The Difference Between a Logo and a Brand

We are often asked by clients if we can create a “logo” because there is a lot of confusion around the difference is between a brand and a logo. I’m here to clear things up and explain why your brand takes precedence over your logo.

What is a logo?

A logo is a collection of text and/or symbols that can be used to represent your company. Your logo is an important part of your brand, but ultimately a brand is composed of many different things and is much more than just a logo.

What is a brand?

Your brand is the sum total of all the experiences someone has with your company, and the way it makes that person feel. Your brand identity can include colours, fonts, the tone of voice, style of imagery, and indeed your logo. By carefully coordinating these elements, you can ensure the experience people have with your company is consistent with your values and aims. This goes a long way to forging a positive relationship between your business and its customers.

When developing a brand identity in Doncaster, we consider how each of these elements can work together to create a distinctive and consistent representation of the business.

Why is a brand more important than a logo?

The reason creating a brand should be prioritized above creating a logo is that people do not emotionally connect with a logo alone. You may argue that iconic marks such as Nike’s ‘Swoosh’ Apple’s ‘Apple’, or the Innocent logo now carry significant meaning and provoke an immediate emotional reaction in their customers. However, this is only as a result of the brands that have been carefully, painstakingly built behind these logos over years and decades. Just the same as a person’s face carries meaning as a result of the memories you have of that person, a logo represents all your experiences with the company it belongs to.

As an example, Innocent’s logo has been accompanied by their 100% natural fruit smoothies, bright, friendly colour palette, hand-drawn illustrations and typography (reflecting organic-ness of products) as well as messaging such as “fill yourself with goodness”. Their logo now has a story and a reputation as a result of a well-built and consistent brand identity. When first drawn, however, Innocent’s halo logo would not have had the same connotations or provoked the same responses it does now. It has now been proven a great ambassador for the company, but at the time you could have easily argued that it was a bad design if it hadn’t been supported with a meaningful and well-rounded brand. 

A logo should always be considered within the context of a complete brand identity which is relevant to your company. Alone, even the greatest logo designs are meaningless.

At Moirae, we begin every branding project by getting to know your business inside out before developing ideas that communicate what makes it distinctive. Our approach to brand identity in Doncaster brings together your logo, colours, typography, imagery and messaging, supported by clear guidelines to keep everything consistent.

A carefully crafted logo remains an important part of the process, but it is only one piece of the wider branding jigsaw.