Creating a bad logo is easier than you think! Simply follow these tried-and-terrible tips, and you’ll have a logo that’s confusing, cringeworthy, and completely unforgettable—in all the wrong ways. If you’re looking to ruin your brand image, read on for the ultimate crash course in logo disasters!
1. Use as Many Fonts as Possible
Why settle for one when you can have five? Serif, sans-serif, script, and even Comic Sans—mix them all for maximum chaos. Bonus points if the fonts clash like an amateur karaoke battle.
2. Pick the Wrong Colors (or All of Them)
Use neon green, hot pink, and highlighter yellow—preferably all at once. Don’t worry about color psychology or readability. Clashing colors are your best friends here.
3. Skip the Personality
Make sure your logo looks like it could belong to any business, from a funeral home to a circus. Generic clip art or overused design trends will do the trick. No soul? No problem!
4. Forget About Balance
A good logo is a circus act, right? Tilted text, uneven spacing, and mismatched shapes will leave your audience’s eyes darting around in confusion.
5. Include a Lot of Tiny Details
Add intricate patterns, detailed illustrations, or fine lines that disappear when the logo is scaled down. Because who needs readability, anyway?
6. Make It Impossible to Use Everywhere
Design a logo that only works in one format. Make it huge, overly complex, and completely illegible when shrunk down. Your social media icons will thank you for the mess.
7. Copy Someone Else’s Logo
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it’s also the quickest way to a lawsuit. Just tweak a famous logo enough to make it unrecognizable—by which we mean bad.
8. Ask All Your Friends and Family for Advice
Gather everyone you know—friends, family, your neighbor’s dog walker—and ask for their opinions on your logo. Take every suggestion to heart, even if it’s completely contradictory or comes from someone who thinks “Helvetica” is a pasta. The more cooks in the kitchen, the messier the soup—and the worse the logo.
9. Add Too Many Elements
Throw in a swoosh, a starburst, a globe, and maybe even a cute mascot. More is more, right? Watch as your design becomes the graphic equivalent of a cluttered attic.
10. Avoid Professional Help
Who needs a designer when you can whip up a logo in five minutes with free online tools? The more pixelated and generic, the better.
Bad logos may be fun to create, but they’re terrible for business. If you’re guilty of any of these crimes, it might be time to reevaluate your branding. Or, better yet, reach out to a professional for help—wink wink.
