Logo Design & Brand Identity - What is the difference?

T Boris Snobworth

New Member
I hope no-one else has asked this question before on here and if they have forgive me for not finding it before posting this. I am slightly confused about what is the difference between the two. I get the impression that they are one and the same like off the top of my head Tesco. Now before you start ripping chunks out of me please take note that I don't know a thing about designing, logos, illustrations or anything.
 
The logo is an image that represents your company.

The brand is the image and the company in action...it could be how you answer the phone, the way you treat customers (and staff). It’s both how you are seen and how you wish to be seen by your clients.
Branding covers a lot. From your logo, your telephone manner, your corporate responsibility programme to chosen avenues of marketing, uniforms, environmental policy, packaging, buildings, vans, cars and how they are driven. You name it, it's part of your branding. That's why when Ratner said that what they sold was rubbish he seriously damaged his brand. It's why Macdonalds have upped their game and don't sell coloured water as coffee. It's why the big boys spend money having celebrities to head-up their advertising. It’s not just for big companies - all businesses should seek to brand themselves properly and also know who they are aiming their brand at!

If companies are serious about branding they keep a watchful eye on every single outlet they have...have standards and make sure that the standards are kept!
 
A brand is a combination of things such as the name, logo, design, packaging, ethos and so on of a business; the logo is clearly just one element of a brand.

With that in mind, designing the logo is to design the mark or symbol that represents the overall brand as a whole, which can be clearly displayed on communications, products and so on. Something distinctive and recognisable to immediately convey the brand behind the good and, therefore, let the user know what to expect from the offering.

A brand identity can be further developed with uniqueness ensured via extra values (perhaps functional or emotional) that combine in a unique way to act as some sort of quality certification or affect perceptions.

On a larger scale, a corporate brand identity will encompass aspects such as how the organization is on a day-to-day basis, their communications, stakeholder perceptions, the ideal identity/best position to take in a market and where the organization would like to go. All of this is considered when developing the brand identity, so it will be at the forefront of minds when doing things that may have a bearing.

The logo represents this ideal.
 
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