logo to brand

The difference between a logo and corporate identity

A logo design is the most important starting point for any business.

The term "logo" is a short form for "logotype" or "logogram," from the Greek logos, meaning word or speech. Your logo is a visual statement that represents your company. For a business to succeed one must be aware of how the company image is perceived because perceptions influence emotions and emotions influence the sale.

Logo design is not a simple nor a quick process if done correctly. The design process involves envisioning and creating very specific design solutions to best represent your company. Colors, fonts and design elements are used to bring personality and expression to the design concept. A logo must project the purpose of your company and convey your core business and company ethos to customers at a glance.

While your logo represents your business, your corporate identity is your business. Everything that is projected by your business forms your corporate identity. Every image created, every ad that that is placed, all marketing collateral, every e-newsletter and email sent is what makes up your corporate identity. A logo is designed to exist for the life of your business (which is why it is a crucial investment), while your corporate identity progressively develops and strengthens over time.

The most effective corporate identities tend to be highly visual, graphically striking, intellectually or emotionally engaging, and memorable. A corporate identity always carries with it the double function of signifying differentiation, as well as relationship.

A strong logo design is therefore essential to developing your corporate identity.

so then what is a brand?

Branding, as in the marking of livestock by means of a burning iron, has been practiced for at least 5,000 years. Branding has been explained in terms of "a user promise," or "a company's personality".  A brand should leave an indelible impression and provide a gut feeling or understanding about a product, service, or company.

While the term brand relates to the emotional relationship between customer and a business, the corporate identity is all about the look and feel of the business.

The brand name and image would evoke an emotional response that would lead to desire for the product, whereas the identity speaks of the company's individual quality, its ethics and its focus. When a company or a product has established its unique identity, it is then recognized as a brand.

The strength of a brand is in the development of a trust relationship with its market and is reinforced when customers receive positive experiences which consistently meet or exceed the brand promise.