***So, what is a brand, really?

Most people think of a logo when they hear the word brand. Brands are not just logos. Brands are the intangibles that consumers believe about your company, product or service. When we see a logo, we usually think of a brand—the swoosh and Nike, the golden arches and McDonalds, but brands have many “parts.”

Today, the first part of a three part series, the most obvious part of a brand — the visible part of your brand — the logo, logotype, jingle, tagline, etc; including the color, font, sound, look and feel. When developing this part of our company or brand take care to make the look and feel compatible with the Identity you are nurturing in the mind of the consumer.

Your logo, logotype, colors, the entire look and feel, including the marketing methods, should be consistent with your message and customer promise.

Most important, in developing the look and feel of your brand, keep the visual simple including your logo and logotype. Remember it may need to be embroidered on shirts or put on a billboard. Color selection is important also. The more colors in the logo, the more costly it may be to print. Stay away from “fad” or “in” colors and fonts. Just a couple of years ago, teal and gray were all the rage as was the font Papyrus. Now, they look old and dated.

Keep your logo symbol consistent with the product—if you sell law books, do you really want a zippy-do-da logo? Today, more than ever the symbol of the product can be as valuable as the product to a company’s bottom line. Popular symbols are increasingly being sold to licensed products, such as most major movies these days license names and character features for toy development.

We don’t live in a world of reality, we live in a world of perceptions. ~Gerald J. Simmons~