Should you use Canva for your business logo?

Should you use Canva or Etsy to make your logo? You’re about to get a designers (me) opinion and experience with using Canva and Etsy premade logos for a small business. 

The Convenience of Canva and Etsy Premade Logos

When you go into Canva and type in “logos”, it comes up with all of these templates that you can use for your logo.You can change the color and change the name and make it fit your business. You can also add some things to it, As far as Etsy logos, you will find a lot of different businesses that offer logo design or custom logo design. A lot of these businesses make it custom by giving you some type of questionnaire that you’re going to answer about the vision that you have for your logo, and then they’ll offer you some revisions on the logo and make it to where you love it.

But here’s what happened when I used Canva for my logo. 

Let me start off by saying I have been there! My first logo for my business was a Canva logo. I am a brand and web designer now, but I used to only offer website design.

During this time. my focus was not on logo and branding, it was just offering websites to my clients So a lot of times they either already had their logo or, a lot of them did actually go to Etsy to get it made pretty quickly, and then I can just put it on their website.

My main knowledge was on website design and not on branding like it is now. My first logo for my website was from Canva. I went into Canva, I typed in “logo”, I typed in my information, I made my logo, and I was happy with it. I made it the colors I wanted, the font I wanted, and I put it on my website. I have been there before.

I think that it’s a great starting point. I am all about you getting started with your business and not being held back from small things such as  “Oh man, I don’t have a logo. I can’t get started” or “I’ve got to find someone to make it. And it’s too expensive”. 

I think that going to Canva or going to those Etsy businesse is a great way to get started. 

If it’s something that’s holding you back from getting started, you definitely should go do it. I encourage you to do it. It’s a lot cheaper than investing in branding. 

If that’s something that’s not in your budget at first, like it was not in my budget at first, and it gets you started with something rather than you starting with nothing or just not getting started at all.

Recognizing the Need for Growth

These types of logos should be temporary. For me it was temporary because it HAD to be temporary. Why? Because eventually I had to move on because I wanted to grow. This same thing is going to happen to you if you want to grow.

 If you see that you’re not growing you’re kind of saying stagnant and not not making any revenue, this could be one of the contributing factors as to why.  

So these logos are a great starting point, but I want you to have in the back of your mind that it should be something that’s temporary and it’s just to get you started. 

This could mean that you’re going to start off with this logo, but, you’re going to be saving up to eventually move on to a more professional logo and full branding. Be sure to have that in your mind and make sure that’s one of your goals. 

The Quality of your Logo 

The quality of Canva and Etsy logos are one of the reasons why you’re going to have to eventually move on if you want to grow. With Canva/Etsy logos you’re not going to be able to size it up or down without it losing its quality. It might turn out a little bit blurry if you blow it up too big, or it might lose quality if you shrink it down smaller.

There’s a lot of businesses out there who sell merch and other products. Or you might be a business that needs some type of business card and collateral. You can lose the quality of how it looks on Canva or the Etsy file that they gave you. It can also lose quality when you actually get it printed on these products (business cards, products, boxes, etc).

So quality is another reason why you do have to move on from those logos. 

Showing up as a confident business owner

For me, I moved on from those logos because of the feeling that I had about my business. At first I was very excited. I felt accomplished because I thought “All right, check, that’s off the list, I can get started”. 

But eventually I started looking around and feeling like I needed to elevate. 

For example, in Facebook groups, a lot of people would say that they need a website designer or a brand designer. When I would put my website in the comments, along with other brand and website designers, I compared my website to theirs. I saw that my potential clients might be less likely to click on mine because It’s not giving off the quality that I want it to give.

That’s when I knew I had to elevate my logo into full strategic branding because I was not able to show up confidently for my business. 

So you’ll want to think about, how are you feeling? Are you feeling like it’s time to elevate? You’re not as confident to send people to your website or you’re not as confident in showing up with this logo? This means it’s time to elevate your logo.

It’s also important to think about how potential clients will feel when they come in contact with it. So again, I was thinking about my website that I was sending them to. How do they feel when they see that? Is it going to make them want to click on my website? Or is it going to make them want to go to someone else’s?

I found that I was feeling like it was making them go to other people’s websites. This is when I knew it was time to elevate. 

So whats the next step up from Canva/Etsy logos? 

As you evolve, your logo should evolve with you. 

This means that the next step from that logo is to have full branding. Full branding involves a lot of things, but it involves strategy behind your business and what your business goals are.

You’ll need to think about your target audience. What are their goals? What are their pain points? What resonates with them? What are their desires? What attracts them? You need to use all of that stuff to make your logo. 

And this doesn’t involve just your logo. Full branding means you’re your main color palette, fonts, brand patterns, and all things that you use on collateral and merch when needed.It involves a full strategy. 

The one stop shop 

I started off as just a website designer but I knew that my clients were going to need the full experience. I eventually did start coming in contact with clients who didn’t have a logo. Of course I can send them off to someone else ( one of my clients did go to Etsy for her logo and then we could put that on her website).

However,  I wanted to be able to offer this to my clients and  be a one stop shop for them to have their branding and their website. PLUS honestly your branding should come first before your website. Why? You want to build your website off of your branding because it’s going to need the strategic colors and fonts that were created from your branding. 

I wanted to be able to offer both to my clients, and be able to take them through that full transformation experience. This transformation involves going from what’s their goals, who do they want to attract, and building that into their full branding. Then taking that full branding and putting it on their website.

I have definitely evolved as a business owner. I’ve learned all about full brand strategy for making a brand. I’ve done that for myself and for my brand. It’s a full transformation for my business. 

There’s a big difference between what my logo was at the beginning and what it is now that I’ve used a full strategy behind my brand, learned about what a brand is, and how to do brand strategy.

It’s a lot of work, BUT it’s a lot of important work that you need to do in order to grow your business.

If you’re ready to elevate your business with branding visit mistandmauvestudio.com to work with me, and fill out an inquiry form.

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