Getting a logo or brand mark is probably the first step for most, but really your brand journey should start right from your business idea.
When planning your business you need to think about that initial spark that spurred you to go out there and start your own business. This will give you a pretty clear grounding on your why and setting your brand values ie what do you stand for and developing your unique story. Only then can you really start to think about getting your logo designed.
So what is a logo?
Your logo is just a graphical representation and one element, albeit an important one of building your brand but it can’t represent or illustrate everything about you and your company. It should act merely a memory trigger for your brand for people to easily remember and recognise you from your competition. We remember visual things over single words and descriptions and these visual triggers then bring back a memory based on previous emotions we experienced previously.
“A logo doesn’t sell (directly), it identifies.”
Paul Rand
Things like the choice of fonts & colours all have an impact on how your logo communicates to your audience so these also need to be aligned to how you want to be perceived in the market.
So what is a brand?
Branding is all about defining and shaping the experience your customers and audiences receive and the knowledge they gain about your products, services or company.
“A brand is not a product or a promise or a feeling. It's the sum of all experiences you have with a company”
Amir Kassaei
Your logo is a small part of your brand and visual identity but If you don’t work hard to control what you are communicating through your branding across all your online and offline marketing, then others will make their own judgments and it may be detrimental. As you can see, Branding is suddenly more than just putting your logo on a business card or website.
So do you have a logo or a brand?
We get many enquiries for people wanting a logo because it’s become a specific item that everyone can relate to and has become a box that needs to be ticked off a list of things they think they need to start a business and then try to come up with some reasoning after. You do need a good logo but the why needs to be heavily thought about first so you get a logo or brand mark that resonates with people rather than just a pretty icon. Those that enquire about a rebrand may be more aware of the bigger brand issues and need a new logo as part of a bigger strategy to either modernise or communicate a significant change they wish to make in how they are being perceived. So whether your starting up or been in business a while and think you need a new logo ask your self why. You will get a logo and brand that works for you hand in hand when you set this out from the start.