Branding instincts that are almost always wrong

We’ve been doing branding and identity development for a long time. And we’ve experienced a few understandable, but counterproductive impulses over the years.

Here are a few of those:

I want to use my logo color everywhere - When there’s a dominant logo color, the typical impulse is to use that color everywhere. Dominating website panels, brochure covers and even office walls. More often than not, however, more sparing use actually works harder for you. Because the more unusual your logo color is in a given context, the more likely it is to stand out and engage attention.

I’ll just pick my favorite typeface - The job of the lettering style for your logo is to complement and support your symbol - not to upstage it. Often, the less interesting or remarkable typographic choice is the one that works harder for you.

If we can’t decide between good options, we should ask our friends to vote - Trust your team and trust yourself. People who have not been involved in the project are likely to bring in irrelevant biases. More often than not, folks will gravitate to the familiar - preferring marks that look like logos they already like over fresh ideas. If you feel like you really need input from outside the team, there’s a better way to do that than to take a vote.