5 Mistakes to Avoid When Designing Your Brand Assets
Emily Young
Designing your brand assets is the first step in protecting your brand’s intellectual property (IP). Considering IP from the start of your business journey and designing your brand is an excellent way to ensure asset protection. These brand assets might include your business logo, name, packaging, slogan, or song. To be eligible for trade mark registration, your assets must be distinctive, and a unique design can help you achieve this. This article will take you through five mistakes to avoid when designing your brand assets to help you get the most out of your IP.
1. Avoid Inconsistencies
When designing your brand assets, consistency is key. Preparing brand guidelines that everyone can follow is the easiest way to maintain consistency across all elements of your IP. Consistent branding will also make it easier to prove that your brand has an overall identity. If you are ever part of a trade mark infringement claim, consistency is crucial in proving repeated use of your brand elements over time. While it is natural to tweak your brand over time, consider having basic guidelines for your:
- brand logo;
- colour scheme; and
- fonts and typography.
2. Do Not Copy Other Brands
Failing to check that you are not copying another brand’s assets is an easy way to find yourself in hot water. Even if unintentional, you put your brand’s reputation at risk when you steal someone else’s design.
If you attempt to register a trade mark that is identical or too similar to another brand, IP Australia, Australia’s IP registration body, may prevent you from doing so. To avoid infringing on an existing trade mark, make sure you conduct a thorough search of IP Australia’s trade mark database to check for the availability of your trade mark.
3. Do Not Think Too Local
If you are a new or small business, chances are you are not even thinking about becoming an international market. However, with so much trading occurring online, thinking about your brand from an international perspective during the design process is important.
When designing your brand assets, you should ensure your branding does not alienate any potential international markets. This includes not having any of your brand elements being culturally insensitive or outright offensive. If you plan on registering your trade mark overseas, searching the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Brand Database is a good first step to check the availability of your trade mark.
4. Do Not Forget to Protect Your Brand Assets
When designing your brand assets, it is important to consider how you protect them. Ensuring that nobody is infringing on your assets is a good step. You can do this by thoroughly watching the market. As your brand becomes more established, you will need to continuously protect your brand assets and take action against infringers in order to protect your brand and reputation as a legitimate business.
5. Do Not Fail to Stand Out
A good brand can make or break your business. Designing your brand to stand out from your competitors is an excellent way to separate yourself from competitors. Registering a trade mark will provide you with exclusive legal rights to your brand and allow you to commence legal action against third parties who use your trade mark without your permission. A generic brand might make it harder for you to separate yourself from others. A unique brand is key. Trade mark legislation also requires that your trade mark is distinctive to be eligible for registration, among other requirements.
Key Takeaways
Taking steps to avoid common mistakes when designing your brand assets can be useful for your brand protection in the future. These mistakes include:
- having inconsistent branding;
- copying other brands;
- not thinking from an international perspective;
- failing to protect your brand assets; and
- not having a unique brand.
If you need legal advice for your brand’s trade mark, our experienced trade mark lawyers can assist. Call us on 1300 657 423 or complete the form on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can protect your brand’s assets by registering a trade mark. A trade mark will give you exclusive use to your brand, preventing others from using your assets for their own commercial benefit.
When designing your brand assets, there are several things you should consider. This includes having consistent branding, not copying other brands, and developing a unique brand.