There has been a misconception about logo design and brand identity design that people often misunderstand as one single concept. Whether you’re a startup, gearing up for a successful launch, or a small business in quest of making big in your industry, knowing this difference can make your branding efforts relevant and effective.
Since the abundance of information on the web, anyone can acquire knowledge and this, sometimes, lead to various wrong concepts about branding. If you truly want to activate all essential branding elements, this post is exactly what you’re looking for.
Come, let us explain how having a logo design caters to your brand identity and what particular factors entail to strong branding, below.
What is Brand Identity?
As a starter, you must have various questions relating to logo design, branding, and most importantly, the brand identity that has been a hot topic since your discovery phase. Let’s explain the big picture, the brand identity, first and then come to smaller parts of this whole branding concept.
So, what is brand identity?
How does it contribute to your business success?
Is having a logo design enough for brand identity?
And so on…
Basically, the brand identity design refers to those elements that a company uses to form a public image in the eyes of the consumers. It includes the color of your marketing collateral, shape of your logo design, style of your merchandise, your marketing messages and everything that you use to create a public perception of your company. Just like a human being is known to have some habits, some resolutions and commitments that form his overall personality, a company is also viewed by its messages, tone, and a visual appearance that is set by typography and the logo design elements.
Let us make it easier and more digestible with the example below!
You want to be perceived as a style icon in your circle. So, you stay up-to-date on the latest fashion trends for girls, you try different hairstyles, get nail treatments and subscribe to Vogue to know the latest fashion trends. These actions allow you to get informed about brands and showcase your expertise in fashion.
You give fashion advice whenever your girls talk about a celebs’ fashion sense and suggest who did it better. In return, you expect their nod or that “Yeah, exactly” when you complete your sentence. And ultimately, you want them to seek out your help on anything relating to fashion.
Now, your act of collecting fashion information, getting hair and nails done, and paying a subscription for Vogue all these elements can be the components of your personal branding. And similarly, your business needs to have such essential branding elements (that we’ve mentioned below) in order to stay relevant to what’s trendy in the market and develop authority as a brand. So, whenever someone seeks the products/services that you offer, they instantly think of you knowing that you share expert opinions on such matters.
Based on the perks of brand identity, it no longer remains for business owners, only. In every field, people are trying to stand out via authenticity and authority as a brand. So, even if you start a blog or any other side hustle, you will have to create an identity to define your uniqueness.
Logo Design Vs. Brand Identity
Now comes the part that startups and SMBs get wrong, logo design and brand identity!
Brand identity, as described earlier, is the public side of a brand that sets a company’s overall personality in the eyes of its core consumer. It involves a multitude of brand establishment elements such as the colors, typography, voicing and taglines.
On contrary to that, having a professional logo design is an essential part of forming the brand’s identity. It is the corporate face of your company that people first see and recognize that its YOU.
So, get this concept that a logo design is one of the integral parts of the brand identity that we have for enhancing the branding efforts and make your company distinguishable in the market. And the brand identity is how you want your company to be perceived by your core consumers by using all these branding methods.
External Branding Guidelines
Now, that you know what exactly is the brand identity and what is the role of having a professional logo design in this equation, let us move on to more important part. Here are 5 essential branding guidelines that can set your startup as well as a small business on the right track to captivate the attention of your core consumers, get more sales, and have a sizable market share – of your market – via the branding endeavours.
Name & Logo Design
In order to create a unique brand identity, you first have to choose the perfect business name and the logo design it will have. These are the primary brand vitals that you must get right in order to have brand recognition that is distinct as well as memorable for the consumers. For your ease, your name and logo should have the following traits:
- It should have a timeless feel to it that doesn’t vanish away in 6 months’ time span.
- It should be clear in communicating what exactly you do and what are your business values.
- The logo design must contain the element of attraction for someone who’s introduced with your business for the first time.
- The logo design must, also, be simple in basic design approach yet memorable for the viewer.
There are various brilliant brand identity examples that have capitalized on their logo design to boost their sales and branding such as Apple, McDonalds, and FedEx.
Slogans & Taglines
Once you get your Name & Logo Design right, it is time to work on your brand’s slogan!
This is a semi-visual part that holds the power to invoke certain emotions about your brand and makes instant connection between you (the brand) and the end consumer. A simple rule is to keep your slogan or taglines as close to your mission statement and values as you could.
Just look at some of the famous brand taglines and you’ll have an idea how to do it right.
Coca Cola – Open Happiness!
The brand aims at refreshing mind, body, and spirit via optimism and happiness.
Apple – Think Different
Apple aims at transforming how we think, work, learn and communicate that it reshares with this tagline.
L’Oreal – Because You’re Worth It
L’Oreal positions itself as an organization that strives to give the best of the cosmetic industry to both genders.
Nike – Just Do It
Nike aims at athletes with its innovative footwear (and various other products) with its tagline that encourages everyone to aim to be better.
Work on your slogans and taglines so that they both represent your business’s mission statement as well as a vision just like your professional logo does. Because only then you can achieve your brand identity goals.
Color Palettes
After selecting a tagline and the logo design for your business, it is time to choose a color palette as to give your business a certain feel. Psychologists confirm that different colors leave different impact on our minds and this information can help you shape your brand’s identity, too. In order to create an impressive brand identity, you must select a certain color that is visible in every marketing activity (or marketing collateral), too.
In order to pick the right color palette (that goes with your brand identity), here are some essential factors to consider:
- Understand your brand’s overall feel and explore different possibilities of color selection.
- Explore what meaning each color holds and try to pick the one that’s most relevant to your brand personality.
- If you’re not sure how to select one, try seeking the industry leaders and see how they’ve used a certain color.
- You can have primary and secondary brand colors that complement or contract with each other.
Typography
After logo design, tagline, and color palette, you must select a font that goes well with your brand image. Brand typography is another essential element to your brand identity design. People perceive how well or worse your brand could be based on the fonts that are representing you. For example, having a fancy font to represent your law firm won’t be an ideal approach. Similarly, you must not use a bold font that gives a harsh image of your brand if you’re running a spa.
In order to select the most relevant font, you must keep track of few aspects that are:
- The prospective font must have different weights.
- The selected font must be legible for every viewer from a length.
- The font, in question, should be customizable in nature so that you easily adjust it according to your branding needs.
Tone & Voice
Now comes the last, but important, factor of external branding guidelines that makes or breaks your brand identity, the tone and voice. It refers to the way a business speaks, addresses a matter or interact with its consumers.
Just like we, the humans, use certain poses and pitches, a brand can have a tone, too. While adjusting the tone of your brand, be conscious enough to not give it a bad name in the eyes of your consumers. As if you share your marketing messages carelessly and pay no attention on your wordings, your brand identity will suffer despite having an amazing logo design, brilliant slogan and magnificent color selection.
We do hope that now you know the exact meaning of brand identity, what elements (including professional logo design) constitute the brand’s public image and how you can adjust it.
