In starting a business, logo creation is part of the initial process. The logo is part of branding, and this visual component is needed to create a trustworthy brand and business.
You, an excited entrepreneur, immediately call in your reliable graphic designer and draft the logo for your upcoming venture. But, wait! Before you finalize the logo and proceed to trademark registration, have you wondered if it is unique?
“Why should our logo have to be unique?” It avoids confusion on the part of your customer and escapes the hassle of future potential legal trouble. Imagine if your logo was associated with a lawsuit that is unrelated to your business. You also might receive a letter 6 months to a year after branding everything from an attorney ordering a cease-and-desist for trademark infringement. Think about the damage it can make to your newly opened business.
While it is close to impossible to have a 100%, one-of-a-kind logo design, you can at least take some steps to lock up that the logo design you have is only yours.
Check out these tips to help you validate the authenticity of your logo.
Google: Reverse Image Search
It is the easiest way to check if your logo design already exists. But lately, Google changed this option to Google Lens. It somehow provides a limited range of information yet it is still helpful. You can consider installing an extension such as Search By Image that works fine the way your browser does its job. This allows you to choose an image, drop it into the search bar and look if the image exists somewhere else.
Some key points to consider:
- Use a solid background to make sure that it is not perplexing the search algorithm.
- Attempt to separate your icon from the typography for better results.
- Experiment with different logo variations (in25 color and grayscale)
Look at Generic Sites and Stock Images
The first one is an easy-peasy way. This is more time-consuming. If you have a team that can pass as a detective, better delegate this task to them. To make things easier, sites like 99Designs and Dribble have hundreds of logos that are professionally designed. Try to use the search bar by typing in keywords that best describe your logo. For example, the “house logo” will show multiple designs, and you can search through them.
Searching for Logos in a Certain Industry or Region
First of all, this is a hit-and-miss type of search. It requires some hindsight for entrepreneurs who have had their logo for a while. Better ask: did your designer get their inspiration from a fellow designer or in a certain region? The designer must have thorough research on the industry or the business, and he may get inspiration from an industry or a region. Identifying who can be the direct competitors in the industry can also be helpful. Then, you can search from there.
Final Point
In essence, logo designing can be hypothetically easy. But in reality, there are still important and detailed steps that you have to take. You need to protect your business from day one, and make sure that your logo is as unique as possible. Doing this diligent work at the beginning will save you lots of headaches down the road!
Here is the hard part: In the event, you discover a ‘twin’ of your logo design, don’t rush to a conclusion yet. Take a step back. Think. Talk to your designer as professionally as possible and come up with a solution. If you need help crafting an updated logo in order to make it yours, schedule a discovery call with our team!
