Kanye West definitely loves his logos and wordmarks. Hardly a week seems to go by without a rapper and businessman filing for a trademark on a new logo or name design, and this week we have not one, but two new entries in E’s ever-expanding trademark empire, which suggests that he is definitely planning something.
Last month, Mascotte Holdings, which owns all of West’s trademarks, applied to design a curious circular logo that looked like a gear, or some sort of seal… or possibly a sun. Since West has been involved in several design mishaps lately, we immediately wondered who he would upset this time around. But it looks like West has taken that idea further, now providing a color for the logo design — and possibly a new brand name.
The first of E’s latest trademark filings is an updated version of a design he filed last month. It features the same circle within a circle with serrated edges — or as the filing description says, “a fancy logo design of two concentric circles with the outer circle represented by a grooved circular line.”
The latest submission showed the design in black and white and noted that color was not claimed as a characteristic of the mark. But now the logo is tinted dark blue and the new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filing (will open in a new tab) explains that “the blue color(s) is declared as a distinguishing feature of the sign… The inside of the design is made in blue”.
What is it and what will it be used for? West did release his “Jesus is King” album on blue vinyl, but it’s unclear if there’s any connection to that. The application mentions use in retail stores and online stores, as well as for almost every type of clothing you can imagine, from thongs to rompers, headphones and cribs. We can say with certainty that the idea is for it to appear on clothing, though it’s not clear if it will be part of West’s existing Yeezy brand.
Interestingly, this week Mascotte Holdings also applied for six trademarks for the wordmark GROTESQUE. The app displays the wordmark in a simple, elegant serif font and describes it as intended for use in apparel, perfumes, cosmetics, shoes, jewelry, and watches. This makes us wonder if there is a connection and if the mysterious blue circle could be the logo of a brand new clothing and perfume brand from the West.
Interestingly, he filed for a trademark for retail stores as well as online stores, suggesting that West may be planning to expand from his Yeezy Supply website to physical locations. Or perhaps the blue circle could even be a shield for his Donda Foam Vehicle.
We’ll just have to wait to see what West has planned for the latest additions to his trademark bank – if anything. We wouldn’t include the new logos on our list of the worst logos of 2022, but they’re kind of… well, simple. West may just be trying to get in early to be safer after his recent arguments.
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