Branding, Identity & Logo Design Explained
Published on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 – 7:06 am
A logo is not your brand, nor is it your identity. Logo design, identity design and branding all have different roles, that together, form a perceived image for a business or product.
There has been some recent discussion on the web about this topic, about your logo not being your brand. Although this may be true, I haven’t seen any clarification of the differences between ‘brand’, ‘identity’ and ‘logo’. I wish to rectify this.
What is brand? – The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.
What is identity? – The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.
What is a logo? – A logo identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.
To explain this in more detail, let’s start at the top – the brand.
What is branding?
Branding is certainly not a light topic – whole publications & hundreds of books have been written on the topic, however to put it in a nutshell you could describe a ‘brand’ as an organisation, service or product with a ‘personality’ that is shaped by the perceptions of the audience. On that note, it should also be stated that a designer cannot “make” a brand – only the audience can do this. A designer forms the foundation of the brand.
Many people believe a brand only consists of a few elements – some colours, some fonts, a logo, a slogan and maybe some music added in too. In reality, it is much more complicated than that. You might say that a brand is a ‘corporate image’.
The fundamental idea and core concept behind having a ‘corporate image’ is that everything a company does, everything it owns and everything it produces should reflect the values and aims of the business as a whole.
It is the consistency of this core idea that makes up the company, driving it, showing what it stands for, what it believes in and why they exist. It is not purely some colours, some typefaces, a logo and a slogan.
As an example, let’s look at the well known IT company, Apple. Apple as a company, projects a humanistic corporate culture and a strong corporate ethic, one which is characterised by volunteerism, support of good causes & involvement in the community. These values of the business are evident throughout everything they do, from their innovative products and advertising, right through to their customer service. Apple is an emotionally humanist brand that really connects with people – when people buy or use their products or services; they feel part of the brand, like a tribe even. It is this emotional connection that creates their brand – not purely their products and a bite sized logo.
For a more thorough understanding of branding, in simple terms, I recommend Wally Olin’s: The Brand Handbook which I quote is “an essential, easy-reference guide to brilliant branding”.
What is identity design?
One major role in the ‘brand’ or ‘corporate image’ of a company is its identity.
In most cases, identity design is based around the visual devices used within a company, usually assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines that make up an identity usually administer how the identity is applied throughout a variety of mediums, using approved colour palettes, fonts, layouts, measurements and so forth. These guidelines ensure that the identity of the company is kept coherent, which in turn, allows the brand as a whole, to be recognisable.
The identity or ‘image’ of a company is made up of many visual devices:
- A Logo (The symbol of the entire identity & brand)
- Stationery (Letterhead + business card + envelopes, etc.)
- Marketing Collateral (Flyers, brochures, books, websites, etc.)
- Products & Packaging (Products sold and the packaging in which they come in)
- Apparel Design (Tangible clothing items that are worn by employees)
- Signage (Interior & exterior design)
- Messages & Actions (Messages conveyed via indirect or direct modes of communication)
- Other Communication (Audio, smell, touch, etc.)
- Anything visual that represents the business.
All of these things make up an identity and should support the brand as a whole. The logo however, is the corporate identity and brand all wrapped up into one identifiable mark. This mark is the avatar and symbol of the business as a whole.
What is a logo?
To understand what a logo is, we must first understand what it is for.
A logo is for… identification.
A logo identifies a company or product via the use of a mark, flag, symbol or signature. A logo does not sell the company directly nor rarely does it describe a business. Logo’s derive their meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolises, not the other way around – logos are there to identity, not to explain. In a nutshell, what a logo means is more important than what it looks like.
To illustrate this concept, think of logos like people. We prefer to be called by our names – James, Dorothy, John – rather than by the confusing and forgettable description of ourselves such as “the guy who always wears pink and has blonde hair”. In this same way, a logo should not literally describe what the business does but rather, identify the business in a way that is recognisable and memorable.
It is also important to note that only after a logo becomes familiar, does it function the way it is intended to do much alike how we much must learn people’s names to identify them.
The logo identifies a business or product in its simplest form.
Summary:
Brand –The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.
Identity – The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.
Logo – Identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.
How would you summarise brand, identity and logo design? Comments and thoughts are welcome, as always.
Logo Design Resources:
- What makes a good logo?
- How to design a logo – 5 vital tips
- Ultimate list of logo design resources
- How to choose a logo designer
Photos by Taylorkoa22, Ronaldo F Cabuhat, Bloomberg News
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Kate Fosson on Apr 6, 2010 said:
Thanks for the distinction.
I love the analogy of a person having a nickname and a business having a logo. It’s a good way to explain to someone who thinks their logo should be a literal icon of what they do.
Thanks!
Prescott Perez-Fox on Apr 6, 2010 said:
This is a big and complicated issue, but let me try and boil it down.
