Often I’ll see posts on social media or get asked “can you design a logo for me?” Or “looking for someone to make a logo - recommendations?” But is a logo really going to benefit your business? Yes, but also no. Because a logo on its own is not going to make people remember you and your business, but branding will.
Logo Design vs. Branding
You’ve likely heard both terms, but maybe you aren’t familiar with what they actually mean or their difference. Most brand designers like myself are eager to educate business owners on the difference so they can make educated decisions on what’s best for their business and overall return on investment.
Logo design is the process of designing a logo. It’s a single action in the bigger picture of branding. A logo is an easily identifiable graphic/symbol that clearly identifies a business or organization. It usually is made up of a combination of typographies (fonts), graphics or symbols, and colours.
Branding is the process of building a brand. It is the strategy that businesses use to enable people to quickly identify them. Branding (or a brand) is the idea and the image that people have in their mind of a specific business, product or service. Usually there is a physical and emotional component tied to their perception of your brand. When a person interacts with a touch point of your brand (such as your brand name, logo, products, etc) their emotional and physical connection to your brand is triggered. It’s important to develop a brand strategy so you can create not only a memorable brand, but determine the perception your audience has of your brand as well.
Brands | Branding | Brand Identity
Three words that sound like they mean the same thing, right? Not quite. Here’s an easy way to distinguish the difference between the three:
* Brand: how you’re perceived by the audience
* Branding: the actions you take to build that specific image of your business that you desire your audience to have of it
* Brand Identity: all the tangible brand elements that come together to create your brand image
Logos
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not discounting logo design in any way! I design logos for a living, but I also design brands to go along with them. Logos have great benefits such as allowing people to quickly identify your brand, create consistency throughout your various communication channels, it’s a key element in your brand identity, and it can help foster a professional image.
With that said, it doesn’t just all come with a single logo. Without a brand, a logo is just a graphic element, with no real meaning. But pair that with an effective strategy and you’ve gotten yourself the golden ticket to reaching your audience in an effective way, all while creating and positioning yourself as an industry leading brand.
So to wrap it all up, do I recommend one-off logo design? No! Especially not to a new business just starting out. Developing a brand strategy prior to developing your visual brand identity is key to building your foundation to a successful brand. Always remember, a logo alone won’t make people remember you, but the actions you take to build your business’ image will!
