A logo is the first thing that business owners think of for their branding - But the thing about it is, your brand identity is so much more than your logo. A logo can be useless if you are not using it in accordance with a well-developed identity, message and purpose.
Your logo actually is one of the least most important elements in creating an effective, lifelong brand.
"I thought the logo was the most important thing in building a brand identity". Most of us did too before the proper knowledge on what makes your brand connect, what message you are selling & to whom.
Many will purchase a logo, and go on to "market" their brand with no strategy or purpose. After a while, you find that you're not getting the results you want and that you want to be able to engage with your audience better, instead of baselessly telling anyone to support. Your logo serves no purpose in these situations if you are not delivering your message correctly, consistently and to the right people. So ideally before you get your logo, it is imperative that you know the internal details of your brand's purpose, position, plans, message and voice.
This will help you understand what to do with your logo and other than your logo.
Want to discover your brand's internal details for maximum brand knowledge?
What is the purpose of a logo?
The purpose of your logo is to have a memorable mark for your brand that can be imprinted in the minds of your audience. The logo identifies your brand, but it is just a design. It is what you do with the design that matters, and how effective and memorable it is to your crowd.
Your logo promotes and supports your brand visually on items, storefronts, marketing, your website, merch and so much more. It is one of the first things viewers see when interacting with your brand, which means it needs to represent your message, purpose and position well.
What is your purpose, position and plans? Click here to do your pre-branding homework
"Logos help identify your brand, but it's just a design It is what you do with the design that matters"
So what do I do with my logo?
If you haven't done discovery and strategy work, you may end up with a logo and be stuck on what to actually do with it.
I've heard in the past, "How do I use it?" "What do I use these files for?"
My clients know that I provide a full run-down on what to do with the logo files, but for those who I haven't worked with, I'll let you in on the "secret".
Use your logos on your brand's social media; profile picture, images and posts. Keep your content and media consistent with the aesthetics of your brand. This is generally how people think to use their logo in the first place, and it's definitely a start, but your logo isn't just made for posting.
When you begin to expand into your marketing, you will use the logos on prints, digital marketing and advertisements. This is where you will put your brand in viewers minds, by repeatedly showing your logo on advertisements. This will get people familiar with you.
Merchandise - If you are selling merchandise such as clothes, gear, etc. you will want to have a submark and use that. A submark is a compact logo that is meant to be memorable, repeatable and able to be worn. Your full logo won't always look great in compact spaces such as hats or a waist trainer, for example - and it won't go over well for the purpose of consumers wearing apparel. Few consumers will want to wear merch with your full logo on it, unless your logo was intentionally made for merchandise. Think of Nike's checkmark!
Use your logo to watermark photos. Use the PNG file which has a transparent background, so that there won't be a box of color behind your logo. Submarks are great for watermarking, but you can use your full logo as well. Watermark your photos to stop others from copying or stealing your work. They will make it so you always have the credit on that photo, no matter how viral or stolen it may get.
Your logo should be stamped on all forms of communication; stationary, email signature, tutorials, etc. This way, every time you are communicating with someone, they are reminded of your brand's mark and your professionalism, thus leaving your brand's imprint on every viewer. Do you see why it's important to have an overall brand identity too? Because each of these points listed include photos, colors, strategized CTAs and more that, when paired with your logo, will define the message and purpose of your brand..
Other than my logo, what do I need to build brand identity?
There is quite a long list of important brand identity elements other than a logo. This is aside from discovering the internal details, these are visual and structural items that you should have in line for your brand.
Here is a list of different elements included in brand identity. They are all important and should be well thought out when defining your business before presenting it to the world.
From your colors to the tone of voice and personality that your brand has, each element is important in order to truly keep your brand aligned.
The visual items are equally important as your logo. For example, your product and packaging design represents your brand for customers as well as onlookers. Your website design serves many purposes and gets your brand's name out there professionally.
Keeping these other areas aligned will make it so your brand is seen by many, and so that you don't have to rely on your logo to do all of the work at attracting an audience, because it wont.
Take the first step in knowing what to do with your logo and brand message, by booking a discovery workshop.
This 60-minute Zoom session will allow you to define your brand at the core, with the purpose, position, plans, message, voice and so much more. You will leave confident in how to keep your brand aligned with its internal details and connecting the story with the target audience.
Thank you for reading! I hope you've learned plenty and will apply this to your brand.