Logos, identity and branding have slightly different meanings and roles in collectively creating our perceptions of organisations and products. Many people have, in my view, quite a limited definition of “brand” often believing it to consist only of the “fluffy” elements of colours, fonts  and perhaps logos and slogans or taglines. However as brand has become synonymous with “corporate image” it now has much wider implications and possibilities for use in business and disastrous consequences when it isn’t managed effectively.  At a recent workshop I facilitated on “Engaging with the Brand” I asked the participants what “brand” meant to them. Here’s what they said:

• quality
• identity
• emotional associations
• logos
• slogans
• reputation
• values
• recognition
• consistency
• mission
• unique
• luxury
• reliability
• customer experience
• aesthetics
• design
• exclusivity
• comfort
• differentiating

That’s quite a tough ask of anything.  Delivering on that agenda kind of begs the question  – are you giving and getting all that from your brand? Actually – not all brands set out to position themselves as exclusive or luxury – and many, like the low cost supermarkets and value brands have done extremely well in the recent recession.  The problems emerge when there is a mismatch of perception, the brand promise, customer or employee expectations and what the experience is – and that was what our workshop boiled down to.

In this two part series I want to talk about how we engage with brands, where they add value and importantly, how organisations can use them to engage with their customers and employees. In this first part we address some definitions and a little bit of the mechanics.

To begin with, there is nothing fluffy about the role of design, logos and the aesthetic elements of branding – far from it.  That doesn’t mean we all do this well though – here are a few tips and ideas that may help you to explore your own brand and see where there is room for improvement.

What’s in a name – or a logo?

Logos are used to identify your product, organisation, initiative or service from others.  Done well they can immediately differentiate you via the use of a mark, flag, symbol or signature that can suggest differences in quality, price point, emphasis, values and many other things – all from their appearance and design. Logos have meaning derived from the quality of the entity they symbolise, and not the other way around. Logos don’t need to literally describe all that a company is or does but their job is to make it memorable and recognisable.  It’s a bit like knowing someone’s name and using it with other people – once they have made the association between the two, simply using the name conjures up the identity of the person with out requiring any further explanation.  However, logos depend upon quite widespread exposure to create the intended association within and without the organisation.  It is familiarity that allows logos and branding to achieve its purpose. The logo is the corporate identity and brand all wrapped up into one identifiable mark. This mark is the avatar and symbol of the business as a whole.

What is identity?

In design terms, identity is all the visual devices (including logos) used within an organisation. Often, these are produced in a set of corporate guidelines or style guide, designed to ensure consistency.   The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure coherence, consistency and integrity of the brand which helps to ensure it will be recognisable.  Here are some of the things that typically are included in a style guide:

• Overview of the organisation – e.g. provide some context for users about the organisation’s mission, purpose and values
• Information about logos and use of colour, reproduction in black and white
• Font styles and sizes to be used in different situations
• Page and presentation layouts for internal and external use, on their own or in relation to others; measurements, margins and spacing
• Tone of voice
• Photographic guides
• Templates for layout demonstrating use of master artwork

Many visual devices that make up identity apart from the logo including:

• Letterheads, business cards, etc.
• Marketing communications and collateral (e.g. prospectus, annual report, brochures, web pages)
• Products & Packaging
• Uniforms / dress codes (clothing worn by employees)
• Interior & exterior signs and office design elements
• Anything visual that represents the business e.g. vans, livery flags

All of these things make up an identity and should support the brand as a whole.

So what is branding?

Much has been written on the ‘brand’ and it has become big business for ad agencies over the years who promoted it as a strategy required for success.  The brand is effectively shaped and interpreted by the perceptions of the audience and in that way it can be said that actually all organisations have a corporate image – whether deliberate, well designed, coherent, effective, value adding, accidental or not!

Designers don’t “make” brands but their work can influence the foundation of yours.

You might almost say that a brand is the ‘corporate image’ and as such everything an organisation produces, owns and does should reflect its values and aims as a whole. This notion of consistency and integrity is a core challenge and a driver of engagement with the brand.  Many well known organisations have been extremely successful in projecting and controlling their corporate image.  Widespread audience research suggests that their public perception reflects the image they are trying create and live up to.  Other disastrous examples demonstrate the importance of the brand and public perception. Witness the Gerald Ratner gaff that wiped £500m off the value of Ratners jewellers with his speech in the early nineties:

Gerald Ratner – Crap Branding?!?

The best brands succeed in creating an emotional attachment – but the emotion intended is not usually anger, disappointment or embarrassment!

In the next part we look at how branding works in relationship to engagement with customers and employees.

Liz Moody