A common misunderstanding these days seem to be people confusing the two, thinking a Logo and a Brand is the same thing. This isn’t quite the case. You can have one and not the other, you can have none – and you’d most likely want both to be successful with your business.

In this article we’ll have a brief look at what these two mean and things you should think about when you’re working with them.

Let’s define the two.

Logo

A logo is something very specific that you can see. It’s a mark, something graphic / visual. It’s the “face” of your business or website. It’s like a small “ad” that you can put various places to market yourself. It can be used on business-cards, websites, T-shirts, letterheads, stickers and more. It should look good, but as you’ll soon see – a logo is only a smaller part of your brand.

Read our previous article: The Characteristics of a good Logo Design to learn more about making a good logo.

Brand

There are books written to explain the complexity of what a brand actually is. I’ve explained it to clients for over a decade now and I’ve many times been amazed by how many people that actually think that a brand and a logo is the same thing. I would describe your brand as the “personality” of your business – the way it’s seen by everyone around you. It’s the impression you leave on your customers or others in the market.

So how are they related then?

Well, your logo and your brand are definitely related. As your logo is your face, the brand is how people see your business as a whole. By getting a logo that’s recognizable, fresh and professional – you can get a good head start when meeting new clients. It’s kind of like looking representative when you’re heading out to meet someone, it’ll give them a good first impression of you. Then you start talking to them and reveal your attitude, thoughts and plans – and they get an impression of who you are. That is your brand. How they see you and think of you.

This means that if you’re investing in getting a good logo, you could possibly get in touch with potential clients. Your logo could make or break you. If the design is poor, the clients will choose another option if they’re browsing online for example. If the design looks good and professional, you could be their choice. So we can say that a logo is definitely important. But remember that if the rest of your branding is bad, you can still loose the client at a later point.

The logo is an instant element of recognition, the brand is the sum of every aspect people think of when they see you/your logo.

Some tips on what to consider

If you want a successful business, you need a good logo and a brand that brings positive feelings to your customers. To accomplish this, you need to plan both. A typical advice would be to start off by thinking of how you want your company to be seen by others. Do you want to be seen as a cheap alternative, classy and more expensive, friendly, flexible ? Pick a couple of keywords to have as a guideline in your branding and build up from there. This way you can try communicate those words to your clients as part of your marketing. If you’re good at planning the right way, you could end up with a brand that is exactly how you want it to be. It’ll take a good amount of work though, and you really need to think through everything during this process.

Conclusion

A logo and a brand is not the same, but they should both be vital parts of your business. You should always have a look at the branding side to see which values you want to communicate through your logo. This work isn’t easy but it can be very rewarding if done right.

Remember to get feedback from others during this process to make sure that you’re not communicating anything the wrong way!

Good luck!