For a company, establishing its name and reputation to target customers and users is one of its main priorities. Logo design and branding are just two of the main factors that can affect the company’s integrity. But more often than not, people have difficulty distinguishing these concepts from one another. Now, you might have some ideas about the difference between logo design and branding. But for a more in-depth understanding, you can continue to read this article, especially if you want to be part of the branding agencies UK.
To keep your curiosity over, basically, logo design is the process of creating a visual representation of the company. Meanwhile, branding is the process of creating a favorable image of the company or institution through logo, design, content, and consistent theme in marketing.
Importance of Logo Design
A logo is a visual representation of the company that uses symbols, words, images, and colors. Some classic logos you might think of are the ‘M’ logo of McDonald’s, the blue bird logo of Twitter, the bitten apple logo of Apple, or the checkmark logo of Nike.
As you can notice, from these classic logos alone, you can identify the companies behind them. In fact, about 75% of the consumers recognized brands through its logo. Furthermore, about 5 out of 10 consumers in the U.S. would likely buy products or use services from companies whose logos they easily recognize.
Thus, one cannot deny the importance of logo design in establishing your company’s name and reputation to clients and customers. Listed below are some of the advantages of having an easy-to-recognize and appealing logo for your company:
- It can make a good first impression.
- It can attract attention and help the company to stand out from the crowd.
- It can help form the company’s brand identity.
- It can promote brand awareness and express the overall vibe of the company.
Importance of Branding
Unlike logo design which only pertains to a visual representation of the company, branding is a much more complex process that focuses on building the company’s image in the mind of the target consumers through effective and consistent visual design, logo, mission, theme, and voice tone in marketing.
Consistency is one of the keywords in branding. And companies can be consistent once they have established their own identity. According to an Entrepreneur, based on a study, about 87% of consumers want brands to have more consistent experiences across all platforms.
In establishing brand identity and message, here are some questions that a company needs to answer:
- What do you want to be known for?
- How do you treat your customers? (e.g. in a friendly manner or professional manner)
- Who are your target customers? (e.g. general public or luxury customers)
- Are your products or services known for their quality?
- How do you handle mistakes and challenges while growing the company?
- Who are your brand partners?
- How do you promote or market your products and services?
- How do the company’s visual elements, theme, and voice tone convey a message to the customers?
Again, being consistent with the company’s brand identity can attract more potential customers. But aside from gaining more customers, here are some of the advantages of having effective and consistent branding:
- It molds the brand’s persona and influences marketing strategies.
- It understands the customers’ preferences and styles.
- It is reflected in the company’s visual representations, such as logo, design, theme, and colors.
- It improves pride and satisfaction by creating a deeper connection with the brand.
Logo Design v.s. Branding: What to Prioritize?
As you might have inferred, logo design is just one aspect of creating consistent branding for a company. The logo should be based on the company’s identity. Without proper and consistent branding, one cannot design a logo that reflects the company’s identity. Thus, it is better to prioritize establishing your branding before creating the logo.
Final Thoughts
Logo design is the process of creating a visual representation of the brand’s identity through symbols, texts, colors, and images. Meanwhile, branding is the process of building up the image of a company in the consumers’ minds through the use of effective and consistent visual images, themes, and voice tones in its marketing strategies.
Hopefully, this article has helped you in differentiating logo design and branding. Remember that logo design is an element in branding. And before creating a logo, it is better to establish a brand identity first.
