LOGOS & BRANDING
Think of a logo as your representative to your brand. It’s often the first point of contact between your business and target audience. But a brand is more than just the name on the merch. It’s the experience your company promises to deliver to its clientele. It’s the story and message that get communicated with everyone who comes in contact with your company. What is your business trying to say when someone walks into a store? When someone sits down to eat? When someone clicks on your social media profile or website, what message do they receive? What reputation do you have in your target market? A well-defined brand should be a silent ambassador of your values, a clear representative of your culture & personality, and set the expectation for quality. It’s the foundation of what everything else in your company should be built on top of. And you know what happens to anything built on a bad foundation. You can have an incredible product, but with terrible branding.. nobody will see it or care.
Sticking with the foundation example, if a brand is the foundation and the business/product and everything else come together to make up the house… then a logo is the mailbox or curb appeal (for those of us whose fancy-schmancy house doesn’t have a mailbox anymore) out front. The logo is the representative for the brand behind it. As such, it should be a champion for your brand and clearly communicate who you are. Paul Rand once said, “A logo doesn’t sell (directly), it identifies.” The market is like a neighborhood with a bunch of open houses trying to get potential buyers to come in and choose them. The house with the dilapidated mailbox, and the unkept front yard with overgrown weeds and cracked walkways… is getting skipped every single time. Doesn’t matter if the inside is perfect.
Don’t let that be your house/brand getting skipped.
Imagine a swoosh. What brand am I talking about? How did you know I was talking about Nike? I didn’t say imagine the company who has a swoosh. They’ve just become synonymous with “the swoosh.” When you see that little check mark you think sport, prestige, a certain level of quality is expected. Their brand recognition is instant and worldwide. How much so?
A swoosh is not a check.
Swoosh: the sound produced by a sudden rush of air or liquid. to pour out swiftly. to move with or make a rustling, swirling, or brushing sound.
Imagine your brand and logo are SO strong, that you completely dominate a misnomer. That your brand creates a new definition. Because the majority of the world, and that most likely includes you too, hear “swoosh” and think of their logo even though swoosh is not a shape. If a child scrapes their knee, you look for a…. Band-aid correct? But why? Any bandage will do, so why are you picking Band-aid? They’ve become so synonymous with adhesive bandage, that the term bandage has been replaced by their specific brand. Just like telling people “Google” something instead of search. That’s how important it is. A strong brand can make people think of no other possibility BUT you when it comes to options. And that’s very good for business.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?
WHERE DO WE COME IN?
Our job is to listen, assess, design, then implement when it comes to your branding. We take a story/vision-first approach and make sure everything is meaningful, not just trendy or smashing initials together for a logo or using ChatGPT to define a mission statement. Your brand has a story, and we make sure that story is conveyed clearly. We will build you a logo that is both functional, versatile, and something people actually want to look at or represent. And finally, we will define the intangibles of your branding like tone and aesthetic. We will curate the entire experience for your intended audience.
BOTTOM LINE
Jeff Bezos famously said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Aside from knowing what it is you’re trying to sell, your branding and logo probably leave the biggest impact on people. You absolutely must get this part right if you hope to build a successful business. World reknown brand strategist David Brier believes that if you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you. And he’s absolutely correct. “If you don’t give them a story… they’ll make one” right? Take command of your branding from top to bottom and leave none of that to chance.
Work with us to help build your brand by creating a strong logo, a purpose-driven palette, and clearly defining values & beliefs for your clientele. When someone comes across your company or brand, they will remember it.
Questions? Get in touch below.