Using a well-known font as part of your logotype associates your business with another brand. For most of your audience, the association may happen on a purely subconscious level. Regardless, it’s still there.
A major goal of branding is to give your company a unique identity that your customers can engage. Your logo is a part of that. It’s wrapped up into who you are and what you stand for. Communicating this message is difficult enough without associating your business up with another.
In an ideal world, you’d have a design team create a font just for you. You’d use it for your logotype and all would be peachy. However, creating your own font can cost thousands of dollars.
Huge corporations assume this kind of cost. They can. They have it in their marketing budget. For most small to medium businesses, the expense just isn’t realistic.
In most cases, the best alternative option is to use a font that isn’t already connected to another business - and place the emphasis of your identity on a logomark.
For example, Coca Cola has a timeless script. With its old school vibe and slightly edgy twist, a lot of people gravitate to it. If you weren’t thinking about the fact that it’s Coca Cola’s logotype, you might want to select it for your business.
Suddenly, you have put your business in competition with one of the oldest and most successful business in America. Even if your business isn’t associated with the food or service industry, you’ve still created a situation where you’re competing for your audience’s attention and memory span with Coca Cola - not including a sticky copyright situation.
Long story short, if a big brand’s created its own font, don’t use it. Think about why its qualities appeal to you and build your own identity. It will be worth it in the long run.
