Your Logo is not your brand

Are you shaking your head? Do you disagree? Excellent! This article is for you. Your logo is highly visible and associated with the overall perception of your brand. While a logo can leave a lasting impression on potential customers and clients, it should never be confused with an actual brand identity. Many small to medium-sized businesses in Australia often overlook this crucial aspect when launching a new venture or rebranding their existing one. In today’s blog post, we will discuss why your company’s logo should not bear sole responsibility for defining your brand identity. Read on to discover some tips for translating key components of who you are into visual elements that speak to customers and make them feel connected to your product or service at an emotional level!

Understand the difference between a logo and a brand - a logo is just one part of a larger identity

Have you ever wondered about the difference between a logo and a brand? While a logo might be the most recognizable part of a brand, it's just one piece of a larger identity. A logo is a visual representation of a company or organization. But branding involves creating a distinct and recognizable personality for your the brand. Branding includes not just the logo, but also the messaging, tone, and aesthetic of a company. A strong brand identity can help create an emotional connection with customers. It sets a company apart in a competitive market. So, next time you're thinking about building your brand, remember that it's more than just a logo – it's the full package of how your company communicates and presents itself.

Learn about visual identity design - how logos, symbols, colors, fonts, and shapes all work together to create an overall impression

The art of visual identity design lies in the way logos, symbols, colors, fonts, and shapes come together to form a cohesive and impactful brand identity. Whether you're designing a logo for a small mom-and-pop shop or creating an entire brand identity for a multinational corporation, all the visual elements must work together seamlessly to convey a powerful message. A successful brand identity must evoke emotions and leave a lasting impression on customers, which is why it's crucial to have a well-thought-out visual identity design. So, if you want to create a brand that truly stands out, take the time to learn about visual identity design and how it can help you connect with your audience.

Consider your story and how it fits into the message you want to communicate with your brand

A brand story is not just a narrative about your business history, products, or services. It captures the essence of your brand and the message you want to communicate to your audience. Your brand story is what sets you apart from your competitors. It is what creates an emotional connection with your customers that goes beyond a transactional relationship. Your brand story should reflect your values, vision, and mission. It should be authentic, engaging, and memorable. Every detail, whether it's your logo, website, or marketing materials, should support and reinforce your brand story. Take the time to craft a compelling brand story that resonates with your target audience. You'll not only attract new customers but also build a loyal following that believes in your brand's values and message.

Think carefully about how you use your logo in promotional materials

Your logo is more than just a visual representation of your brand - it's a symbol that communicates your organization's values, personality, and identity. That's why brand consistency is essential when incorporating your logo into promotional materials. This means using your logo in a consistent manner across various platforms and ensuring that it looks the same every time it's used. Whether it's on social media, business cards, or advertising materials, consistent use of your logo builds confidence with your audience and reinforces your brand identity. So, the next time you're creating promotional materials, take a moment to think carefully about how you're incorporating your logo and aim for brand consistency.

How your logo communicates emotions to potential customers

When creating a logo for your brand, it's important to keep in mind how it will communicate with potential customers. Every element of your logo, from the font to the color scheme, can evoke certain emotions and create a lasting impression of your brand. For example, a bold, sans-serif font may communicate strength and reliability, while a script font may convey elegance and sophistication. Similarly, colors can have a powerful impact on how your logo is perceived - blue may suggest professionalism and trustworthiness, while red may indicate passion and excitement. By carefully considering the emotions your logo communicates, you can ensure that potential customers will have a positive and memorable experience with your brand.

Create an effective strategy for using your logo with other marketing tools

Developing an effective brand strategy is crucial when it comes to establishing your business. A big part of that strategy is incorporating your logo in all of your marketing materials. Your logo is the face of your company and it needs to be present wherever your brand is being promoted. By using your logo consistently across all platforms, you are creating a brand identity that is easily recognizable and helps build brand awareness. Take the time to plan out the best ways to use your logo with other marketing tools, such as brochures, business cards, and website design. This will ensure that you are making the most out of your brand and reaching the largest audience possible.

The most important takeaway from this post should be that a logo is just one part of a successful brand. It should work together with visual identity design and the story of your business or organization in order to communicate a message effectively. Your logo needs to create emotional connections, speak to your target audience, stand out from competitors, and be used in an effective strategy together with other marketing tools. Developing a successful logo takes time, skill, creativity and knowledge; it’s not something that you can rush. If you are considering rebranding or redesigning your logo it’s important to weigh all the different elements that go into creating an unforgettable image or impression that potential customers will associate with your company.

Looking for a logo design, redesign or rebrand? Reach out today – let our team help create an unforgettable logo for your business

Logo design without branding is like Hot Beer

Don’t get me wrong, I love logo design! It is still a service we offer. Just not on its own. Yeah, ballsy hey! If you want us to design you a logo, branding will be part of that package. Logo design is super exciting. We love to present clients with their shiny new logo. We’re all excited.

Then it happens. I see this crafted logo used with no branding. There’s no consistency and it all gets very messy fast. Many don’t know or see the relevance of branding. That’s for the big boys like Nike or Maccas, right? Hell no! I’m here to help you understand what branding is and why it is essential to your business.If you start a business and decide you want a logo, or you have a logo and you want a refresh or rebrand, this is for you.

via GIPHY

The logo design process:

1. You start the process of looking for a designer. We are everywhere. You can do a google search, ask on your socials or your local business networking group.

2. You will generally choose a designer for 2 reasons:

a) They fit within your budget

b) You like what they’ve already designed or like their style.

3. You’ll work with your designer on creating your shiny new logo.

4. Your designer will supply you with your logo files in print and web format

5. You go crazy uploading onto your socials, showing off your new logo.

6. Here’s where shit starts to go sideways. You need business cards, letterheads, Facebook ads, Google ads, signage, websites and more.

7. So you supply your logo to a printer for the business cards and letterheads. They show you some pretty paper and introduce some kinda flare to your designs. Sweet! Looks amazeballs.

8. You send your logo to your marketing guru to use on Facebook and google ads. They introduce some stock images to go with your logo. Great! Looks fantastic.

9. Off to the signwriter to get some car or building signage. They choose a font to advertise your business and add some rad graphics. Cool as ya nanna.

10. You find a web designer, send off that logo again and they create a web page. Throw in some wicked colours and fonts.

11. BOOM you’re online and in print….

……but nothing matches. The colours, fonts and images used are all different….

Its confusing AF!

Somewhere along the line the print and web colours got mixed up. That pretty teal green on your website has now turned into depressing poo green on your car signage.

So I’m going to stop you at step 1. Before shit goes sideways and you waste your time and money on ‘just a logo’. Spend that bit extra and get branding. Now branding will ensure your business looks and feels consistent and gets recognised. Colours, typography, images, copy, signage, marketing collateral, printing and digital design..all matching, all looking schmick.Schmick: [Informal Australian]: adjective: schmick. Meaning smart or stylish. That awesome feeling when a client stumbles upon your socials clicks to your website and knows that you are the same company.

The authenticity on your web flows through to your socials and visa versa. Branding is far more than just matching things. It can also incorporate smells, sounds, patterns, shapes, attitudes, feel and expectations. Think I sound a bit woo woo? Have you ever purchased an Apple product? How smooth is their packaging? It’s sleek, stylish and your senses light up when opening that box. Apple’s branding department is a well-oiled machine. Their product matches their packaging. It’s brilliant. You may not have Apples branding budget but that doesn’t mean you don’t bother with branding at all. Start with the basics and keep adding to your manual.