Your Logo Is Not Your Brand

It’s time to clear up a common misconception, a logo and a brand are not interchangeable terms. In fact, they are not the same thing at all! 

My mentor and brand guru, Marty Neumeier 'dispelled the myth' in his book The Brand Gap, "A brand is not a logo, an identity or a product". A brand, is a gut feeling, a consumers emotions about a particular company or product. The logo is a visual representation of that a company or product. However, it’s isn’t the brand itself. In contrast, a brand has a much broader definition. Your brand comprises everything that defines your company – who you are, what you do, where you want to be, and what you believe in. It’s the emotions people feel when they think of your products or services (back to Neumeier). This is far more than a creative image. And, an expertly designed logo is worthless if your brand is terrible.

Think of one of the world’s most recognized logo icons – the Apple. Would the logo be as powerful for the company Apple if the products they produced weren’t so spectacular? If they didn’t continually push the technology envelope and bring cutting edge products to market, the Apple logo would have little recognition.  The fact that Apple is wildly popular with consumers, their products are easy to use and understand, and they have incredible marketing has created their powerful brand. The logo is just a visual representation of this message.

So, if you’ve been considering getting a new logo developed, you may actually want to start with a review of your brand and what is truly saying about your business. From there, you can start looking at the elements that support what you’re trying to project, including that pretty image on your website.

If you're hungry for more on this topic check out one of my favorite books, Your Brand Is Not Your Logo: It Is an Experience that Lives in Your Customer's Gut by Robert Brunner, Stewart Emery & Russ Hall