Lothian and Borders Police is under fire for adopting a new logo design to make it more recognizable to the public. This Scottish police force is the 2nd largest force which serves the areas from Blackridge in the West to Newcastleton in the South and covers the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders.

Lothian will drop its existing logo design which features the traditional crest with blue and white checks Saltire or that x-shaped symbol known as St. Andrew’s Cross. It will be replaced with a more modern and simple logo which highlights its name “Lothian and Borders Police”. If you’re wondering about that weird half-curved design at the top, it’s supposed to be the combined concept of protection and Lothian’s geographical area. It will also use a new tagline, “work with us”

The controversy lies on the amount spent on the redesign. According to a news article, Lothian has spent £120,000 to avail the services of consultants and designers. Though its Deputy Chief said this is a “modest investment” to create a modern image, some police officers and branding experts find this initiative absurd and a complete waste of money.

Given these negative feedbacks, Lothian has decided to phase in the new logo slowly over the next few months so it won’t antagonize the police force.

Andrew Collinge, a national hairdressing company based on Liverpool, is going after a small salon Andrew Clifford Hairdressing in Mold for using its initials “ac” in the logo design.

According to BBC, the legal counsel of Collinge has issued a warning to remove the two-letter logo design on its salon sign and website because it creates an impression that Andrew Clifford Hairdressing is connected to this so-called “international ambassador” of the salon industry.

Moreover, Collinge will be forced to take legal action if they continue to use the logo design because it will “inevitably cause damage” to its business and reputation.

For owners Andrew White and Clifford Evans who are running a few salons in Mold for more than 10 years, they are disturbed about this incident for they never considered this would affect Collinge in any way. They are given 14 days to comply with the legal letter from Collinge.

When asked if this logo was intentionally copied from Collinge, White said this simple “ac” design came from his brother using a standard computer font.

Let this be a lesson for many entrepreneurs eagerly building their businesses and brands. Make time to review the logo design of your competitors and even other companies not connected to your industry.