Brand Design – Dionne Design https://dionnedesign.com We create luxury, standout brands and websites for independent business owners. Mon, 21 Jul 2025 17:18:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://dionnedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-DD_favicon-32x32.png Brand Design – Dionne Design https://dionnedesign.com 32 32 Why Using Canva for your Logo is a Bad Idea​ https://dionnedesign.com/why-using-canva-for-your-logo-design-is-a-bad-idea/ Mon, 21 Jul 2025 16:32:35 +0000 https://dionnedesign.com/?p=47341

Why Using Canva for your Logo Design is a Bad Idea

First, I’m not one of those designers that hates Canva. I think it’s a great tool for business owners, especially if they’re independently run and don’t have an in-house designer. And I use it myself all the time, mostly for social media graphics and Reels. It’s accessible, intuitive, and packed with helpful features that make day-to-day content creation easier.

But when it comes to logo and brand identity design, Canva simply isn’t the right tool. And if you’re building a business that’s meant to last, it’s important to understand why.

1. You risk looking like everyone else

Most Canva logos are built from pre-made icons, fonts, and layout templates—elements that anyone else can use too. That means the logo you just spent an hour crafting might look nearly identical to someone else’s. Or worse, be exactly the same with different text.

A great logo should be unmistakably yours. It should reflect your brand’s personality, purpose, and positioning—not just follow a popular design trend.

Cute! But not unique.

2. Without proper file types, you’re limited in how you can use your logo.

Canva doesn’t export true vector files (like .EPS or fully editable .AI files), which are essential for professional logo usage. Without a vector version, your logo may appear pixelated or blurry when scaled up for signage, print materials, or even high-resolution digital use.

A professional designer will always provide a full logo suite—including vector files—so your brand looks sharp and consistent everywhere, from business cards to billboards.

3. You don’t own your logo

Here’s something many business owners don’t realize and it’s really scary: You don’t legally own a Canva-made logo in the way you might think.

Because Canva elements are licensed for use—not sold exclusively—you can’t trademark a logo that includes stock icons, fonts, or layout templates from their library. That means if you ever try to legally register your Canva logo (especially as your business grows), it’s likely to be rejected. And if someone else starts using a similar design, you won’t have the legal grounds to stop them. That’s a major risk if you’re serious about protecting your brand.

4. A logo without brand strategy is pointless

A logo isn’t just a pretty graphic—it’s the distilled expression of your brand’s story, values, and vision. It’s built with your business goals, audience, and competitive landscape in mind.

That level of depth and intentionality simply isn’t possible with drag-and-drop tools. You need a process, not a template. A professional designer is also a strategist who applies years of experience to your brand and creates a custom, strategic brand identity.

If you want a brand with longevity, invest in custom brand design 

Investing in a custom logo and brand identity may feel like a leap, but it’s one of the most valuable decisions you can make for your business. When done right, your brand will not only look beautiful—it will work hard for you: attracting the right people, building trust, and growing with your business.

If you’re ready to trade templates for something truly tailored, I’d love to help. Fill out the Client Inquiry form and let’s get to work!

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Where to Use Your Brand Identity
]]> Where to Use Your Brand Identity https://dionnedesign.com/where-to-use-your-brand-identity/ https://dionnedesign.com/where-to-use-your-brand-identity/#respond Sun, 15 Jan 2023 15:35:44 +0000 https://dionnedesign.com/?p=37637

You’ve invested in a new brand identity, now put it to good use!

If you’re like me, you remember to update your website and business cards but then months later you realized your social profiles, newsletter, etc have the old branding.

So to help you out, here is a list of areas to check that your logo and brand colors are updated:

Website

Your logo and brand colors should be fully incorporated into your website. You can use your logo in the header, footer, and various spots on your site to create customer touchpoint.

link in bio

If you use a link in bio for your social media, don't forget it! This is a hidden page of your website and can be easily overlooked.

social media

Every social media profile image, banner if it has one should be updated with your new brand identity.

Google Business

Often overlooked, Google Business is a valuable place for your business to show up online. Here you can update your logo by adding it as an image.

Email Marketing

With a new brand identity, you should update the logo if it appears as well as the email colors, banner, or even the layout.

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banners and signs

If your business is brick and mortar, signage is a powerful identifier of your business. Before rebranding, consider the cost of updating your signage. If you present at trade shows or craft fairs, update your brand on your banners. This may also include signage on your vehicle.

product packaging

This is a no brainer. If you are selling a product, your brand is integral to your product packaging.

print materials

Your brand should be evident across all customer touchpoints including business cards, invoices, letterhead, postcards, brochures, etc.

promotional items

75% of customers are more likely to remember a company if they’ve received some free promotional items from them. So consider putting your logo on a pen, tote bag, mug, or shirt!

business uniforms

If you have employees representing your business, build recognition and trust with your customers by having employees wear a branded shirt, hat or other item.

Your brand identity  is a powerful tool to building your business, if you use it consistently and strategically. Allow it to do it’s work by using it across all customer touch points.

