GS: Logo, Identity & Brand Part 1: An Overview

On this first real Graphically Speaking (GS) post, I’m going to begin a four-part discussion about the differences between a brand, and identity and a logo. These are three words that are commonly intertwined and misused, but they have very different meanings although they all relate at the same time. To start off, I wanted to give you a quick little overview of what each of these words mean. In the subsequent posts, I will go into more detail of what each one really is and how it helps your company and business.

It’s probably easiest to help you define them visually. If these basic shapes represent each piece:

then this represents how they relate to one another:

In other words, the logo is part of the identity which is part of the overall brand.

According to Merriam-Webster, each is defined as follows (as closely related to design):
logo: 1. short for logotype; 2. an identifying symbol
identity: 1. sameness of essential or generic character in different instances; 2. distinguishing character or personality
brand: 1. a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer: make; 2. a characteristic or distinctive kind

All are very close to the way I would define them. Here at 4th Leaf, they are all defined as:
logo: the physical representation of a company’s name, product name or service name
identity: the essential element, colors, typefaces, images, graphics and patterns used to help visually distinguish the brand
brand: the company/product/service name and everything it represents; the emotional perception generated by a particular company, product or service

Through this, you should see how the logo is the starting point for creating a successful brand. After the logo is designed, then the designer can start to create the company’s identity which then will define its brand.

On the next GS, I will be discussing in further detail what a logo is, how 4th Leaf goes about creating a logo and  how we help our clients define themselves.