This blog is written by the Founder of Wolfden Creative, Denis Brzozowski.
Overview
Brand messaging, brand values, brand pillars, brand vision, brand identity. These are all jargon words you may have heard being thrown around in the past. They are however also all a very small part of what ‘branding’ actually is, and what a ‘brand’ consists of. A full brand consists of these, aspects which need to be analysed and defined before you can say that a full brand has formed. To this day, many individuals and organisations think all that is needed for a brand is a logo. Let’s take a look into what a brand consists of.
What is a ‘brand’?
A brand encompasses many aspects as mentioned briefly above. This covers elements such as communication of the messaging, the voice in which the target market is addressed, market positioning, visual design aids and the values that the business stands for. Branding is what is promised and delivered to the customer. It’s what the customer interacts with and what the customer identifies. These will be defined when a business goes about ‘branding’ itself in a specific manner. It’s like figuring out who you want to be, or what you want the business to be.
What is a logo?
Without dismissing some of the outstanding logo work out there, it is merely a very small portion of a company’s brand identity. Earlier I mentioned visual design aids as a part of a brand identity, and a logo is just that. Granted, it’s an important part of the visual design, as it’s right at the forefront of everything. And that’s what the problem is. Because a logo is used heavily as the most important piece of design, which in some way, represents the business, people often forget about what’s in the background, the unsung heroes like the brand messaging, brand values or the brand vision.
Busting the myth
I often hear business owners say that they’re too small / too early stage to have full branding defined, or that they think their logo and business card does the job fine. This is again a common mistake. Small businesses owners especially, often get lost in the jargon of branding and brand identity, and don’t realise that this can give them direction to move forward and grow. This is very similar to the idea of business plans. Everybody hates them, they seem like long corporate documents, that are time-consuming and full of jargon.
One of my mentors once asked me a series of causal questions about my business idea, how I will execute them, who might be interested in these services and many more generic questions of that nature. At the end of a 15-minute casual conversation they said “there you go, you’ve just told me your exact business plan”. I feel like it’s a similar story with branding. Ask yourself who you want your brand to be, what values do you stand for the most, how you think your customers should be treated. Once you have the basics, this will evolve into something that will help you move forward.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, branding is all about the consumer. It’s the experience that your customers have whilst interacting with your business and products. A logo is a visual mark that people can easily identify with your business. This doesn’t replace what your business is, the values it supports, or the messaging it portrays.
About the Author
My name is Denis Brzozowski, I’m a 21-year-old entrepreneur, designer and founder of Wolfden Creative. I’m a lover of minimalism and clean design. I live by two quotes: “If it was easy, everybody would do it” & “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Big thanks to Matt for having me here to write this article, feel free to connect with me on social media or alternatively drop me an email at denis@wolfdencreative.com if you have any questions.
Twitter: @_denisbrz
Facebook: fb.me/denisbrzbiz
Instagram: @_denisbrz
LinkedIn: Denis Brzozowski
