Logo vs Brand – The Difference
There’s a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to developing a brand vs. a logo. So, let’s clarify. Try and think to think of your brand, identity and logo like these 3 Russian nesting dolls modeled to look like Star Wars Storm Troopers. Your logo is a part of and fits inside your identity. Your identity is a part of and fits inside your brand.
Your Brand – Is the big picture. Its how your company is perceived as a whole.
Your Identity – Is your company dress code. It’s the visual system that makes says helps define how you look in different marketing mediums.
Your Logo – The essence of your company. It’s the quick way people remember you.
BRAND
Many people assume that their brand only consists of the basic colors, fonts, and symbols, but really, it is much more complicated than that. It is your companies perceived image.
Your brand is a compilation of everything that your company does, what your employees do and how they act, it is the perceptions of your audience. Including, the way your staff answers the phone, the way you handle client / customer disputes, what your marketing materials say, how they are designed and many additional factors all impact your image. Knowing this it is also important to clarify that while a graphic designer can help lay the foundation for a brand, but they cannot make a brand on their own.
When it comes to your image; everything you do, own or produce should exude the goals of your business and how you want to be perceived.
IDENTITY
While your identity is separate from your brand, it contributes visually to your company’s image. For most companies their identity is developed around a visual system that is governed by a set of guidelines i.e. approved colors, fonts, layouts, measurements…etc. These guidelines dictate how the identity is applied throughout a variety of marketing mediums (print, TV, Web…etc.). Having guidelines ensure that the identity of the company is cohesive, which in turn, helps your brand as a whole look congruent.
Here are some visual elements that make up an Identity:
• Your Logo (the symbol or wordmark for your company)
• Marketing Collateral (Business Cards, letterhead, flyers, brochures, Website…etc.)
• Product & Packaging Inserts
• Apparel Design (Clothing worn by employees)
• Signs, Banners & Billboards (Interior or exterior design)
• Any additional visual items that represent the business.
All of these items that make up an identity should support the brand as a whole. Which brings us to the logo. The logo is the corporate identity and brand all summed up into one identifiable mark.
LOGO
A logo identifies a company / product via the use of a symbol, mark, or signature. A logo wont sell your company directly nor will it describe your business.
Try and think of logos like people. Just as it is easier to be called by our given name – Marty, Chris, Anne…etc. – rather than by using a confusing description such as “the bald guy who sometimes wears blue shirts.” Similarly, a logo shouldn’t literally describe what your business does but rather, clearly identifies your business.
Also it is only after a logo becomes familiar, that it functions the way it is intended to do much like how we much must learn people’s names to identify them.
The logo identifies a business or product in its simplest form.
Review:
Brand =The perceived emotional image of a company as a whole.
Identity = The visual system that form our company dress code.
Logo = Identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a symbol or mark.
Any thoughts on how you might summarize brand, identity or logo design? We would appreciate your comments / thoughts.
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