So you want to start a company. That’s awesome! One of the most common next steps is to jump online and have someone design a quick logo. That logo design is then placed on business cards, a website, and a flyer as the company’s new brand identity.

A logo is a key element in developing a company image and brand identity. It is in that company’s best interest to present the world with a strong logo, company image, and brand essence that puts its most professional, respectable foot forward from the start. Thus, it is important to have a logo that is up to the job of developing a brand identity.

Let’s back up and start from the beginning: What is the Logo, Brand & Identity of a Company?

Logo: A logo, or logotype, specifically is “a graphic representation or symbol of a company name, trademark, abbreviation that has been uniquely designed for ready recognition” via Dictionary.com. This symbol is then used to identify that company when placed on products & brochures.

Brand: The company logo becomes the brand mark of the company. Visible properties such as colors, symbols, fonts, and graphic elements are pulled from the logo and then enhanced to create the entirety of the brand’s visual identity. Those elements, especially colors, become consistently used by the company to create an identity and distinguish the brand among consumers and peers.

Identity: A complete brand identity goes beyond the visual properties of the company and moves into a complete presentation of the company to the public. “A company’s brand identity is what it says about who it is – the product or service it delivers, the quality it gives customers, its advantages over competing brands… A well-built brand identity will effectively communicate a company’s personality and its product value to potential customers” – Investopedia

The logo is a key element to the visual brand identity of a company, so it should be designed with careful planning, research, and attention to detail. Hiring a professional design and branding agency to create a logo is an investment that will always pay off. The rest of the branded design elements often play off the logo. A graphic designer keeps this in mind when developing a logo so they can then grow the branding elements after the logo is finalized.

Once the logo is designed, it’s time to have fun and create a website, business cards, flyers, brochures, catalogs, labels, packaging, or anything else that will share the visual brand identity with consumers.

During the time of visual identity creation, a company will need to write and develop content that gives the brand a voice. It’s time to give the business a personality. It’s time to shape the brand.

Customers, and anyone who interacts with the business, will influence the development of the brand, but a business has to start somewhere and it’s important to start at a place where the intentions are clearly laid out. These intentions are voiced in taglines, website content, social media… anywhere that a company and brand is allowed to speak. Sit down for a few hours and define the company’s values, start setting standards for how interactions will be made with consumers. In short, it’s time to develop a brand “essence”.

But what is a brand essence? 

Here is a checklist from Hubspot explaining how to develop a brand essence.

Developing out all this content can seem daunting, so this is where having a marketing agency becomes extremely useful. Once the answers to the checklist have been defined, a marketing agency can curate content around those reference points to bring the brand identity to life.

This is a process that should take some time. Writing out a vision and mission of the company should be slept on for a few days to make sure the entire essence and personality is captured.

Once this is all done, a company will have a purpose, it will have goals, it will have direction.

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” -Andrew Carnegie

A true brand identity encompasses the entirety of a company from hopes and dreams, to attitudes and actions, board members, employees and customers. A brand identity is measured by how the world perceives the way these elements collectively work together.

Building a company is a journey. That journey starts with a dream and then moves into a tangible concept and physical thing. The journey never ends, its always growing, changing and developing. A brand identity grows along with the company.

Ready to get a logo designed? Fabulous! Let’s work together to start that logo off strong by developing and encompassing a brand identity simultaneously with a logo design.

Give us a call (281-486-8882), or send an email ([email protected]) today. We’d love to come along side your journey, design a logo and develop a true brand identity and essence.