic artist, never accept a JPG as your primary logo format, Request the vector file. This will be particularly beneficial when creating product bundles that mix and match items with different imprint methods, varying imprint areas and materials.

As presentation is key for any brand, you need to determine what to include in the imprint and only have what’s necessary printed on it. We suggest that you prioritize showcasing your business logo or name before other information as making your imprint too busy can actually hurt the objective of the campaign and result in a convoluted business message that is hard to read. Keep the design of promo products clean and simple with minimal elements if you want people to hold on to and use your promotional product. Keep in mind that the attractiveness of the product is as important as having your information on it.

Another common mistake is not having different versions of a logo readily available. While there are logos that work well with a number of product materials and colors, others need to be modified to ensure they consistently represent a brand. An intricate logo with many small details and colorful schemes may work well with Direct To Garmentprinted T-shirts but will present a limitation when laser engraved on a wooden or metal surface. For this reason it is useful to have different logo variations, for example a black and white text version for processes like pad printing or a grayscale version for forms and labels.

At COMDA your brand image is important to us, that’s why we want to make sure your logo always looks great on any product you choose! Whether it’s refreshing your image, finding out whether your logo is suitable for a product, and where to place that logo on the item, we have a team of designers that can guide you through the personalization process so you can properly express your brand’s identity. We can work with you to digitize, recreate or resize your logo, and find the perfect imprint for all your personalized swag!