DO I NEED A LOGO OR A BRAND IDENTITY?
To answer this question we need to understand 1st the difference between these two.
What is a logo?
A logo identifies a company or product via the use of a mark or a symbol. A logo does not sell the company directly nor rarely does it describe a business. Logo’s derive their meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolises, not the other way around. Logos are there to identity, not to explain. What a logo means is more important than what it looks like. A logo should not literally describe what the business does but rather, identify the business in a way that is recognisable and memorable.
What is Branding?
Branding is the sum of all parts. Feeling and emotion (brand) and recognisable visuals (logo). If you were to design a new corporate identity, you would want to consider everything from voice to visuals before even thinking about what your logo design will look like.
A brand is a ‘corporate image’. The fundamental idea and core concept behind having a ‘corporate image’ is that everything a company does, everything it owns and everything it produces should reflect the values and aims of the business as a whole.
It is the consistency of this core idea that makes up the company, driving it, showing what it stands for, what it believes in and why they exist. It is not purely some colours, some typefaces, a logo and a slogan.
The identity or ‘image’ of a company is made up of many visual devices:
A Logo (The symbol of the entire identity & brand)
Stationery (Letterhead + business card + envelopes, etc.)
Marketing Collateral (Flyers, brochures, books, websites, etc.)
Products & Packaging (Products sold and the packaging in which they come in)
Apparel Design (Tangible clothing items that are worn by employees)
Signage (Interior & exterior design)
Messages & Actions (Messages conveyed via indirect or direct modes of communication)
Other Communication (Audio, smell, touch, etc.)
Anything visual that represents the business.
All of these things make up an identity and should support the brand as a whole. The logo however, is the corporate identity and brand all wrapped up into one identifiable mark. This mark is the avatar and symbol of the business as a whole.
Brand identity is the whole picture and its made up of various parts including logo design, and a solid brand marketing message.
Brand: The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.
Identity: The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.
Logo: A logo identifies a business via the use of a mark or icon.