Many people find it confusing to distinguish between the terms brand, identity, and a logo. These three terms are usually used interchangeably, and whereas a layman can be excused for doing so, the same case should never be for a professional designer. However, if you are in the design world and you have never fully comprehended the difference between the three words, no need to worry – even some of the most polished designers know how to apply them but cannot give the outright distinction of the three words. Below, we try to figure out the differences in these potentially confusing words as well as give an explicit explanation on when each can be applied.

Understanding what a Logo is

At its basic meaning, a logo is a mark that is used to identify a brand. The term logo originates from the Greek word Logotype, a combination of two words, logo and typos meaning word and imprint respectively. The aim of the logo is primarily to promote instant public recognition of the brand. With such a significant role, the logo plays an important in the identity system of an organization, and since people are visual beings, it is also crucial for the branding of the organization. Potential customers will have a look at the logo, which is the visual mark of the company, they then will retain its color, shape and form and remember it whenever they see it another time. A logo thus becomes associated with the brand of the company or the organization.

In most instances, a logo usually consists of an icon or a symbol together with words that can be either the company’s name or the company’s slogan or tag line. There are also several instances when a logo does not have any icon or a symbol but comprise of a logotype, which essentially is nothing but just words without any symbols.

There are some cases when a brand becomes so popular that it can be easily recognized by just the symbol or the icon. It doesn’t happen most of the time, but when it does, the respective companies usually benefit a lot from the branding prowess of such logos. For instance, the Red Cross, Apple, and Nike are examples of logos that are well known in the world over, yet they feature simple symbols with no words at all.

Identity defines how your brand is perceived by your audience

Identity dictates every possible way on how your brand is perceived by your potential audiences. Identity, also known as visual identity or visual identity system in branding refers to the visual devices that a company uses to communicate its brand to the target audience. These might include but not limited to items such as a color system, graphic designs, logos, fonts, etc. The system may or may not incorporate other collateral such as brochures, signage, and stationery as well as written content like a positioning statement.

When you search over the internet for the correct meaning of a visual brand identity system, you will be bombarded with lots of information, but all these will concur that identity, in most cases refers to the visual elements that are used to recognize a company or a business. They are majorly the physical elements that customers, as well as the potential customers of the company, come in contact with. A complete package to define a brand would, therefore, include items such as the logo, email signatures, ads, websites, business cards, employee uniforms, the package designs, the store layouts, word mark, the corporate jingle, emblem, stationery symbols, etc.

A Brand – This is a concept and not a concrete of a physical object

A brand is the biggest picture in the equation and it is the foundation of every marketing framework that a company comes up with. Essentially, a brand relates to the psychological and emotional relationship that exists between a company and their customers. As defined by a well-known branding expert Marty Neumeier, a brand is your gut feeling about a business, product or a service. It is not actually what you say it is but rather what THEY say it is. Being that a brand is a gut feeling, therefore, it simply boils down to what you feel and think the very moment you come into contact with the company in question or any of their products and services.

Over the years, it has been proven that human beings are very emotional when it comes to brands. Hence, it makes it nearly impossible to give a precise definition to the concept of brand. People accumulate such gut feelings based on different experiences depending on their interaction with the company either physically or through the phone, emails, adverts, etc.

But for a strong brand to be built, a strong foundation is needed. Human emotions are very tricky. Hence, you must get it right with the messaging and the design to clearly communicate to your customers and clients. Hopefully, this clears the air about the difference between a logo, branding, and identity.

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Green businesses, also known us sustainable businesses are ventures with minimal negative impacts on the local as well as global environments. A logo for such a type of business should thus capture the essence of the business and help in promoting the ideals and ideas of the venture. The design process for a green business logo will not differ significantly from the of other types of logos only that you have to consider the context of the design, the intended user as well as the green message to be displayed by the logo. Listed here are important factors of consideration as far as green business logo design is concerned-:

Keep the design simple

Simplicity is a great factor of concern that not only affects the design of green business logos but every other kind of logo. But concerning designing a green business logo, it should be kept simple and clear to pass the intended message concisely to the target audience. The simpler the logo is, the more effective it will be in creating a lasting impression on those who see it hence enhancing the branding efforts of the green business.

The color of the logo

The color choice in logo design does more things than just enhance the aesthetic or the visual appeal of the logo. Colors are used to evoke different emotions from those who will be seeing the logo. It is, therefore, important to have in mind the particular message you want the logo to display as well as the kind of emotions you want evoked from those who will be seeing the logo. Green businesses are agents of conservations and advocates of processes that doesn’t have adverse effects on the environment. In most cases, green is usually the predominant color for the design of such logos. As a designer, therefore, you have the liberty to use green, and its various shades in the design but you can also deviate a little, and use earth colors like mild shades of orange, grey, etc. Ultimately, however, remember it is a green business logo hence it must express the spirit and the letter of the business, which will always revolve around conservation.

