The terms Branding, Identity, and Logo are a lot of times used interchangeably. Here’s the difference and how they relate to your business:

BRAND

A brand is a poignant connection, a relationship that your organization has with your target audience or market. It is a relationship that lives on. The famous designer Marty Neumeier says that a “Brand is a gut feeling” and “It’s not what YOU say it is, it’s what THEY say it is”.

Branding is earned, not made. You can take control by condensing the most important features of the organization and translating its uniqueness to consumers. When creating and delivering value with clear, authentic, consistent messages and actions, and when you live as you learn, you build credibility and trust. The reward is better business and loyalty.

A brand strategist has great market knowledge, guides, and challenges through the process of building a “brand platform”.

The platform gives a “frame” for the organizations’ values, how it should behave and speak, what and where it should communicate. It’s a time-saver, preventing you from reinventing the wheel each time. It helps to put everyone on the same page and to keep consistency.

IDENTITY

Identity is a systematic package of illustrative signs that an organization makes use of to convey information about its brand. It has to do with how your brand looks and feels to your target audience. A visual concept based on the brand platform.

These visual signs could be a trademark, fonts, and/or a color system. They can also include layout, creation of images (style of photo, illustration, icons, patterns), and typefaces.

Using consistent signs permits your target market to create or form a memory structure as well as what value you offer to them to make their lives better or happier.

A graphic designer has skills to create signs that allow your company or product to be identified, understood, and preferred. They know how to organize your message to make it legible and stand out as well as create new devices aligned with your concept and identity.

1. Posters, brochures, books, flyers, invitations, menus
2. Signage – exterior and interior design
3. Customized clothing, recipients,
4. Packaging
5. Stationery – business card, envelopes, letterheads
6. Websites, apps, social media, presentations, e-mails
7. Written content like key messages

LOGO

Logo comes from ancient Greek “logos”, meaning “word”, and is usually used for Trademark. Trademarks are created by customized signs and can be symbols, wordmarks, monograms, icons, signs, or badges.

A trademark not only identifies the brand/products but gives a hint of its origin (it’s handmade, yes, I want to support local), for who it’s intended (it’s comic, no, I was looking for an advanced technical solution), the quality and prize of the goods (it’s blue and yellow, yes, I can afford that). Why does it matter? Because of desire and expectations. When what your logo expresses is relevant to your offer, you make it possible for customers to choose you. In the opposite case, they are disappointed, choose a competitor’s brand/product, or don’t even notice you’re there.

Branding, identity as well as logos works synergetically to project an organization or business entity to the public, or more accurately its target audience. They are essential ingredients that any business entity, whether new or existing, should strive to incorporate into the big picture of the establishment. If your plan is to remain relevant in your market for a long time.