Identity
What is a Logo?
A logo is a mark that represents a company.
Of all the visual parts that make up your brand identity, your logo is the strongest point of recognition. It doesn’t need to tell the world everything you do. It’s a tag or identifier. A red bullseye doesn’t reveal all the clothing, housewares, and food you can buy at Target. But it works as a quick mental trigger for everything you’ve learned about Target over time. And if you knew absolutely nothing about Target, you could still make some guesses about the style and personality of the company by looking at the logo.
What is an identity?
An identity is a brand’s set of visual elements.
A subset of a brand is the brand identity (also called corporate identity or identity system). The key word is identity. Just like with people, checking an ID proves you’re you and not somebody else. The tangible elements you can see when a company communicates with you make up its identity design:
Logo, colors, fonts, icons, letterhead, business cards, envelopes, websites, packaging, uniforms, office aesthetics, promotional swag, social media, email blasts, signage, messaging.
A brand style guide is a document that records this identity. It keeps everyone on the right track, using the right fonts, colors, and more.
Benefits of hiring an identity designer for your business
Maybe you’re a small business beginning from scratch. Or maybe you’ve been around for many years, and you’re wondering whether you should update your existing brand identity. After all, it’s gotten you this far! Is it worth investing in better design? For businesses that get all their customers from neighbourhood referrals and they’re satisfied with that it’s probably not worth it. Think of plumbers, mechanics, or dentists. As long as their service is great, nobody minds if their visuals are less than stellar.
But if you’re in a competitive market or an industry where aesthetics can increase your revenue, you can benefit from the work of an identity designer. You might need a brand refresh if your mission has shifted, your audience has changed, or you have new competition.
Maybe you’ve got a nagging feeling that your old identity design looks dated 🙂