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]]> https://dionnedesign.com/where-to-use-your-brand-identity/feed/ 0 Keeping Your Social Media On Brand https://dionnedesign.com/keeping-your-social-media-on-brand/ https://dionnedesign.com/keeping-your-social-media-on-brand/#respond Wed, 26 Aug 2020 14:00:49 +0000 https://dionnedesign.com/?p=30643

Just as on your website and print materials need to be on brand, your social media accounts need to project a strong visual brand identity as well.

Here are five areas to pay attention to when considering the branding of your social media accounts.

1. Choosing an account name

Get off on the right foot by making sure that all of your social media platforms use the same name or a reasonable variation. It can be confusing for customers if they find you on Instagram with one name but then search on Twitter and can’t find you because you have a different name there.

Granted, competition for social media handles can be tight. If your company name is not available, consider using abbreviations like “inc” or “co” at the end.  Try to eliminate unnecessary periods or underscores between words or unnecessary numbers at the end (coffeeshop_783). Keep your name simple and easy to remember.

2. Customizing your social media

Logo: Your logo or a variation of it can be used as your profile image. Here we see that drinks company Kimino uses their logo as their profile image.

Color palette: Your goal is to make your brand recognizable simply by your color palette. Kimino does this by maintaining a lot of white space to keep it clean.

Bio and boilerplate: While there is room for variation due to word count or functionality of each platform, your bio should be essentially the same across all social media platforms.

3. Aesthetic

What you choose to post should to follow a consistent aesthetic. The same colors and fonts of your brand should be woven through whatever you post on social media. The goal is that over time your customer will be able to recognize your posts, without even seeing your logo or handle.

Tip: Create graphic templates in Canva, Illustrator, or Photoshop so that the same types of posts have a consistent look. 

4. Voice/tone

The tone in which you write your social media captions and posts is also important. The tone can be professional, casual, cheeky, educational, trendy, etc. Whatever voice you choose, it’s important to speak like a human being. Writing too formally can be a turn-off for many followers.

If you have several persons creating content for your social media, you should give special consideration to the tone. For instance, are they “clients” or “customers”, “team members” or “employees”? Determining this terminology in advance will keep your writing voice consistent.

Along with that, make sure that your tone is not one-sided. Rather than solely promoting your product or service, stay open and conversational in your writing. Encourage feedback from your audience by asking questions and responding to their answers.

5. Images

Whether you are using stock photos or originals, the photographs you choose should still represent your brand. They should be in the same color palette and reflect the mood of your brand.

Again Kimino does a great job with this. Their colors cheerful, poetic, and the image style has the look of vintage film.

Keeping your branding consistent across all of your social media platforms– as well as within each platform– will maintain a professional and inviting aesthetic which will draw customers to you.

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]]> https://dionnedesign.com/keeping-your-social-media-on-brand/feed/ 0 Do Small Businesses Need Branding? https://dionnedesign.com/do-small-businesses-need-branding/ https://dionnedesign.com/do-small-businesses-need-branding/#respond Thu, 12 Apr 2018 16:56:05 +0000 http://dionnedesign.com/?p=9301

Do small businesses need brand design?

Many established independent businesses have grown organically so when owners hear words like “identity” and “branding” they can think that applies to someone else. But in truth, no matter the size of your business, you need to think about your brand.  In fact, whether you know it or not, you already have a brand.

What is a brand?

There are a myriad books, articles, and blog posts written on this question but, at the core, branding is how your business is perceived by your customer.

If you are an established business, the public at large has an opinion of you, and if you do good work, hopefully that opinion is positive.  So why might a small business need branding done by a designer?

An established business may want to attract new business and compete in a new online-driven marketplace.  While your faithful customers know you, you need to communicate to new customers who you are and why they should work with you.

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And if you are a new business just getting started, you don’t have the word-of-mouth reputation built over years so branding is essential to communicating who you are and what you can do. What is involved in a branding and how can a designer help you?

Brand Components: Visual Identity

Your visual identity  includes your logo, any signs on your building, and print materials such as brochures, business cards, or postcards which you use to promote your business.  If you are selling a product, it also includes product design and packaging.

And if you are a service-based business, branding may include apparel such as uniforms.  Some businesses don’t require a uniform but restrict the colors worn; for instance, a salon may requires all of their employees to wear black.

Online, your branding should be carried through to your website design and social media.

Brand Components: Message

Equal to how you look, what you say and how you say it, is important. Your tagline and the copy you use on your website, brochures, and on social media all give an impression about your business.  The tone can be friendly and casual or formal and professional, depending on how you want to be perceived.

The content and tone of your messaging should be cohesive with the visual component of your brand.

Brand Design for Independent Businesses

If you are an independent business and you decide that you want to invest in some new branding, look for a designer who will take the time to understand your business as it already is and your goals for the future. Talk to them about what components of visual design you need, i.e. website, logo, submarks, brochures, etc.  Allow a few revision rounds to make sure that your new design feels comfortable. Then put it to good use!

I’ve seen small business owners shy away from embracing their new look out of fear of what their established customer base will think, as if they’re “trying to be” something other than what they are. But don’t let that fear stop you. You are allowed to grow.

Once you have established your brand identity, be consistent in using your new elements and, in time, this will pay off by recognition by new customers and acceptance by old customers, growing your business.

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