Consider the case of Red Stick Ready, a trademarked logo representing the East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. This trademark signifies a brand of preparedness that the citizens of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish have come to trust. The distinctiveness and trust associated with this logo underscore the importance of protecting it from misuse and imitation.

In stark contrast, we have Red Stick Designs, a local marketing agency whose logo appears to imitate the Red Stick Ready logo directly. This situation exemplifies a significant lapse in professional integrity and legal foresight, especially for a marketing agency that should understand the critical nature of intellectual property rights.

Why Trademarking Your Logo is Vital

Trademarking your logo grants you exclusive rights to use it in commerce, ensuring that no other entity can legally use your logo or a confusingly similar one within your industry. This protection is crucial for maintaining your brand’s uniqueness and safeguarding your business from potential infringements.

Legal Protection and Exclusive Rights

Trademarking your logo provides significant legal benefits. When you trademark your logo, you gain exclusive rights to use it in commerce, preventing others from using it or a similar design that may confuse. This exclusivity is vital for maintaining your brand’s distinctiveness and ensuring competitors cannot capitalize on your hard-earned reputation. As a result, your brand remains unique and protected in the marketplace, which is essential for long-term business success.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Trademarking Your Logo

While trademarking your logo offers many benefits, several common mistakes can undermine its effectiveness. Being aware of these pitfalls can save you significant time, money, and legal trouble down the line.

Neglecting to Conduct a Trademark Search

Before creating a logo, businesses should conduct a thorough search to ensure their design doesn’t infringe on existing trademarks. This step is vital to avoid legal disputes and the potential need to rebrand if your logo is found to be too similar to an already registered trademark. A comprehensive search involves checking both registered trademarks and common law trademarks to confirm your logo is unique and legally available. By taking this step, you can prevent future conflicts and secure a strong foundation for your brand.

Not Registering the Trademark

Simply using a logo in commerce does not guarantee exclusive rights to it. Without formal trademark registration, your logo remains vulnerable to infringement. Registering your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) provides legal recognition of your ownership and the exclusive right to use the logo nationwide. This registration serves as a legal safeguard, significantly simplifying the enforcement of your rights and preventing unauthorized use by others. Without registration, you may face costly legal battles to protect your brand.

Using a Too-Generic or Descriptive Logo

Creating a logo that is too generic or merely describes the goods or services offered can be problematic. Such logos are often deemed ineligible for trademark protection because they lack distinctiveness. A successful trademark must be unique and capable of distinguishing your brand from others in the market. Generic or descriptive logos fail to meet these criteria and, thus, cannot provide the legal protection needed to secure your brand’s identity. It’s essential to design a logo that is both unique and reflective of your brand’s essence.

For more insights on why using tools like Canva for logo design can be problematic, read our article on “Don’t Create a Company Logo with Canva; It’s Not Worth it.“

Benefits of Trademarking Your Logo for Your Business

Trademarking your logo offers numerous advantages that can significantly enhance your business’s stability and growth. Here are some key benefits to consider.

Legal Protection and Exclusive Rights

Trademarking grants your business the exclusive rights to use the logo in commerce, preventing others from using it or a similar design that may confuse them. This protection is vital for maintaining brand distinctiveness and preventing competitors from capitalizing on your reputation. With exclusive rights, your business can confidently invest in brand building and marketing without the fear of infringement.

Brand Integrity and Consumer Trust

A trademarked logo helps maintain brand integrity by ensuring that only your business can use the logo. This fosters consumer trust and associates the logo with the quality and reliability of your products or services. When consumers see your trademarked logo, they can trust that they are purchasing from a reputable and reliable source, enhancing customer loyalty and retention.

Prevention of Legal Disputes

Trademark registration provides clear ownership documentation, simplifying the enforcement of your rights and reducing the risk of costly legal battles over logo infringement. This legal clarity helps you avoid the expensive and time-consuming process of defending your brand in court. Having a registered trademark lets you quickly and effectively address any potential infringements.

