“Just a logo doesn’t work” I’ve told many new inquiries before starting on their project. The question usually befuddles them. “Why is that?” they ask, often confused by the difference between a logo and a branding suite. The answer, however, is pretty simple: logos don’t work in today’s market by themselves and brands are what actually sell your business now, not just logos. And if you’re still wondering why that is, here are five reasons why having “just” a logo doesn’t work anymore:
Introduction
A logo is like a first impression. It’s the one thing that people see right before forming an opinion about your company. If you want to show off how hot your brand is, then you’ve gotta have a logo that screams “I’m the hottest thing since sliced bread!”
Establishing a brand means so much more than having a logo.
A logo is just the beginning. Sure, it’s the first step you take in branding your company. But it’s far from the last. Branding is a process—not a product—and this starts with understanding what your brand stands for and how you want customers to perceive your business.
- Branding isn’t just about creating an emotional connection with your audience, but also communicating your unique value proposition (what makes you different) and telling your story to connect with people on an emotional level.
Here are some important things to keep in mind when establishing a brand:
A logo is a symbol. A brand is an identity.
A logo is the symbol of a brand.
A brand is an identity. It’s a collection of symbols, words and images that communicates something about who you are and what you do. The logo is just one piece of it—but it’s an important one!
The most visible part of your business’ identity, a well-designed logo will work hard to represent not only your company but also the services or products that make up its offering in a way that makes customers excited to buy from you again (and again).
A logo can be the face of your brand, but it doesn’t establish your voice.
If you think your logo is the face of your brand, it may be time to rethink that notion. Your logo is an important part of your identity and will help people recognize and remember you, but it doesn’t establish voice.
In other words, having a strong logo doesn’t mean that everything else about your brand will flow together harmoniously. If you want to reach out with consistency across all platforms—from social media to emails to print ads—you need more than just a pretty face. You need a clear sense of who you are as a brand and how others should perceive you, too (we call this “voice,” which we’ll get into later).
Having a logo does not mean you have a complete brand identity.
The common misconception is that a logo is the most important element of your brand identity. It’s not. Your logo only represents part of your brand identity, and never all of it.
Your brand identity is the sum total of all the visuals, words and actions that make up who you are as a company or business. The definition could be broad or specific—it depends on how detailed you want to get with defining your brand. For example: “I am an animal lover who runs an animal rescue center.” That’s pretty specific! Or maybe you define yourself as a company based on what people say about your products: “Our customers describe us as ‘fun-loving’ because we always choose bright colors for our packaging.” Both statements have merit in defining a personal brand; both statements could easily be used to create an overarching corporate statement if needed by expanding into multiple subcategories (i.e., pet-friendly clothing).
Logos are just one piece of this big puzzle called branding; but they’re significant enough that many companies commission designers to create them from scratch—and keep those logos up-to-date when necessary! Remember: A logo doesn’t make everything else happen; it simply represents something bigger than itself.”
Before you get a logo, make sure you know what you want for your brand and how you want to communicate it.
You should be asking yourself: What is my brand? Who do I want to reach? What do I want to say? How will I say it?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, how can you expect a designer to know what your business needs in order for them to produce something that communicates effectively with your audience and achieves the goals of your company.
Conclusion
When you tell someone that you’re a brand designer, they often ask, “what’s that?” The answer, of course, is so much more than just logos. But for some reason when it comes to working with clients and convincing them of this fact, I think we tend to forget it. We start off by saying that a logo is a symbol of your company, but forget to mention the why and how behind it. This causes many people to not see the value in hiring us or paying our fees because they only view us as creating logos (or one thing) instead of an entire brand system that helps solve their problems and achieve their goals. If you’re looking to get your brand off the ground today, contact us here so that we can help!
