What you need to know: LOGO VS. BRANDING

As a brand designer, 6 out of 10 requests I get asked are “can you design a quick logo” which is like asking a builder to build a house without a set of plans. They could probably put together a kick-ass tree house or shed, but they couldn't build a 2 storey, 5 bedroom, 3 bath mansion without an architect’s plan.

While a businesses LOGO is a major player in a brand’s identity – it’s definitely not the only hero in the story.

So let’s get down to business - what is a brand?

I’m going to break this down into 3 manageable chunks for you all to understand:

1. BRAND – This is how people perceive your company

2. BRANDING – The actions you take to build a certain image of your company

3. BRAND IDENTITY – (THE MONEY SHOT). This is a collection of all your brand elements – Logo, Patterns, Fonts, and Illustrations etc. That together creates one brand image.

Your logo is a major element to your brand/business/service or product’s identity but there’s also your colour palette, typography, voice, graphic elements and more to take into consideration – and its only when you get these together can you develop and create the logo.

Think of it like this, you get your Christmas tree out, you plan how you want it to look, what colour etc. thus brand development. Then you decorate it and finally the last thing that you put on the top is the star – the logo.

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”  - Seth Godin

Why is your brand identity SOOOO important?

Your brand identity should not be thrown together, it should be a well thought out strategy – something that’s sustainable, has longevity and that is timeless.

Lately I’ve had to create so many re-brands because initially the client wanted ‘a quick logo’ and guess what – cutting corners never served them well – because they didn’t instil faith in their current and prospective clients, they found it hard to create an overall identity, they didn’t resonate with their own brand.

The way that your business's branding elements come together should be appealing and enticing to your target audience.

When developing and creating your brand’s identity, personality and feel you need to be focused on who your ideal client is and how you’re going to solve what problem they are having and why they need your service or product.

Think of design is the visual tool of communication - your branding should be sending a message to your target audience about who you are, what you do and how you do it.

Your designer will use these KEY design principles to put together your brand identity:

· Hierarchy

· Repetition

· Balance

· Contrast

· Alignment

· Colour

· Typography

It’s imperative to remember branding or design without intention is simply a fancy decoration and most likely won’t serve you or your brand in the long run.

What are the key elements of brand identity, I hear you ask?

Logo – this is your brand's face. This can be a suite of logos that all represent your brands mark, including formats like landscape, stacked, monogram, submarks and plenty more.

Colour Palette - colour has so much meaning, for example when we see green we think of nature, but it's also known to represent money, mindfulness and trust.

Typography - font choice, type – it’s a massive part of your brand the wrong typeface can make or break a brand.

Illustration & Graphics – this covers a multitude of elements – patterns, graphic elements, sketch, drawings – all the fun and engaging stuff that goes into the creation of a brand.

Photography - the photography style, image research, editing and more all contribute to your brands image and identity. It's like having a banana company and putting a picture of a car on your marketing campaign – they just don’t work together at all!

Tone of Voice – This is a biggie, this is your brand's intention, how it will connect with your audience and the story your telling should all be considered with your tone of voice.

So, what is next for my brand?

I highly, highly, highly recommend that you source a fabulous designer who has EXPERIENCE in brand identity. This is the golden nugget of knowledge I have been saving for the end -

“Good design will cost money, but I can't even begin to describe how much bad design will cost you”. - Erin McMenamin

Your business will be built around so many of the thought-out elements created in your brand identity design, so it's really important to get it right!

Please feel free to contact me at Coco Creative Branding or at the Caribbean collection if you have any questions or would like to discuss your brand identity and journey.

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