Financial and Reputational Protection

Trademarking safeguards your business from financial losses and damage to its reputation by preventing unauthorized use and potential brand confusion. Protecting your logo helps avoid the costs associated with legal disputes and the potential need for rebranding, ensuring your business can continue to build on its established identity and consumer trust. Trademarking your logo is an investment in your brand’s future stability and growth.

Ensuring Effective Trademark Protection

Take the following steps to avoid common pitfalls and protect your logo. These proactive measures can help secure your brand’s future.

Conduct a Comprehensive Trademark Search

Utilize professional services or online databases to verify the uniqueness of your logo design. This step ensures that your design does not infringe on existing trademarks and helps you avoid future legal conflicts. A thorough trademark search is the first critical step in the trademarking process.

Register Your Trademark

File for trademark registration with the USPTO to secure legal protection and exclusive rights to your logo. Registration provides official documentation of your ownership and significantly simplifies the process of enforcing your rights against potential infringers. This step is crucial for establishing a strong legal foundation for your brand.

Design a Distinctive Logo

Ensure your logo is unique and not merely descriptive of your products or services to qualify for trademark protection. A distinctive logo is more likely to be granted trademark protection and less likely to face legal challenges. Invest in creating a logo that stands out and accurately represents your brand’s identity.

Conclusion

The case of Red Stick Ready and Red Stick Designs is a potent reminder of the importance of trademarking your logo. Protecting your brand through trademark registration is an investment in your business’s future, safeguarding your identity, reputation, and customer trust. Don’t leave your most valuable asset vulnerable—ensure your logo is trademarked and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your brand is secure.

Key Takeaways

• Trademarking your logo grants exclusive rights, preventing others from using it or similar designs.
• Conduct a comprehensive trademark search to ensure your logo is unique and legally available.
• Register your trademark to protect your brand and simplify legal enforcement.
• Design a distinctive logo that accurately represents your brand and qualifies for trademark protection.

Protect your Brand With BlakSheep Creative

Don’t let your brand’s identity be at risk. Elevate and secure your brand with professional logo design services from BlakSheep Creative. Our expert team can help you create a distinctive and memorable logo that accurately represents your brand and stands out in the marketplace. Contact BlakSheep Creative today to start designing a logo to set your business apart and make a lasting impression. Fill out the form to get started today:

Red, White, and Blue – Symbolizing Strength and the American Dream

According to the first search result from TRUiC’s Fence Company Logo Generator[1], popular colors for fence company logos include red, white, and blue.

These colors are often associated with strength, reliability, and patriotism, making them an excellent choice for a company involved in construction and providing security solutions like fences.

Exploring Other Options

While the red, white, and blue combination is commonly used, exploring other options is always good. The second search result from 99designs suggests working with a professional designer to create a standout fence company logo[2]. A professional designer can help you come up with unique color combinations that align with your brand’s message and identity.

Customization and Design Trends

The fourth search result from DesignCrowd emphasizes the importance of customization in logo design and how it plays a crucial role in choosing the right colors for your fence company logo[4]. Whether you work with a global community of designers or opt for a DIY approach, understanding graphic design trends and color theory can significantly enhance your logo’s impact.

Consider Your Brand’s Message

When choosing colors for your fence company logo, it’s crucial to consider your brand’s message and values. Are you aiming for a modern and innovative image, or does your brand reflect traditional and reliable services? Colors can evoke emotions and influence how your audience perceives your business. Speaking of colors, we LOVE the use of purple in this Louisiana fence company’s logo. Geaux Tigers!

Eco-Friendly and Durable Outdoor Graphics

While not directly related to logo colors, the fifth search result from FenceScreen Inc. provides an exciting technology for branding your fence and outdoor space[5]. They offer an eco-friendly digital print-on technology using MAXFlex ink, which ensures vibrant and long-lasting graphics for your fence screen. This technology can be a branding tool for your fence company’s outdoor advertising needs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the best colors for your fence company logo should align with your brand’s identity and message. Red, white, and blue are popular choices, symbolizing strength and the American Dream. However, exploring other options and considering working with a professional designer to create a unique and impactful logo is essential. 

