Digital Insanity

So many designers sell logo design as being key for any business looking to rebrand or create a company’s identity. This is true to some extent, but a logo is only as strong as the brand.

You may have the best logo in the world but if the marketing material does not portray the same message and emotion, then the logo is fighting a loosing battle.

One example I use is finding your perfect house. If the company logo represents the the facade of a beautiful house on the market then you would want to enquire further. However, if inside the property did not strike the same emotions because the rooms were not decorated with the same style throughout then people may be deterred to look around, let alone consider their future with the house .

Example of Brand: Orange UK.

Orange have a very strong brand. The logo is very simple and bold but could easily get lost amongst the world of logos. However Orange’s strong brand has created this into an instantly recognisable company in a competitive market.

From their use of strong black backgrounds to the simplistic crisp orange coloured Helvetica typeface, you instantly know when you are looking at Orange literature. The logo is never interrupted or crowded on a page. Even their photography has a certain aspirational style. Further proof that the Orange brand works, is that if you removed the Orange logo from their literature you could still tell who the marketing was for.

Do Brand Guidelines Help or Hinder

Over the years I have worked with the Brand Guidelines of many large companies. I must admit, there have been times when I have really cursed these large bibles of do’s and don’ts.

Stick to this grid, The colour palette is black, grey and red, our logo must appear here unless its next to that … etc.

As designers we’ve all been there at one point, when you have felt very restricted but want to create something unique.

As much as designers complain, these guidelines really do play an important part. The work all looks consistent, which is important when there are multiple design agencies onboard. The guidelines prevent the brand being diluted, confused in styles and kept the range of marketing materials all as a family.

To Summarise.

It’s true, logo design is important, but this is merely the door to the business. The brand is the whole picture. From the colours and photography to the marketing message. Its all of this together that makes a company rebrand great.

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