Your Brand Is More Than Your Logo

16 Nov Your Brand Is More Than Your Logo

For many business owners, “logo design” and branding are often confused as the same thing, and while they do go hand-in-hand, they are not created equal. Wondering why branding is more than just a logo? First, let’s explore what a brand and logo are:

A logo is a recognizable mark or symbol used to identify a business in it’s simplest form. An example would be Apple, with their simplistic yet identifiable apple with a bite taken out. (Fun fact: did you know the designer of the Apple logo only included the bite so that customers wouldn’t mistake it for a cherry?)

A brand is an emotional experience someone feels when interacting with your business, whether it be what they see, think, feel or even taste. Back to our Apple example, they project a simplistic, elegant style along with a brand that is always about their customers and have created a very loyal following as a result.

A logo is often the first part of the design process, with branding following. When settling for just logo design, business owners often overlook the potential of what branding can accomplish for their business overall.

Importance of Branding

Although a memorable logo can help someone identify your business, a brand is more than just visual identification. Your brand should portray what your business believes in and hopes to accomplish; it is the emotion your customers think, see and feel when interacting with your business.

When it comes to building a brand, it is important to lay the proper foundation. Cohesive design amongst all of your platforms and materials is essential. From the tone, color patterns, and even imagery, you are forging the personality of your brand. Along with the design portion of building a brand, your customers and the public perception are what ultimately shape what your brand is.

Your brand should be unique, consistent and follow a strict strategy. You should constantly be considering how the audience is going to respond to your business and what you can do to improve that perception.

Client Highlight: We recently worked with Swamp Haven, a rescue that provides short-term care for down-on-their-luck dogs in the rural and underserved communities of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.  When they came to us they had a logo and branding that just needed a little refresh to really help them stand out. We kept some of the same brand element concepts and improved on them to create a cohesive brand image that would really help them connect with their demographic so they can find more death-row dogs forever homes!