Creation commodityth character is a serious and difficult task for any company. The sign should be simple and understandable, easy to hear and remembered for a long time. In order for the consumer to be able to distinguish products from analogues of another manufacturer, the design of the trademark must be unique and eye-catching, capable of protecting the company’s brand from counterfeiting. That is, when creating a trademark design, it is important not only to take into account all the company’s requirements and wishes for its design, but also to study the designations of its closest competitors and their products.
It is important to remember that a trademark is the business card of a company, and therefore the participation of a qualified designer in its development team is extremely necessary, who, when creating it, takes into account both patent and legal requirements for its design, as well as advertising and psychological ones.
Among the patent legal requirements, its protectability should be highlighted - the mark must have novelty and distinctiveness.
The sign of novelty of a mark is closely related to the concept of priority and is determined by the date of the application for registration filed with Rospatent. And its possession of distinctiveness indicates that the trademark is not confusingly similar to or identical to other marks, and therefore does not violate the rights of third parties.
It should be clarified that identical marks are signs that coincide in all elements with other designations and at the same time relate to the same class of goods. And confusingly similar marks are not the same, they have differences, but are so similar to each other that they mislead consumers, preventing them from identifying the goods or services of a bona fide manufacturer. The degree of similarity is also significantly influenced by the ratio of matching and mismatching elements and their meaning in the composition.
It is important to remember that a trademark is aimed primarily at a potential buyer of a product, and therefore the assessment of its similarity should be considered not only from the position, for example, of specialized specialists, but from the position of a consumer who does not have professional skills and knowledge in this area.
Advertising and psychological requirements include the individualizing and advertising functions of a trademark, thanks to which the consumer creates stable positive associative connections with the manufacturing company and its products, since its design is created for many years and is aimed at forming a stable idea of the manufacturer and the quality of the products, which helps to increase their recognition in the market in case of enduring interest in them among the consumer. If these conditions are met, the mark may acquire the status of well-known.
That is, the designation must be original, modern, aesthetic, understandable, concise and not overloaded with a large number of other elements, easy to read, remember, not cause negative emotions among consumers and be suitable for long-term use even if the variety of goods increases.
We should not forget that for a verbal trademark, euphony and pronunciability are important, and for a visual trademark, not only the motif/plot, but also the color scheme, which makes the designation more original, attractive and enhances its distinctiveness. In order to achieve an emotional response from the consumer, the design solution must be based on a certain plot, created by an original combination of colors, lines, and images.
For example, for a female audience it is more correct to use elegant and light fonts and unusual shapes. For companies that produce cars or spare parts, it is necessary to develop a trademark that conveys power, energy, speed, strength.
We should not forget about the importance of the direction of lines, symbols, and images. According to research, right-oriented symbols have advantages over left-oriented ones, and symbols with curved lines have a more favorable effect on the consumer’s visual perception than those consisting of straight lines.
Adding national motifs, historical features of the region or established long-term traditions of the manufacturing company, known to a wide range of consumers, can also give the mark uniqueness and originality, and its influence on the emotional sphere of the consumer, his sensory perception and/or the formation of sexual associations (for example, the perfume “Temptation for Women”) or the desire to be the first (trademark No. 916685 “Victory” for the airline) can be the key to its success not only in domestic but also in international markets.
That is, when creating a trademark design, many different factors are taken into account that influence the perception of a potential consumer and his psychophysiological state. For example, it is necessary to take into account its ability to highlight elements of one color in a sign against the background of another, which may be determined by their shape, size, degree of brightness and/or contrast with the background, their texture, etc. It is also important to take into account the temporal characteristics of visual perception. For example, the time threshold of eye sensitivity depends on the intensity and size of the signal (that is, the influence of background brightness and the size of designation elements), and the adaptation time (the ability to change one’s characteristics and adapt to changed conditions) depends on the time of day and the psychophysiological state of a person.
In conclusion, I would like to add that creating a trademark design is a serious and responsible task for any company, and therefore requires the involvement of highly qualified specialists, whose coordinated work can provide not only protection from unscrupulous competitors, but also strengthen the company’s position in the market and increase consumer confidence.
