Your brand is more than a logo
BY LESLIE SPRING
“We need a new brand because we don’t like our logo.”
There is a misnomer that your brand is your logo, and your logo is your brand; however, there’s a lot more to it than that.
Your brand is about who you are, what you do, the value you provide, and who you serve. The tricky part of a brand is articulating all of these complex layers, and then adding your agency’s personality and expressing why someone should care. Then, and only then, should the real exercise of defining a brand and designing a logo start.
We believe that the work of our clients and the communities they serve matter. Nothing sums this belief up better than a redesign or branding project because your brand should last a while if we’ve done our job right. When we approach a branding project, we get under the proverbial hood of an agency to understand where perceptions, ambitions and reality intersect, and as Jenny often says, “we never know where the process will take us.” This truism surfaces time and time again because defining what a community is, was and will be takes an incredible combination of reflection and bravery. Signs must be changed, letterhead replaced, and people convinced that the new brand is the past, present and future of a community.
To us, that is much more than a logo. It needs to be. Otherwise, we would have flat, two-dimensional agencies that boil down to a single icon, which diminishes the great work done by local government agencies. You’re more than one department, one district or one decision. Agencies are dimensional, so your branding work needs to be too. It needs to be a collection of elements that work together synergistically to create a visual identity for a dynamic entity that serves evolving communities.
Are there some marks that stand on their own without another word? Yes, take the iconic Nike swoosh for example. We see it, and we know it. But, it didn’t start that way. Decades ago, it only appeared with the similarly brilliant “Just do it.” tagline that was equal parts challenge and competition. It compelled generations of athletes (professional and not so professional) to do their best, try, and if all else fails… just get out there and do it. What is less commonly known about the brand is that it was inspired by Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. The swoosh was originally designed back in 1971, and it was inspired by the goddess’ wings to symbolize speed, movement and strength. It’s more than a swoosh, and it always has been. While today we know it at a glance, it is actually a case study of why a brand is more than just a mark.
So, if you are on the verge of a rebrand or getting the sixth sense that one might be due for your agency, fear not. The process takes time, patience and an understanding that the process is not always linear. Just like the curvatures of Nike’s logo, the path forward bends and curves, but the goal is to move onward and upward. And when all else fails, you just do it.