Understanding graphic design trends, color theory, and the emotions associated with different colors can help you make an informed decision. Ultimately, a well-designed and thoughtfully colored logo can contribute significantly to your fence company’s overall branding and online presence.

Additionally, to ensure your logo’s uniqueness and protect it from misuse, it’s crucial to understand the importance of trademarking your logo. Learn more about this vital step in our article The Crucial Importance of Trademarking Your Logo.

Ready to create a standout fence company logo that leaves a lasting impression on your customers?

Let BlakSheep Creative, the experienced digital marketing agency with over 20 years of helping small businesses grow their online presence, design the perfect logo for your brand. Our skilled designers will work closely with you to understand your vision, values, and target audience, ensuring your logo reflects your unique identity.

Don’t settle for a generic logo! Contact us today, and let’s embark on a creative journey together to craft a logo that symbolizes strength, reliability, and the American Dream, setting your fence company apart from the competition. Your logo is the face of your business, and we’re here to make it shine.

Fill out the form below to schedule a consultation and unlock your brand’s full potential with a professionally designed fence company logo!

While this may be an excellent way for graphic design beginners to get started, it’s not worth it for businesses that want a professional logo.

In this article, we’ll look at seven reasons why creating a professional business logo with Canva should be avoided at all costs.

Canva Logo Problems

“Don’t create a company logo with Canva; it’s not worth it.” This is a warning that graphic designers hear in graphic design forums and at conferences.

Some of the words used to describe this issue are ‘risky,’ ‘unprofessional,’ and ’embarrassing.’

While this free graphic design software is popular among amateur designers, it’s simply not a professional choice for businesses.

Why?

Lean in for this one.

A Canva logo isn’t even a logo.

Wait? What? Why?

Keep reading to find out.

Here are seven reasons why you should avoid creating your company logo with Canva:

Your Logo isn’t Unique.

Remember when we said that a Canva logo isn’t even a logo? Here’s why:

With templates being available to literally anyone on the planet, without too much customization of your own, any of your designs can look just like anyone else’s who may be using the same templates.

For example, the templates are all very similar in style.

They usually have a minimalistic and flat aesthetic that doesn’t stand out or make your logo unique.

Remember, your company logo is your brand’s identity.

If it looks like everyone else, your company won’t stand out as unique or professional either. 

Watch this:

Let’s take a common logo that we know was created in Canva:

Now let’s drop it into Google’s Image Search:

Do you see what we’re talking about?

Remember, your logo is what you’re sending out into the world, so it should be something that makes your company stand apart.

Consider this:

• In 1997, the British Broadcasting Channel created their logo, which cost about $180,000 (a huge deal back then!)
• In 2000, BP rebranded, and according to The Daily Telegraph, paid a whopping £4.6 million (6,266,557) just to design the logo.
• In 2008, Pepsi spent $1,000,000 in a logo redesign.
• In 2012, The Olympics committee in London spent $625,000 to have their logo designed.

While we realize that these are extreme cases, it shows the importance of a good logo for your brand. We didn’t put images of the logos as a test. Close your eyes and try to envision the logos. 

See?

A well-designed logo will stand out and make your company unique.

Canva’s templates just won’t do that for you- they’ll make your logo look like everyone else’s.

Let’s talk about design aesthetics.

Your Logo is Unprofessional

A professional logo has the right amount of visual elements to make it look polished and aesthetically pleasing. Canva is very minimalist, meaning there are little-to-no shadows, textures, or gradients in a template (although these things can be added manually).

You know when you see a logo, and it looks like a kindergartener designed it?

That’s because those logos are usually created in Canva. They’re too simple, with little to no professional design elements added on top of the template that would make them look polished.

And when your company creates its logo using templates from this free graphic software, it’s like you’re sending out a kindergartener to represent your company.

The purpose of creating a logo is to identify your unique brand & business, but when thousands of people are using the same template-based Canva logo design, it completely defeats the entire purpose of a logo.

This will make any business look unprofessional and amateurish, which is the exact opposite of what they want when they pay for a logo designer.

