Before the logo...

Most people would consider their logo to be their brand identity and adding to that misconception are the multitude of design firms advertising identity and branding “packages”. Typically these packages include a logo, stationary design and maybe signage. These items are important and they do play a role in the branding process…


However, you can not construct a visual representation of a brand that doesn’t exist? Defining your brand should take place well before the first design work has started. To begin the process, you must first understand what a “Brand” is:


David Ogilvy (founder of Ogilvy & Mather) defines a brand as; “The intangible sum of a product's attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it's advertised.”


Brand, in the simplest form, is the feeling or the perception that an audience has of your product or service.


Your organizations brand begins with the quality of products and services that you offer; it is reflected in the events that your organization participates in, the way you interact with clients on the phone and in person, the way you and your employees dress, the layout and design of your physical location, the look, the feel and the message of all client contact, advertising or otherwise. Your brand is reinforced or degraded with every single contact between your organization and its audience.