Keifer Simpson | Integrated Brand Designer & Digital Surrealist
Branding, identity design, and logos: what’s the difference?
Business magazines and websites are sprinkled with terms like branding, brand identity, logo design, corporate identity, and brand strategy. Different terms can describe the same thing.
Sometimes the same term is used to describe different things. Confusing!
As a brand identity designer, I want to be clear with my clients about what I do (and also what no designer can do for you.)
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Brand
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Identity
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Logo
Also Called:
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Brand Identity
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Corporate Identity
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Identity System
What is a brand?
A brand is the perception of a company.
Your brand is what people think of when they think about you. It’s your reputation. It’s influenced by your values, your products, your marketing, your customer service. It’s shaped by magazine articles about you, how your stores smell inside, and what your neighbor’s mom said about you at the grocery store. And yes, it includes your logo, website, and business cards. Everything people encounter when they interact with your company adds to their perception of you: your brand.
“Branding” is the effort to influence this perception.
You can’t control what your neighbor’s mom might say. But you can do your best to make the right impression.
What is an identity?
An identity is a brand’s set of visual elements.
A subset of a brand is the brand identity (also called corporate identity or identity system). The key word is identity. Just like with people, checking an ID proves you’re you and not somebody else. The tangible elements you can see when a company communicates with you make up its identity design:
Logo, colors, fonts, icons, letterhead, business cards, envelopes, websites, packaging, uniforms, office aesthetics, promotional swag, social media, email blasts, signage, messaging.
A brand style guide is a document that records this identity. It keeps everyone on the right track, using the right fonts, colors, and more.
What is a logo?
A logo is a mark that represents a company.
Of all the visual parts that make up your brand identity, your logo is the strongest point of recognition.
It doesn’t need to tell the world everything you do. It’s a tag or identifier. A red bullseye doesn’t reveal all the clothing, housewares, and food you can buy at Target. But it works as a quick mental trigger for everything you’ve learned about Target over time. And if you knew absolutely nothing about Target, you could still make some guesses about the style and personality of the company by looking at the logo.
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Logos by Keifer Simpson
What do identity designers do?
Brand identity designers use strategy to create the visual elements of your brand. These elements include your logo, color palette, typography, image style, and general look and feel. These should be unique to your company. They should help illustrate your brand. An identity designer isn’t going to make the conveyor belt in your plant run faster or tell you which employees to hire. But we can influence the public’s perception of you by creating an appropriate, consistent look and feel.
Benefits of hiring an identity designer for your business
Maybe you’re a small business beginning from scratch. Or maybe you’ve been around for many years, and you’re wondering whether you should update your existing brand identity. After all, it’s gotten you this far! Is it worth investing in better design?
For businesses that get all their customers from neighborhood referrals—and they’re satisfied with that—it’s probably not worth it. Think of plumbers, mechanics, or dentists. As long as their service is great, nobody minds if their visuals are less than stellar.
But if you’re in a competitive market or an industry where aesthetics can increase your revenue (think food and beverage, hospitality, fashion, financial services, health and wellness, etc.), you can benefit from the work of an identity designer. You might need a brand refresh if your mission has shifted, your audience has changed, or you have new competition. Maybe you’ve got a nagging feeling that your old identity design looks dated.
Great design could help you:
CREATE DESIRE
Customers are drawn to attractiveness and a company who clearly gets them.
LOOK ESTABLISHED
Even if you’re new, there’s no need to look like you launched yesterday. The right brand identity design can suggest stability and longevity.
LOOK BIGGER
Elegant materials convey that you’re prospering. Customers want to work with companies that look successful.
BE MEMORABLE
Strong identity design sticks in customers’ minds. Your uniqueness can make you stand out.