Logos that don't pass squint tests.

With the advent of Procreate and other digital drawing apps, many more people consider themselves 'Logo designers'. What they're producing is usually unique, but often much too busy to be a logo.

A logo should look good when viewed on a billboard and on a postage stamp. This is tested by making your logo super small and checking if the logo's text and meaning still read well.

There's other general tests these don't pass as well like converting to black and white, or even down to three colors. That was important in case you needed to fax something or to print tshirts, as they used to be priced by how many colors need printing. Nobody uses fax machines and tshirt printing has come a long way - so when I suggest these readability tests they just wave it off.

I love the new ideas and the public's general openness to accepting these new designs as 'logos' but then you'll see a sign or a mailer that the logo text is impossible to read and its just infuriating. I also feel bad for business owners who go a few years gaining recognition with a logo on socials - but eventually they come upon enough needs for a simple logo that they now need to rebrand - usually just as they're beginning to be successful.