The Brand is the human attributes of a non-human entity.
The Identity is the sensory elements which help you make a human/emotional connection.
The Logo is a symbol which represents the identity, and in turn, the brand.
Jonathan Butterworth on Apr 6, 2010 said:
Great way of explaining the differences between the three. It is very easy to get them confused. This will be very helpful when explaining to others.
Tin Duong on Apr 6, 2010 said:
Thanks for the insightful definitions of these terms Jacob. Many people misunderstand them. Some expect the designer to build their brands. Do you think that designers should educate their clients about this before we even start the project?
Toby Cummings on Apr 6, 2010 said:
I also liked the people’s names analogy. Logos are my best friends. LOL
LeoLavalle on Apr 6, 2010 said:
I disagree a little bit with the “logo not having to describe what a company does”. Sometimes it is better if it does. To me, it depends of the type o company and if there’s going to be any marketing applied. What I mean is, if I’m doing the logo for Pepsi, let’s say, the logo doesn’t need to say what Pepsi is, so something recognizable and memorable would be enough because there’s going to be a lot of advertising involved to let people know that Pepsi is a soda. But if I do the logo for John the plumber then having something in the logo that says what he does to me is a must because John won’t have the same amount of advertising than Pepsi… so there you go, hope I made my point clear
Cheers!
Leo
Unique Design on Apr 6, 2010 said:
That’s a very insightful post that clearly explain what are the main differences from Brand, Identity and Logo. Thanks Jacob.
@LeoLavalle I agree with you.
William Perez on Apr 6, 2010 said:
The concept of a logo not representing what a company does is taken from greats like Paul Rand, Chermayeff & Geismar, Milton Glaser who repeatedly stated a logo should not describe the business. Only after a logo is accepted by consumers will it have an assosiation with the brand. These great designers got away with abstract design because their logo designs were made for corporations with big budgets. Depending on the size of the company, if small, incorporate a very small element of what they do into the concept.
prigix on Apr 6, 2010 said:
Now that is what I call a “bringer of light”! I don’t even want to think about how many discussions I have seen on this topic, but this is by far the most clearly stated and explained, it just makes you say “doh”.
I will definitely bookmark it to slap people over the face with when they think a logo has to increase their sales by 50%.
Unique Design on Apr 6, 2010 said:
@William Perez
Yes you’re right, that’s the truth about how and when to incorporate in the design of the logo something that it’s related to field of activity of the company or not.
Mary Sweeny on Apr 6, 2010 said:
Jacob,
When I read your Tweet, which promised to explain brand, identity and logo design, I must admit – I clicked just to see if you could pull it off in one short post.
I am pleasantly surprised at how well you did! Nice, concise explanations. Congratulations Jacob!
Mary Sweeny
Smashy Design on Apr 7, 2010 said:
Another stunning post. Quite good comments going as well.
I’m visiting JCD to learn new things. And always, i am not the same person who leaves after a visit to JCD.
Thanks Jacob,
SD
William Perez on Apr 7, 2010 said:
@Unique Design
I preferably like to design simple abstract marks but sometimes the prject doesn’t allow it.
Speaking of Paul Rand, my last article is about the evolution of his IBM logo
http://breezycreativedesign.com/2010/04/02/paul-rands-wip/
Jacob Cass on Apr 7, 2010 said:
Scott,
I like your description of brand & identity, another good way of describing it.
Tin,
It depends on the client, sometimes it is necessary, sometimes not. I guess it is up to us as designers, to judge a client’s understanding before the project begins and then go from there. This article is a good start I guess.
Leo, William, Unique,
“A logo does not sell the company directly nor rarely does it describe a business”.
Although I can agree with you that it’s helpful in some cases, I find that it’s one of the most common ‘mistakes’ that designers make, trying to incorporate some part of the business into the logo. It’s not entirely necessary for the logo to literally describe the business.
If you look at the top 50 brands of the world, 94% of them do not describe the business. Although you could argue these companies have large marketing budgets, it still boils down to the fact that the audience has to get familiar with the logo for it to be recognisable.
If you have a plumbing logo with a pipe in it, think of how many other plumbing logos will have a pipe… you want to have an original logo which in more cases than not, will mean not incorporating a part of the business into the logo. Though in saying this, if you can come up with an original way to do it, then go for it.
William Perez on Apr 7, 2010 said:
Jacob,
It’s not that I want to design based on what the company does, sometimes clients insist on incorporating something that marks their product or service. It can be hard to change their mindset, most start-ups business owners have planned their company for years and when they finally go fo it, they want everything how they imagined in their heads.
Unique Design on Apr 7, 2010 said:
@William Perez
I know what you mean… me too I prefer to use simple symbols if possible instead of trying to incorporate something related to what the company does (which most of time is the most difficult thing to do, if you’ll look to do this in a creative way).
