Take a look at any of the many Canon cameras on the market right now. In fact, take a look at any of the Canon cameras on the market in recent memory. Notice anything they all have in common?
None of them has a colored logo.
You'll see white, you'll see grey, you'll see silver and you'll see metallic. But despite the Canon logo itself being red, you'll never see a red logo on a Canon camera. Nor a blue one, a yellow one nor any other color.
Even on the company's most candy-colored products, like the vibrant Canon Ivy Rec or striking Canon Ivy Cliq / Zoemini, you'll always see the brand's logo emblazoned in a black-and-white tone.
It's something I've always been curious about. I understand that a brand's visual identity is important, but then again clothing companies and sneaker manufacturers always switch up the color of their logos to complement the specific products on which they sit.
And again – if preserving the visual identity is key, why is there never a signature red logo?
This question was churning away in my subconscious until I watched an interview with the team behind the Canon EOS R50 V – the company's powerhouse vlogging camera that, interestingly, is one of only a handful of Canon cameras that also comes in white (just not in the West… yet, anyway).
Product designer Yoshiyuki Kashiwagi was explaining that he really wanted to push the boundaries of its design, in the same way that it was pushing the boundaries of what Canon was doing with its cameras.
"When working on the design of the EOS R50 V, I initially thought Canon would be a conservative company, but surprisingly, there was a strong push for 'let's go further'. So, I approached the design with the mindset of pushing it as much as possible.
"I even suggested and considered making the logo color gray. There are specific rules, like leaving a certain amount of space around the logo and ensuring contrast and visibility, so we had to experiment a lot to achieve the intended look within the Canon logo guidelines."
At this point, the interviewer asked the question I've been dying to ask for years: why not a red Canon logo?
"Colorful logos are a bit too strict due to regulations, but we thought gray would work… We tried to make sure the color and the product didn’t steal the spotlight."
In this specific instance, because the R50 V is a video camera, the team was conscious not to make the logo so distracting that the subject would look at it instead of the lens.
"Our main goal was to make the camera a tool, not the star," added designer Heizo Hirose. "We wanted the creator to be the focus, not the Canon logo."
This is certainly a philosophy that runs through other EOS R products intended for video use – such as the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L Z, the company's first ever black 70-200mm pro lens, as the traditional "big white" finish was thought undesirable for video.
So there you have it. Canon has strict guidelines around its logo – and ultimately, it doesn't want its logo to become a distraction. The camera should never make itself the focus of attention, as the focus (literally!) should always be on the subject at hand. You can watch the whole, fascinating interview below.
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Take a look at my Canon EOS R50 vs R50 V comparison, as well as our Canon EOS R50 V vs Sony ZV-E10 II showdown.
