I often get asked to develop a small business's logo as a symbol-only
logo. But for many small businesses, this isn't the right choice for a
couple of reasons.
Designing a symbol-only logo is a much more complicated (and often more expensive) process, because the symbol has to:
- Carry a lot more meaning - there's no text to help explain the
business. It's important that your logo has some meaning and a role in
explaining your business - and that's a lot for a little symbol to do
all by itself.
- Be entirely unique all on its' own. I don't need to tell you that
there are a whole lot of logos out there. A lot of the basic shapes -
and even some of the more complicated ones - are already "owned" by big
corporations. But you can still use variations or combinations of those
shapes when they're designed into a logo with your company name.
- Communicate to your audience. The more obscure the symbol design
that you create, the less likely that your customers will understand
its meaning. Or they may interpret it incorrectly. Either way your
clients will feel alienated - and that's never good.
If you do create a symbol-only logo, you'll have a couple of challenges with your brand identity:
- It will take a lot more time and effort to educate your target
audience about your business. Think of all the symbol-only logos that
are really memorable, like Nike or Apple. The reason that those are so
memorable and well-known is that each of those companies has a very
large advertising budget. They can afford to dedicate people and time
to getting the word out. Their deep pockets build visibility and
encourage recognition. Small businesses just don't have those kinds of
resources.
- Trademark infringement can be more of a problem - from both sides
of the fence. It can be very difficult for your designer to design a
logo that won't look like any other trademarked logo out there,
regardless how hard they try.
1. First of all, it's hard for a designer to comprehensively
research all of the other trademarked logos just to see what you're up
against. However, the Trademark Office has more thorough tools and
methods of researching the other existing logos out there and they
might find one that you overlooked.
2. Secondly, logos and trademarks can be a bit subjective. Just
because you and your designer think that the design that you've created
doesn't infringe on other logos, the Trademark Office might reject your
application based on their interpretation of "similarity"
3. And you're not just worrying about what the Trademark Office
thinks. Any other business with an existing trademark could also
challenge your application. They can even ask you to cease-and-desist
using your logo after it has been trademarked if they held their
trademark to a similar logo first. While surrendering might not seem
like such a bad thing, remember that you'd also have to destroy any
existing printed collateral, forfeit your trademark (and the
trademarking process isn't cheap!) and redesign all of your materials.
You'll also lose the equity and memorability that you will have built
up in your logo if you do have to redesign.
If you do finally manage to design and trademark a symbol-only
logo, you'll have to be extra-vigilant about making sure that other
companies don't design a mark that's similar to yours. You are
ultimately responsible for "policing" your own trademark and will have
to stay up-to-date on trademark applications.
Alternately, you could hire someone to keep an eye on new trademarks for you but that can be expensive.
You can easily avoid all of these complications by designing a
combination logo that includes both a symbol and your company name.
Once you've designed your combination logo, you should always use the
components together. This helps avoid potential legal issues like those
mentioned above.
About The Author
marketing design strategist who creates big visibility for small
businesses. Through her customized marketing and brand identity
packages, Erin helps her clients design effective websites that help
them extend their brands, bring in new clients and make sales. http://www.elf-design.com
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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer
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