Brand vs. Branding
What is a brand? A brand is a person's perception of a company or product. It's the feeling you get when you hear the name or see the logo—assets of your brand.
It's made up of your reputation and it's influenced by your values, your products, your marketing and your customer service. It's all about creating that emotional connection.
"Branding" refers to how we try to influence people's perception. Research reveals we make brand purchase decisions based on associations and feelings as opposed to facts and stats.
I'm sure you've heard the saying, "image is everything"?
Identity
All of your visual elements make up your identity (aka corporate identity or identity system). The identity consists of all the elements you see when a company communicates with you. These include your logo, fonts, icons, website, packaging, social media, messaging, signage, uniforms and more.
A brand style guide documents your identity and helps you keep everything consistent and on track.
Logo
Your logo is a mark that represents your company and is the point of recognition for your customer. It doesn't have to tell all that you do or are—it's a point of identification. Think of a well known mark like the Red Cross. If you see the cross on it's own you probably wouldn't know all that they do, but that mark is a quick identifier for everything you've learned about them over time through exposure to their branding.
A logo is not your brand. It is an important element, however, and a good logo can instantly create credibility while a bad logo does the opposite. Remember that saying "Image is everything."?
How do we do it?
It starts with a proposal and a basic timeline. Once a contract is signed, the project kicks off with a call (or meeting) to discover your goals, begin strategizing and outline deliverables. In a nutshell, we start with the strategy pieces. Who are you, who do you want to be, and how are you going to get there? Who is your audience? We cover all of this, and more.
Once we have completed the strategy piece we begin to create the visual elements of your brand—your logo, color palette, typography, messaging and general look and feel. All the things that influence the public perception of you.
What's my investment?
How long does it take?
What do I get?
Cost will vary depending on the scope of the project. All branding projects start with the strategy piece before moving into the design phase. Click here for basic pricing information.
Timing is anywhere from 4-12 weeks depending on a variety of factors.
Deliverables include all your brand files, color palette, fonts, brand guide and specs, plus whatever other items were covered in your proposal and contract.
