In the article for Entrepreneur Magazine titled “Why Traditional Branding is useless for Service Providers”, Carol Roth notes that creating one’s logo, colour schemes, web layouts etc. should be viewed as collateral for established businesses. She notes that particularly in the services realm, people are doing business with providers they know, like and trust, and we agree. Results, reputation and referrals are key in the communications and public relations industry and having established your credentials, it is important to work on the visual package that adds to your credibility.
Roth believes that a brand “defines the business, conveys credibility and sets you apart from competitors and in this regard she agrees that an investment is needed to ensure a professional image is created when presenting yourself to existing or potential clients.
According to Michael Levine in “A branded world: Adventures in Public Relations and the creation of Superbrands”, a logo must convey the brand identity consistently and not try to redefine it. A logo is, after all, merely a symbol of the company and not the brand itself. Its job is to remind the consumer of the brand identity in a positive way.
The logo becomes a visual shorthand for the meanings attached to them and thereby influences consumers to be receptive to a company’s message.
For Brownie Communication Concepts creating the logo was one of the steps that needed several revisions from our graphic artiste as it was important to capture what we wanted our brand identity to be. An organization that was professional, reputable, approachable and something that is not commonly associated with this industry, fun. We had to balance the playful name of Brownie Communication Concepts with the view that the field was extremely formal and stiff and we believe our final logo speaks to that perfectly. In print advertising the intertwined BC logo should be a stand-in for the brand name.
The more a company’s visual imagery is established in the consumer’s mind, the easier it is to remind the consumer of the brand’s personality. A strong, communicative logo eliminates obstacles in the consumer’s mind and streamlines the process, simplifying the way a consumer thinks of the brand. This is particularly important for start-ups and small organizations to note when developing their own identifiers.
Other considerations to note in creating the whole package:
- Colour- an infographic from Marketo says a product’s colour influences 60 to 80 percent of a customer’s purchase decision. The infographic explains how large a role colour plays in marketing, especially with regard to logos and product colours. It also explains which colours are best for which industry, and which industries should avoid certain colours. There is no visual element of packaging more immediately striking and therefore more important-than colour
- Font- Typography or the choice of the typeface used in print-is a science of repetition. “The way letters conveying a message are designed is an important visual element of Branding that can utilize powerful emotional connotations” Marc Gobe-Emotional Branding. For e.g. Formality versus informality, stability versus unpredictability, warmth versus serious intentions-all these things can be expressed through the choice of a typeface.
At Brownie Communication Concepts we continue to hold fast to the principal that the packaging is the face a brand shows to the public, as we think of how we can create other design elements for ourselves and our clients. The key? Make it consistent with the brand promise, message and identity.
Happy creating