Logo Vs Brand

Logo is a graphic mark or symbol used to aid or promote identification and recognition of an organization/company. It may be of an abstract or figurative design, a wordmark, a symbol adopted by an organization/company to identify its products, services, uniform, merchandise e.t.c.

The above image consist of various companies’ logo. A logo is Unique, different companies cannot share the same logo even if they serve the same customers/audience. A logo is just a distinctive mark or symbol that obviously distinguishes a company from another. Like we see in the image above, A logo may be a wordmark, an emblem, an abstract figure, a mascot e.t.c depending on the company’s value, audience, and market.

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature/element that rightfully identifies a product, good, or service as distinct from those of other sellers. It is a system, it is a strategy, it is the combination of many elements and workforces that determines the success level of a company, career, goods, product or services. Brand is the foundation of a company. It is the combination of major, necessary and critical factors that really determines the success of a company.

A logo is just a distinctive mark or symbol that obviously distinguishes a company from another while A Brand is the combination of elements and strategy that determines the success of a company. A Brand consists of elements that enable its success; in which Logo is a part of them. A Brand births the Logo.

5 Key Elements of Brand Identity

Brand identity is the visible looks, expressions and representation of a brand, such as color, design, and logo, that identify and distinguish the brand in consumers' minds. Brand identity is distinct from the brand image.

5 Key Elements of Brand Identity are the  essential or characteristic part of brand identity which are:

1) Wordmark or Logo

A logo or wordmark is one of the primary elements of an organization’s brand identity. The logo refers to a graphical symbol and wordmark is simply the name of the company that utilizes a distinct text-only typographic treatment.

However, if your organization is using a wordmark, ensure that the words are designed professionally and use a font that resembles your brand.

Another thing to think about when it comes to your logo or wordmark…your organization should also design multiple variations so that you can use the correct one based on where you are using it. For example, you should have a reversed option when you use your logo or wordmark on dark background versus a light background.

2) Corporate Font

You have to decide which fonts you want to use in all your graphical entities like website, flyers e.t.c.. In many cases, your brand identity designer will select a typeface/font from the logo itself. But, if the logo style is too decorative then it cannot be used for proposals and letters.

For materials that are shared, like Ms PowerPoint or Word, your creative agency or designer should ensure that the fonts they use are available for both PCs and Macs and readily available on both systems.

3) Consistency In Style and Designs

Style consistency is particularly important for images and must have consistency in their look and feel. For instance, your images can be brightly lit photos in which people are looking directly at the camera or the images may use a perceptive color palette with people not looking at the camera but rather engaged in their work.

Similarly, photos may be crisply detailed, have a soft focus, or use a zoomed in effect. Apart from photos, your organization can use illustrations, line art, or other similar graphical elements. No matter what type of images you decide to go with, all should have a consistent style across all marketing channels, whether it is online or print media.

Along with imagery, your brand colors play an important role in brand recognition. Ideally, you should select two main colors to represent your brand and one accent color. Your colors should be chosen based on the emotions they evoke and how you want to convey your business. For example, yellow expresses happiness while green conveys prosperity. And also your color should align with your logo or wordmark.

4) Shape and Form

Another important aspect of brand identity is the shape and form of different elements that represent your brand. This effective yet subtle element can be utilized for branding purposes. For instance, if your logo comprises soft edges and circles then people will react differently to it compared to when they see a logo that is square and sharp.

Different shapes and lines kindle different feelings, let us briefly go through the details here:

For Instance; Round shapes symbolize things that are warm and help in creating a feeling of unity.

So you have to find and use the shape and form that suits your brand the most for  better interpretation and representation.

5) Theme Lines/Tag Lines

Tag lines or theme lines help in easily identifying the brand. If the theme line becomes popular, it becomes part of brand identity and people tend to remember them for long.

Few good examples include Nike’s “Just do it.” and KFC’s “It’s finger-lickin’ good”. If it is a catchy theme line, people will easily remember it and associate it with your brand.