Too often, a beautifully-designed logo is confused with a fully-fledged brand.
After finalising their logos with a designer, many businesses fall into the trap of abandoning further marketing efforts, as they believe that their new logo will speak for itself.
However, it is vital to bear in mind that your logo is only the first step in a long journey to creating a strong and successful identity for your company. Your brand is not just your logo, it’s so much more.
So, what is a logo?
The purpose of a logo is to simply identify your business in the simplest way possible, usually using a mark, icon or symbol.
It’s true, logos are important. Afterall, they form a crucial part of your brand message and are likely to be the first thing a customer sees when first encountering your business.
How is this different from branding?
Logos do not directly describe your business, instead, it should derive its meaning from the quality of your product or service.
A fantastic example is Apple. The bite-sized mark emblazoned on their products is well-known across the globe. This is not entirely down to the logo, per se, it’s because of what that small piece of fruit represents. Apple has built its brand identity around a humanistic approach which emotionally connects with its audience, so much so that they feel part of a tribe.
The concept of branding is not straightforward, unfortunately. It all depends on your company and industry. It forms your ‘corporate image’, which consists of a set of values that should be reflected throughout everything that you do.
When curating your brand, you should seriously consider the culture of your business, as well as your values, your vision and mission statements. All of this should run deep within the veins of everything you do, from dealing with customers to treating staff and, yes, you should remember it when creating a logo.
Your brand should sum up what drives you, what you stand for and why you exist. It’s not just about the colours and typeface that appear on your website.
Nike demonstrates this use of branding impeccably. Their whole identity revolves around what they do: fashionable athletics. Everything it sells and how it presents itself on television, in magazines and online mirrors this.
At Mattix Design, we can help you to discover and refine your brand. It all starts with thinking about what makes your business stand out from the rest in your industry. From here, we can get to know your industry inside out so we can tailor your brand to your target audience. We can then guide you in finding a way to communicate your key offerings to your ideal customers.
If you’d like to talk more about branding, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
