
New Dimensions To Brand Identity
Logo. Logotype. Mark. Wordmark. Corporate identity. Visual identity. Brand identity. Trade dress. What exactly are we talking about here? The jargon can be confusing to the uninitiated. Even graphic designers will disagree about what some of these terms mean. So let’s start at the beginning. The activity of branding is the creation of a love affair between a market and something that needs to be marketed. Whatever the marketable asset is — business, product, service, event, campaign, project — it needs a sound brand strategy from which to launch its marketing campaigns. Otherwise, those campaigns will not succeed. When the marketing message goes out, the market needs to recognize who is sending that message. They need to know, like and trust that messenger. They need to feel they share values with that entity and that it belongs in their life. They need to have genuine feelings for it. And, since human beings get 90% of their information visually — before reading a single word — the marketable asset needs to communicate who it is and what it’s about graphically. It needs to harness colors and images and shapes to establish an enduring “place” in the market’s mind. At least, that’s the way it used to work. Read more.