The graphic design problems with using Canva.

While you may be tempted to use the graphic design software that is free and online, it’s important to remember that if something seems too good to be true, then it usually is.

Canva has been offering a cheap alternative for graphic designers who want an easy logo creation process, but this has led to many problems.

Limited Customization Options

Some features of Adobe Illustrator (the industry standard), such as the ability to resize and really manipulate text, are not available in Canva.

Canva is not the best for complex graphics. If you need an intricate logo design that includes textured backgrounds or symbols with multiple layers, then Canva may not be your first choice.

Limited Choice of Fonts

Canva is limited to a small selection of fonts, which includes some outdated ones. Further, the available fonts are not well matched for different uses. For example, web fonts and sans serif designs would be more appropriate than Times New Roman or Cambria in many cases because they’re easier on the eyes.

We’ve also learned (the hard way) that it’s difficult for brand continuity. Most of the fonts on Canva aren’t available as web fonts, so it can prove difficult if you’re trying to match your brand and web typography.

You Can’t Trademark Your Logo.

One of the biggest reasons to avoid using Canva is that you won’t be able to trademark your logo. You can trademark a word or phrase if it’s distinctive and not widely used, but when one company designs their logo with this software, they’re at risk of infringing on another company’s copyright as well- even if both companies are in different industries.

Check out the image below, taken directly from Canva:

This is because the minimalist style and design elements that are used for all Canva templates make it hard to distinguish between one logo and another when they’re placed side-by-side. It’s not easy, but a professional logo designer will create logos with unique designs that still stand out against other company logos.

Using Canva for your logo could cause you legal issues down the road.

You Can’t Export True Vector Format.

Canva is not a professional-level design software, so anything you produce cannot be exported as an actual vector.

This means your logo will become pixelated when you try to scale it and print on larger materials — usually, it becomes very blurry or illegible.

Although Canva allows you to download JPEG, PNG, and SVG versions of your logo, the SVGs won’t import into Adobe Illustrator, so if you need to have any tweaks performed by a professional, you’ll likely end up having to get the whole thing recreated.

Exports are Low Quality

This reason piggybacks on the reason above.

A typical Canva logo is 500px X 500px and is a raster image. If you need your logo sized for higher resolution projects, social media marketing efforts, or your website design, the export will be pixelated and blurry.

You Have to Adhere to Canva’s Licensing Agreement

Canva’s licensing agreement states that your logos cannot contain elements from Canva’s image library – either free or paid. The only elements you can use are basic shapes and lines, the default fonts (free), and pre-made logo layouts.

Note: If you upload images sourced online, they have copyright claims belonging to their owner/creator; you must abide by these conditions unless given express approval in writing to use such material outside this restriction.

By creating your brand’s logo on Canva, you open yourself up to legal troubles as well as a board of directors or CEO who will want to know where they spent their marketing budget.

If you’d like to learn more about the legal ramifications of using Canva for your brand, here’s an excellent article from Creative Genius Law, 

A Canva Logo isn’t a Logo At All.

Consider the following from Investopedia, “Logos have become an integral part of companies’ brand identities. A widely and instantly recognized logo is a valuable intangible asset for a corporation and is thus trademarked for protection in the majority of situations.”

Did you catch that?

Trademarked?

But you can’t trademark a Canva “logo.”

See the problem?

Conclusion

We hope that this article has shown you why you should (please) avoid using Canva for your business logo at all costs.

If you want to create a high-quality logo for your business, don’t use Canva. The company’s lack of vector options and trademarking capabilities make it difficult to produce quality logos that will last as long as the business does.

You need professional designers on hand who can work with Adobe Illustrator or other design software programs if you ever have any changes made to your logo in the future.

Using a more experienced designer, you’ll be able to protect your brand identity from infringement by designing logos with unique designs that are easy to recognize when placed next to others. Let us know what we can do for you – our team is ready and waiting. Be sure to check out some of our recent logo designs at the bottom of this page.

Contact us today to get your logo design project started by completing the form below or calling us at 225.505.3834