The Brand, The Logo and The Corporate Identity

The Brand

A brand represents the spirit and the soul of a company. The customer's perception brings a brand to life; a brand isn't what marketers say it is but what the customer thinks it is. For a brand the customer is the alfa and omega.

Customers will believe first their own perception before they believe the advertising.

The visual oneness of a brand may be a combination of letters or numbers, a signature or a symbol, a shape or a slogan or simply a colour.

The name is the most important element of the brand as its use in language provides a universal reference point.

One element of the brand that should never change is the name. If other elements can change over time, the brand name should be like Caesar: "as constant as the northern star".

It is also true that brands don't achieve true visual distinctiveness through their names alone. Nike with its tick-like swoosh, BMW with tis white blue quadrant and McDonald'™s without its Golden Arches, rest their visual distinctiveness on the creative combination and the consistency of these elements.

The Logo

A logo represents the graphical representation of brand - set in a special font or designed in a creative and unique way.

The shape, color or typeface should clearly diferenciate it from competitors on a similar market.

Logo design is meant to be the tool which gives the first impression of a business. Often, costumers make aquantance with a company or business product through its logo design.

That is why, the logo should be designed according to the name of the company and the business product.

The Corporate Identity

The corporate identity is the physical manifestation of the brand, as the logo is it's graphical representation.

A corporate identity is nothing more than the reflection of a company's name, logo, typeface, colors, slogan - according to a strict set of guidelines - on its vehicles, offices, letters and literature, staff uniforms or advertising.

These elements typically appear in the same position and at the same size on all corporate documents.