Brands, brands, brands – every day new brands are born, and the competition for brand recognition gets steeper! How can you ensure your brand stands head and shoulders above the rest? The answer is simple. Start by creating a strong brand identity. The goal is to create such a strong brand, that it speaks for itself.
Your logo versus your brand – do you understand the difference?
Sometimes, a client will ask us to make the logo on a creative asset bigger. That’s because they want people to remember their brand. Our advice to our clients is always that the design resembles the brand, and the logo is not the only way for people to recognize their brand.
Most people tend to think that a logo is your brand’s identity. Yes, it’s part of the brand, but not the entirety of your brand identity.
Your brand logo is not the only way for your brand to be established and recognized. We agree with this definition from Brandfolder: “The brand is the foundation of a company, and the logo is the visual shortcut to the trademark of the brand. A logo identity system and a strong branding system are both crucial when marketing and promoting a consistent image and voice, but a brand speaks for itself.”
The logo does not equal the brand, but it’s a big part of your brand. So, what is the difference between a logo and brand identity? These powerful definitions will explain the difference between a logo and brand identity.
What is a brand logo?
Your logo is a visual mark that identifies your product, service, or company. It could be a symbol, emblem, graphic mark, stylized name, or drawing, or the combination of all used by a company to mark its brand's identity. Our art director, Chris Savides, explains that the logo is there to simply identify your company/brand.
Sagi Haviv is a partner and designer at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv. He has 3 rules of a designing a good logo.
1. Appropriate
2. Distinctive and memorable
3. Simple
Appropriate
It should be appropriate in the ‘feeling’ you get from the logo. For example, if it’s a logo for fashion it should be elegant.
Distinctive
Unusual enough to persist in our mind. You must be able to describe it to somebody, or doodle it on a piece of paper.
Simple
It needs to be simple. It must be reproduced in different sizes, on different platforms, without losing the essence of the logo.
He ends of by saying that something that looks generic or too complicated is considered a bad logo.
When people see your logo, they should be able to connect the dots to your brand, service or product offerings, and your brand values. It’s about more than just a pretty logo, it’s about creating an element of your brand identity that is effective enough to be identified.
What is a brand identity?
It’s who you are as a business. Hubspot (2020) explains that a brand identity is what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product, and what you want people to feel when they interact with your company. Essentially, your brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers.
"Brand identity is more than just finding the right logo to place on coffee cup sleeves or mount above your front door. It's about crafting a personality that amplifies the core elements of your brand's DNA. Today, the most magnetic brand identities scale across digital platforms, in real-life experiences, and even naturally converse with real customers,” says Jason Roger, brand manager of Wayfair.
Conclusion
Before you invest in logo design, make sure that your brand identity is powerful enough to make a memorable impact on people, and the logo should complement the identity. A strong brand identity is the difference between a brand that goes unnoticed and one that truly makes an impact. Understanding the difference between a logo and a brand identity, and applying it to your marketing efforts, will set you apart from your competition.
OMNI specialises in branding and rebranding of companies. You can view our case study of a rebranding we did here.
If you want to book your complimentary consultation session with an international award-winning creative team, send us an email at info@omni-agency.com or click here.
Resources:
https://brandfolder.com/blog/logo-vs-brand-know-difference
https://cultmethod.com/articles/brand-vs-logo/
https://www.cghnyc.com/about/sagi/
