We all know that branding is important. The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” is a good idea, but when it comes down to it, that is the absolute first thing we do. If a book LOOKS awesome then I’m gonna pick it up and read the back. The same goes for most products I buy. When products are well designed from the product itself to the label, odds are, I’m gonna choose it. The design of a product can make a novice group look like some of the best professionals out there. These were thoughts going through my head when deciding how to brand Adventure Club.
When creating the logo, our designer took the idea from the internet. She took the logo from a park and modified it. My time in the Tech Bar has taught me about the copy right laws that exist, and how there are a lot of them. So after diving deep into Creative Commons at work it dawned on me, we probably cannot use this design. Especially since we will be using it to make a profit on our apparel. I talked with people in ITS and we figured out that I would have to contact the park and send them our new logo. Only once the park saw our modified logo, could I know for sure if Adventure Club had the rights to use it. The park could have said that I have to give them credit for their work, which would get complicated when applying the logos to t-shirts, hats and the like. Or they could have said that I couldn’t use the design at all and then I would have spent a lot of time on a dead end.
When it came down to it, creating our own design was the best route for Adventure Club. The designer is an art major and she was able to create a wonderful logo for our group. I learned a lot from this process, mainly that when it comes to using pictures off of the internet, check the copyright laws first. There are a lot of different places where you can find images that a completely okay to use! They state what their copyright requirements are and how you get to use them. One such site is Pixabay, there are many different categories to help you find exactly what you need. Another place to help you navigate Creative Commons is Google Images! There is a button called tools, once you click on that, look for usage rights. There you can click on exactly what works for you. In my situation I would have needed to click “Labeled f0r reuse with modification.” There are many other options for you to click to specify your needs. So, next time you plan on using a picture or graphic for your club or a class, make sure you know the rights behind the picture!
All images used in this article, except for the top Adventure Club one, were found on Pixabay and are all labeled for commercial reuse 🙂
By Ingrid Timm