@Jacob
Maybe I’ve left a bad feeling about what I mean… as William said, it’s not always possible to not incorporate some activity-related symbols in the design because of the will of the client or its low audience. I’m not saying that if the business is small it’s a must to use a symbol that explain what it does and if it a bigger one it’s a must to use an abstract logo and so on. It depends. For example my last logo design is for a one-man business specialized in hardware & software support and I haven’t used electronic devices, cdroms, computers and so on in its logo. How the logo looks like depends not only by our creativity and experience but also by how the client want to feel with its brand.
That’s my idea… let me know!
Jeff on Apr 8, 2010 said:
Great post, Jacob. I’ll be pointing some of my lesser experienced clients here if & when we’re having clarification issues on this subject. Well-written & easily understood.
Nick on Apr 8, 2010 said:
Great article!!!. I would like to add that Branding is certainly the spearheading of a business. I mean, is the angle COMPETITIVE MARKET. A competitive angle is “positioning” your brand in the minds of your potential customers.
Continue on with these good articles.
Jae Xavier @ knowledgecity.com on Apr 9, 2010 said:
I will refer this post to my clients because they are often confused about these concepts. Well written, kudos on the summary, overall great post!
Anything Graphic on Apr 9, 2010 said:
A must read for any graphic designer. Great work J. You really nailed it down and used great analogies for a better understanding of these very different, but yet so similar terms that unify a business.
papayashake on Apr 12, 2010 said:
Excellent article… thanks for sharing… gives a clear understanding on Brand Identity & Logo
Jane Cook on Apr 13, 2010 said:
Another remarkable post… love your work
Tonmoy Goswami on Apr 14, 2010 said:
Very well written & crisp. Nice read.
I would specially like to add a thing to the brand definition viz. Brand is the ‘gut feeling’ that comes with a product. It can’t be described so easily…it’s like music.
It’s something that can only be experienced.
How to create that ‘brand’ is a different story altogether.
Awesome post there, Jacass(don’t mind, suddenly the name of ur first website came to my mind)!!
Owen on Apr 16, 2010 said:
Excellent post. Well defined explanations.
Quentin Harriott on Apr 16, 2010 said:
Very interesting post and I agree with all you say.
For me a brand has to create 3 things in the mind of the viewer:
A promise
An experience
A memory
If you can contrive to make people feel these three things then you have truly created a brand.
Paul Gourhan on Apr 16, 2010 said:
I loved the article! An excellent way of differentiating the three to clients.
I tell my clients that a brand is the memory of their company in the minds of the customer.
That Branding is the act of altering that perception.
Corporate Identity and logo choice are the clothes we wear in public, our uniform. It reflects our tribe and our outlook on the world.
Marketing and advertising are the things we do in public. How do we interact with the world, is it consistent with our brand and our uniform?
Just my 2 cents
Ravindra chaugule on Apr 16, 2010 said:
Hi..jacob
I like your every post, that you post something new every time. keep it up and best of luck!
so..i agree with your concept that logo does not need to describe what company is doing.
logo is just brand identity for a particular company.
The value of logo is depend on company performance in market. people will aromatically accept that …”this logo is very nice and this logo is of this this company”, because they are using that company product or looking performance of company in market through advertising.
so what i think that is company logo will become brand identity if it is different from convention and how is company performance.
m i right jacob?
Carl on Apr 20, 2010 said:
Very interesting post – thank you. What about communications and behaviour? These also make up the overall image. How a company communicates with its stakeholders and how it behaves compared to its projected identity or perceived identity must also be considered alongside the symbolic statements.
Irshad on May 1, 2010 said:
hope most of the guys feeling what all those three are, but everyone not being able to explain it correctly for third person.
for me what i understand it’s in easy way,
Brand: actually it is like it stands for large coporations which have multiple products under its main name, so the main name comes as a Brand.
ex. Nike is a brand, i a pair of shoes n a cap in Nike brand.
identity: which is always like a picture which stays in the customers those who consume or use the products
ex. in coco cola, those red color and curvy lines will enough to identifies its coco cola, no need of the name coco cola
logo: its purely a simbol or an icon to show a product or service on its own, but it doesn’t need to show the products with its symbol.
ex. harley davidson, its purely its logo, but it doesn’t have a symbol of a bike or anything. but it is a icon to say as its logo.
thanks. for reading.
Paul Galbraith on May 11, 2010 said:
Good post – the explanations are really clear and concise. I find many clients get brand, identity and logo a bit mixed up, actually it’s not surprising considering many designers do too – which is not helped when those words are thrown around so freely.
Paul Galbraith’s second article.. Designers: Give the best to your Client
Branding at Mlicki on Jun 26, 2010 said:
You’re right. A brand is so much more than just a logo. It includes the entire customer experience, before, during, and after the sale or service. The logo, communications, location, and so much more make the brand.