Here’s why a lotus flower is the worst logo you could choose for your yoga business.

Branding doesn’t equal a logo. You’ll know this if you’ve read my other blogs or followed me on Instagram for any length of time. You’ll also know I categorically never design logos with lotus flowers, yoga figures or any cliche yoga industry visuals.

Check out my portfolio for the proof that you don’t need to go down this route to build a successful business.

Branding is defined as:

“A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers” (American Marketing Association).

You can distill this into a way to set you apart in your customer/target audience’s eyes from other providers offering the same services as you. In other words - so you don’t look like other yoga teachers or wellbeing professionals.

If that’s why branding exists, then why the fuck do so many yoga businesses have essentially the exact same logo?

We’ve all seen some variation of this logo many many times. Sometimes it’s a flower on its own, sometimes it’s a figure on its own…. it’s all singing the exact same song. When the reality is every yoga teacher is totally different.

I’d say in the region of 50-60% of the accounts who follow me on Instagram (around 500 or so) have a variation of this exact logo as their branding.

So, if the point of branding is to stand out - why is everyone using the same visuals?

The problem comes when we think about HOW people perceive yoga. We have a big image problem - people think its for thin, white, bendy people not for everyone and often these businesses use visuals like the one on the left here.

We don’t help that perception when all we do is select the same tired visuals time and time again, that reinforce stereotypes and don’t do anything to visually set our own unique lenses apart.

The other side of this is the perception that a logo “has to show what you do”. It doesn’t.

A logo is there to give an impression, a feel and a vibe - it doesn’t have to be a literal image of what you do. Am I a lioness that shoots lightning bolts out of my mouth? Obviously not, although that would be cool. But I do work with strong females (you could say lionesses) who need to shout about the work they do (lightning bolts).

It can be suggestive and communicate an idea, mood or feel so people capture that additional information easily and physically see that you are different and your approach isn’t the misconception they have in their head.

Canva, Fiverr & lazy designers doing jobs on the cheap aren’t doing us any favours here either.

Canva templates are always going to be generic and not unique - they’re mass market designs. Anything there is literally being used by thousands upon thousands of businesses out there (never mind the format limitations here).

Fiverr and your local graphic designer (not a brand strategist) doing a job on the cheap also aren’t going to be designing with care, aren’t familiar with the industry - so they’re only ever going to trot out cliche stuff too. I know this as I have SO many clients who come to me after paying a cheap designer with no industry exposure needing their brand suites fully redoing.

Revisiting the purpose of branding again, it’s about setting yourself and your business apart from everyone else in the wellness space.

That is why using a lotus flower is the worst thing you can do.

If that’s you, it’s time to get a rebrand booked. Get the ball rolling here!