But, I need a logo
As a small business owner, you might have approached designers and enquired about their logo design services. They might have come back to you telling you how they won’t just design a logo alone. A lot of designers won’t work on designing just a logo for you and prefer to see branding as a more holistic thing. But why?
These designers aren’t just trying to sell you their more expensive packages and services. They actually really care about your brand, your business and your goals.
In this blog post, I want to lay out all the reasons why a logo alone isn’t going to cut it in helping you build a successful and recognisable brand, including:
- What makes a successful brand
- Why a brand is about so much more than just the ‘pretty stuff’
- Why you should consider hiring a strategic branding designer
What makes a successful brand?
You can find out more about the actual definition of what a brand is here, but let’s think about some of the biggest brands you know. The ones that are instantly recognisable when you see anything they do. Chances are you don’t recognise them by their logo alone. In fact, the most successful brands out there can be identified by any number of their features, not only by their visual identities but also by their values, their tone of voice, the way they treat their customers and the way they make their customers feel. You could say that branding is more of an overall experience or feeling.
What about businesses you follow on Instagram? If their branding is successful, you’ll recognise who they are not just by the colours, typefaces and images they use but also by their marketing and how they present themselves. If you take their logo out of the picture, you still know who they are, what they do and what they represent.
A brand is about so much more than a logo and the ‘pretty stuff’
When a lot of business owners think about branding as part of setting up their business, they think about having a logo designed and go on the hunt for a designer who can create one for them. But actually, your brand should be consistent and made up of everything you do to promote your business. The visuals you use, photography, our ads, your Instagram posts, your packaging, how you present yourself and how you communicate with your audience. Most importantly, your brand is about how people feel when they see what you do and experience your products and services and are exposed to your brand.
When you work with a strategic branding designer, the process of creating branding is actually about digging much deeper than just the pretty stuff on the surface and looking at all of the following:
- Who your dream customers are so you can start attracting them.
- Your purpose and mission in running your business.
- Your brand values, eg: What’s important to you as a brand or business, for example, sustainability, equality, honesty, transparency.
This is all in addition to the pretty stuff; your logo, colour palette, typography and everything involved in your visual identity.
Why hire a strategic branding designer?
A strategic branding designer will take you through a process of creating your branding by looking at the people you ideally want to sell to and thinking about how to reach out and target those people specifically. They will help you by coming up with a visual identity and brand strategy to enable you to get the word out about what you do and build up a strong and recognisable brand.
So, to wrap up:
Branding is about so much more than a logo. It’s time to start thinking more holistically and starategically about building up your brand to make it successful and recognisable, to make it a brand that turns the heads of your dream clients specifically and a brand that’s strong and sustainable going forward.
Branding is about digging deep and looking at what your values are and really connecting emotionally with the audience that you want to attract and sell to.
As a strategic branding designer myself, I see my branding process as a collaboration with my clients. We work together to look much more deeply at your goals and how to achieve them through creating branding that speaks to the customers you want to attract, getting you more of your dream clients.
If this sounds like the kind of help you need for your business, then get in touch to find out more about how I can help you grow with a bold, exciting new brand.