Fonts used

A logo is all about communication, and this includes all types of logos, including a green business logo. The font choice is an important element in green logo design since it will have a direct implication on the final visual impact of the logo. The ideal font should not just be legible but also be readable so that people can see and read and understand the message of the logo. There are different fonts suitable for different design projects. As a designer, it is your responsibility to choose the suitable font, which will be unique to the green logo industry and will have the ability to communicate effectively with the image of the design. There are a plethora of places to search for different fonts that you can use to great results in a green logo.

Nature of the green business

The green industry is a wide and a varied one. To come up with the appropriate green business logo, it is imperative that you understand the specifics of the businesses. This is what will dictate the target audience as well other logo design components such as the imagery used. Understanding the specifics of the industry will also give the ability to coin the main marketing message in a simple and effective manner. Avoid the temptation to over-think and try to make things complicated at this stage.

Always be creative and don’t copy

Conservation businesses always have the desire to be unique so that they can attract a good number of following to believe in their products and services. One way of standing out in this manner is to have a unique logo to tell the story of the business. As far as the green industry is concerned, there are endless places to get inspiration if at all you are struggling with coming up with unique ideas. You can think about nature, animals, green energy products amongst a wide variety of items for inspiration so that you green business logo will be guaranteed to be unique.

Use Negative Space to draw attention

The use of negative space is very powerful in any logo design and not just in designing green business logos alone. Since green businesses are keen on passing on specific messages to their audiences, and business logo is one of the tools they use for doing so, the use of negative spaces is very appropriate. With a negative space, you can draw attention to sections of the design where you want the viewer to focus most. You can also use negative space with these logos to create interaction with the user with a view of enhancing their comprehension of the message so that they become more aware of the brand.

There still are a plethora of other factors you can use to design a green business logo, but these are the most fundamental ones that will give you higher chances of coming up with a great design.

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Having a strategy for brand expansion is absolutely crucial for any company. From the perspective of the designer it’s extremely important to create logos that can help your clients to build on their brand strategy and to expand for the future. The rules for branding have evolved considerably in today’s digital age especially with the help of content marketing, social media and mobile optimization. Any brand strategy needs to change in order to compete in today’s digital world. As a result, creating a successful brand has become more challenging than ever before. Here are some of the top tips for creating an effective brand strategy for your clients with a strong logo and with even stronger branding materials.

Creating relatable concepts:

Any brand needs to be highly relatable today and creating a brand that’s a little bit too trendy or complicated can only work to turn a company’s shareholders and consumers against them. For a rebranding effort or for a start up company it’s very important that consumers know exactly what to expect out of the brand strategy. By losing strategic focus or by trying something that’s too out there, it’s possible that a branding strategy may not produce a return on investment.

Creating a relatable concept for brand means being deliberate with the identity of a brand. Branding in the future rollout of new branding materials needs to be calculated and straightforward. The idea of reinventing new branding strategies does work but it’s a risky concept. Ultimately the goal for any new brand or rebranding effort means creating relatable concepts that their target market will expect rather than something that will catch them off guard. Establishing trust with a market is important and knocking them off their feet often doesn’t produce the same effect as a brand that they will feel has been with them for years.

Continuous innovation and calculated execution:

Creating a single logo for a company isn’t enough to consider it fully branded. In order for a company to have a fully established brand it’s very important that they are constantly innovating their branding strategy. Many companies often fall short when it comes to implementing new branding strategies as well as improving new products and introducing marketing materials that will keep up with the demands of new markets as they emerge. An excellent example of companies that were unable to continuously innovate and execute new branding strategies as they were required would be Blockbuster, Volvo, Blackberry and more.

With the rapid rollout of new advertising and branding strategies in today’s digital marketplace introducing new packaging, logo and marketing materials requires near-perfect execution to capture the maximum return on investment. Establishing an early reputation for excellence and continuing to elevate a branding strategy through innovation is what is needed to stay relevant and to capture a target market.

Leaving a legacy:

In every element of your branding you should consider how it potentially serves other people and serves your target market. When a designer creates a logo they should be creating it with the thought in mind they could be part of a company’s legacy. This added responsibility will help to make sure that all of the marketing materials produced as part of a brand strategy are not only to develop the brand as a whole but to produce materials that will live on as a legacy for the company. When we look at some of the top branding through the years we can see how their strategy evolved but how the core components still remain the same. The Coca-Cola logo for example still bears many of the same elements from its original branding and marketing material from its inception.

When we think of the impact that branding has on a company as well as others we can start to think of the feelings that marketing materials stir up when we see them. A branding strategy is not only about increasing sales and improving the recognition of a company but leaving awake throughout history of how the company came to be. Every new change in branding can be a reflection of the time and a small footprint of the people that built that brand to the place it is today.

Inspiration:

Above all a brand needs to influence somebody’s state of mind and inspire them to learn more about a company. Branding can communicate hope as well as influence someone to respond to a brand message. The impact of a brand influence can resonate especially if branding is able to adapt over time to speak to different generations.

The average consumer today expects to be inspired by marketing materials and is not easily swayed with so much information available at their fingertips. Content marketing and execution needs to be heavily choreographed in order to inspire and this is why inspiration is such a big part of adapting a brand strategy.

Keep these top elements in mind when you are working towards the future of your brand.

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