26 Mar Is a logo the same as a brand identity?
I think it would be fair to say, that in the 27 years that The Maltings Studios has been designing, we’ve seen and heard every cliché and had every old chestnut thrown at us! One of my personal favourite’s is ‘can you just do a quick logo for me?’.
The answer to that is of course NO! A good logo needs time to build, it changes as you refine and hone it and the final logo may go through many edits. Yet, many people assume you pluck it out of the air.
I always find it really odd that a client’s expectation of the logo you are designing, is often compared to that of a multi-million pound brand. Some seem to think that their logo will do all the work for them and that they do not need to invest in their brand identity.
As a company we always try and get our clients to understand the difference between having a great logo and a great brand. Your logo design is influenced by your brand, putting it simply a landscape gardener may have a leaf included in his logo, thus reflecting what he does. But that logo alone is not going to get him new clients. However, if you build a strong brand identity and be clear on what your company stands for, you will communicate your message of ‘this is who we are, this is what we do and this is our story’.
So, once you have created this company ethos, stick to it. Consistency is key to your brand. There is no point investing in one set of beliefs only to change a month later. I can think of a couple of leading brands, whose logo’s are not great, but you don’t think about it, because their brand identity is so strong, they have invested thousands to create a real sense of what their brand is about. Putting it simply, their brand clearly tells their story.