Being a branding agency, we frequently receive questions from our clients about whether branding or logo design comes first. They often need guidance on which to focus on or create first. This is a common query in the branding world and a lot of people think both are interchangeable. In actuality, a brand and a logo are two separate parts of a whole branding journey.
However, don’t worry about not knowing the difference or significance beforehand. Branding is tricky and complicated, not everyone knows all the hows, whys, and whats. Plus, that’s what we’re here for! To help you learn all you need to know about branding.
Back to the topic, branding and logo design are two different things that aren’t interchangeable. They both have their own significance. Take, for example, McDonald’s logo is a great identifier for its brand but it isn’t the main event. It is simply a symbol that can be recognised by consumers. It shows consumers what that brand is and what it does. Without branding, a logo could mean nothing. McDonald’s mission is “to make delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone” and its logo reminds consumers of that every time it appears. Before we get into anything else, allow us to explain the definitions of branding and logo design.
What Is Branding?
Branding is a process where you create a positive image or perception of a company. Mainly focusing on delivering a message of what the brand is and what it does, this process includes a brand’s:
- Strategy
- Identity
- Purpose & Promise
- Values
- Positioning
- Architecture
- Personality
- Design
– and everything in between. It’s a long but meaningful process, especially if you want your brand to be successful at marketing itself to your audience. Your audience plays a huge role in influencing your brand and how you market your brand. They need to trust your brand for it to earn their loyalty and this contributes to how your brand would gain a loyal and growing consumer base.
On top of that, branding is not necessarily something that is done only for up-and-coming companies, existing companies can also rebrand if they wish to or have to. Since all aspects of a great brand need to be consistent with each other, rebranding would mean changing every single aspect according to the change of direction. This means changing everything from the vision and mission of a company down to the tone of voice. A company would want to rebrand due to various reasons including, wanting to grow or wanting to attract a new target audience.
There are a few examples of brands that excelled at their branding and are still standing strong. The first example, and probably the most-known brand, is Apple. Apple has been standing strong ever since it started and it’s still going strong all thanks to its branding strategy. They don’t focus on the pricing and instead focus more on being innovative and making sure every product of its brand performs. In addition to that, they reflect their brand message in every product or service that is produced which is, “if you are an Apple person, you are also innovative, imaginative, and creative.”
Another example of a brand, also one of the biggest, would be Tesla. Tesla set the standard in energy-saving automotive. Their message of wanting to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” is reflected in whatever is pushed out by the company. Each product being better than the last for a better environment and a more enjoyable automotive journey.
Per the examples, you can see that the brand message plays an important role in connecting with your consumers. According to Simon Sinek’s “Golden Circle” theory, a brand should always have a why, how and what about their company. This helps determine your brand’s message. What do you do? How do you execute it that makes you different from others in the same category? Last but not least, why do you do what you do? These questions build your brand message and thus lead you to create a logo that closely reflects that message.
What Is a Logo Design?
A logo is the main identifier of a brand. It contributes to the brand identity and it helps in making an excellent first impression on your consumers or target audience. An especially unique and memorable logo allows your consumers to remember you better and henceforth recognise your brand in the future.
A logo design can be derived from many key aspects of your brand. There are also many types of logos to choose from when you are coming up with a design. For example, the Twitter logo is a type of pictorial mark while Amazon’s logo is more of a wordmark.
Fun fact: Amazon’s logo has a hidden meaning behind the arrow symbol that looks like a smile. Notice that the arrow is pointing from A to Z in the word “Amazon”, which carries the message of “we provide products ranging from A to Z”.
Which Comes First?
The main difference between a logo and a brand is; one is the visual appearance and the latter is everything contributing to the foundation of a company. Creating a logo is only the tip of the iceberg that includes all the other aspects of branding.
Regarding the question of which comes first; professionals would say that branding comes first. This is because branding can be considered the umbrella term that covers the whole process of building up a brand for your company. As mentioned earlier, branding includes a lot of aspects and that includes a logo design.
In a simpler way of understanding it, branding comes first because there would be no logo without a brand. Everything that has to do with the branding process contributes to the creation of the logo. Imagine an iceberg, a logo is like an iceberg tip that is floating above the water and the rest of the iceberg underneath the water is your brand. They are not interchangeable but are interdependent in a way.
In addition to that, although having a logo is important for your consumers to easily recognise your brand, it isn’t always necessary. There are many brands that made it big and are still making it big, without having a typical symbol logo. Take, IKEA, for example. IKEA is a globally recognised brand yet it doesn’t have a typical logo design. Or rather, its brand is its logo. People see the recognisable IKEA font on a set of furniture assembly instructions and they can immediately recognise where it’s from.
Another excellent example of a successful brand that does not need a logo is Coca-Cola. Instead of using logos, Coca-Cola uses a blend of shape, colour and form. With their signature red and white colour palette and their use of waves accompanied by a silhouette of a Coke glass bottle, they are recognised anywhere in the world by anyone at all.
So, a logo design, though still important, is not something that makes or breaks your company. Your branding and marketing sets the tone and attract the right people.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, a brand and the branding journey are what contribute to the foundation of a company. It’s quite literally what makes or breaks a company. On the other hand, a logo design can be the aftermath of branding or be derived from any key aspects of your company’s branding. Thus, in most cases, branding comes first and a logo is birthed from that.
After everything that has been explained, allow us to remind you that every case is different. You might’ve already fallen in love with a logo design before the whole branding process but that doesn’t mean you’re wrong for doing it in that order. There is no fixed formula or one-fits-all method for branding. That’s what CR8 Consultancy strives to do for our clients. For more info, you can visit our homepage!
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