Mistakes To Avoid When Creating A Company Trademark

Your company trademark is more important than you might think on first reflection. From McDonalds’ golden arches to Microsoft’s multi-coloured window and beyond, every successful business has created a company trademark that sticks in the memory of consumers.

A lot of careful planning needs to go into creating your logo, but that doesn’t mean you should start tearing your hair out in frustration as each new idea ends up in the bin. You’ll get there eventually.

Your company trademark is more important than you might think on first reflection.

DON’T MAKE IT TOO BUSY

You could call this the golden rule: Don’t make your logo too confusing! As we said in the opening paragraph, iconic companies such as McDonald’s hit upon a simple design which has barely changed since it first made its way into the world.

There are hundreds of companies out there with trademarks that make no sense whatsoever. And if people are confused by that, then how will they make sense of your business?

DON’T JUST REDESIGN ANOTHER LOGO

We understand the temptation to take an existing trademark from a rival company or one you admire and just remodel it with a few personal touches. You’re overworked enough as it is running your business 24/7. But take our advice:  don’t do it! People will be able to spot the similarities, and will immediately class you as unoriginal and just a little bit lazy. And that is not an impression you want them to have!

DON’T GO AHEAD WITHOUT ROAD-TESTING FIRST

Before you charge headlong into revamping your image with a fancy shop sign or a banner image on your website, don’t forget to ask people what they think about the new logo. That could be your friends, family or loyal customers. Take on board what they say and then remodel the design. You don’t want to spend all that money and then find out that no one likes it.

DON’T PROCRASTINATE

With a million different things going on at work, this can be one of the tasks that gets shunted to the bottom of the list. In that case, make sure that you don’t waste time when brainstorming ideas. Set aside half an hour each day to perfect the design, or you’ll find that it never gets done. The more time you spend on it, the less time you will have to become worried.

DON’T THINK YOU’RE TOO SMALL FOR A QUALITY LOGO

You could be selling uniforms like customized t-shirts, or running a small computer repair business. You shouldn’t think that you’re too small a business for people to care about your fancy new trademark. Remember: every successful business started from square one, just like yours. So why shouldn’t you want to draw peoples’ attention? It’s your right!

We hope you have enjoyed reading our guide. Who knows, today could be the day that your trademark gets the revamp it deserves!

James Archer was writing on behalf of Vistaprint.