Meghan Markle recently debuted her new lifestyle brand, As Ever, but eagle-eyed viewers have noticed some design parallels in the brand's intricate emblem, sparking a fresh creative controversy for the Duchess. It follows a rocky debut for the brand after its original name 'American Riviera Orchard' was rejected for a trademark application due to design inconsistencies in the handwritten calligraphic wordmark.
While there's no right way to design a logo, creating an original emblem is key to building an iconic identity (and avoiding any unnecessary design disputes). Now the Duchess' new brand is facing fresh contention from an unlikely contender – a small town in Mallorca, Spain – due to the emblem's striking similarities to its historic coat of arms.
The As Ever logo features a pair of hummingbirds framing a palm tree – a design that bears a striking resemblance to the Porreres coat of arms. The Majorcan town's mayor claims she doesn't want the historic coat of arms to be "perverted" stating it "belongs exclusively to Porreres". While the town intends to ask the Duchess to remove the emblem from her website, The Sun reports that it may not be able to press legal charges due to financial constraints.
A closer inspection of the two logos reveals some minor discrepancies such as contrasting borders and colour schemes. While the As Ever emblem features two hummingbirds, the Porreres coat of arms depicts two swallows (or pigeons – historians have been divided for centuries). The Duchess' emblem has a more intricate, minimalist aesthetic yet the composition of the two logos is undoubtedly similar and with Porrerers coat of arms allegedly dating back to 1370, it's safe to say the town's heritage design predates the As Ever emblem by a great deal.
While it's currently unclear how the design controversy will be settled, it's not the first logo dispute we've seen recently (and it inevitably won't be the last). For more design conflicts, take a look at Logan Paul's unconventional 'solution' to Prime's trademark battle with Lionel Messi and if you missed it, check out our initial reaction to Meghan Markle's classy rebrand.
