Don't Buy a Logo. Build Yourself a Brand.

Logos are important, and I love designing them, but a brand is much more significant than a logo. The brand is the persona that customers identify in every touchpoint or interaction with you, your company, your staff, and your website. One of the best quotes on branding comes from an interview with brand guru Seth Godin:

“If Nike opened a hotel, I think we would be able to guess pretty accurately what it would be like. If Hyatt came out with sneakers, we’d have no clue. Because Hyatt doesn’t have a brand. They have a logo.”

It could be argued that while a bad logo can be a good brand, design journals are littered with cool logos that were sunk by bad branding. So when you call in a curious generalist for a logo and design project, expect to get a deep-dive into the company, its operating principles, the competitive landscape, and the ways customers, partners, and observers discover and interact with your company, its products & services, and its competitors.

Design A Brand, Not a Decal

My branding packages then will include more than the logo. We’ll talk colors and shapes, sure, but we’ll also explore the brand persona. I’m not saying you’ll need a Myers-Briggs test, but since your customers will identify a persona through interaction, you need to start before that interaction does. Here’s a great tool I’ll give you for free.

Are you looking to build a high-end boutique bouquet business or a playful and energetic flower shop? Are you providing accessible but professional interior design assistance, or are you already an established high-end design firm?  The answers will determine more than colors and fonts. They determine your voice.

When branding is done well, your persona will shine through. Let’s get to work distilling that persona, condensing the essential identity of your enterprise through presentation, voice, and engagement. Then your logo will work as a representation of the brand, rather than just a new sticker pasted to your communiques.