The 8 Worst Shark Tank Logos & Why They Suck
A logo is an image that is supposed to be the best representation of a company. Unfortunately, some entrepreneurs don’t care and these logos are a disgrace!
The logo’s job is to give off the same energy you would want people to receive when you describe the startup it represents. Especially when you’re pitching to Shark Tanks investors like:
- Mark Cuban
- Barbara Corcoran
- Robert Herjavec
- Lori Greiner
- Kevin O’Leary
My question is:
If it takes you months if not years to get a shot on Shark Tank — why wouldn’t you care about the quality of your brand identity?
It seems like an obvious thing to do, but some entrepreneurs are either too busy or don’t give a f*ck! That’s why I wrote this logo critique article.
Hold tight, you may fall from the chair.
These logos are horrible
I’ve seen many startups on Shark Tank having their brand identity on point, but many have such a poorly designed logo that it makes me think they treat it as a hobby rather than some serious business.
Perhaps, they’re not aware of the power of business design.
After all, hiring a graphic designer is super easy and you can definitely save a lot of money, avoid many mistakes, and improve your pitch enormously if not directly prevent from blowing one in a life chance like that.
I talk about hiring a designer vs. a design agency, because I totally understand that these startup perhaps cannot afford spending much money on design in the early stage.
Good logos vs bad logos
I see it all around. My fellow designers spend so much time praising good logos and appreciating the expertise displayed in some, that we forget how wrong a logo can actually be.
That’s why in this post, you will be presented with an array of poorly designed logos that I selected from the famous ABC’s TV Show — Shark Tank and in a week or too I will follow up with another article that features the 8 best logos.
So, the first feature of a good and effective logo is that it can immediately “grab” viewer’s attention.
In this case, it’s the Shark’s attention. So the goal is to make sure that your logo makes an impact and hold the viewer’s attention, it’s easy to understand, and allows to make meaningful associations.
In other words:
Great logo is the DNA of a company, manifested in ways we can understand fast.
A logo not only provides an easy to recognize identity for your business but also communicates who you are and what you stand for.
But logo design is far from being easy. It requires an enormous attention to details and an obsession with getting it right. Learn more about logo design process here.
The power of good design
Be aware that your presentation, the best it can be, won’t substitute a good logo design. And there’s only one chance to make the first impression, right?
Why would you dismiss the importance of a well-designed logo?
I believe that every company should invest in logo design before stepping into such a big opportunity like Shark Tank.
But not only that…
Perhaps you’re starting a business, or you’re thinking about stepping up your game and conducting a professional redesign of your current brand identity.
So, this article will show you what makes a bad logo and what NOT to do.
A good logo, on the other hand, is the important marketing tool and all marketers agree. Yet not all of the entrepreneurs or rather wantrepreneurs know that.
Bad logos will struggle to comply with these 5 principles of effective logo design.
I have judged all shark tank businesses’ logos by the following five criteria:
- Simplicity
Is the design simple and clean enough to be flexible and easily recognizable? Is it not too busy, distracting, or confusing? - Memorability
Is it quickly recognizable? Is it clever? Will people only have to spend a second or two thinking about it to get it? - Timelessness
Will it still be a great logo in 10, 20, or even 50 years? - Versatility
Does it scale to different sizes without losing quality or clarity? Will it work across various media and within different contexts? - Appropriateness
Does it resonate with the desired audience and industry of the business?
Logo design is both an art and a science. And a skilled logo designer takes everything into consideration.
The company’s target audience is a primary consideration, but then the designer must think about everything else — the elements that build a logo:
- Colors
- Shapes
- Fonts
These elements used in a logo makes an impact on the people who see it, or not.
Making the right choices to represent a brand is a cornerstone of logo design. So please, my friend, don’t underestimate the power of design (logo design doesn’t cost much) and check your logo against these 5 principles of effective logo design.
In the last episode aired on TV in late 2016, we had an opportunity to see 96 companies and their brand identity whether it was on presentations, uniforms, packaging or engraved on the product itself.
The truth is:
More than half of Shark Tank’s companies don’t have their logo and identity on point.
Have a look at these ugly logos and my technical analysis to learn from their mistakes. Perhaps their pitch failed because of their poorly designed brand identity?
Check the full post on my website 👆
