Bad news, kids: your logo isn’t your brand.

This weekend I attended AIGA Y Conference (Y17).  One of the first speakers, a name you probably recognize, Karim Rachid, immediately launched into logo vs. brand.  He pointed out how so many companies start with logo, and that this is a misplaced focus (my words, not his, although I agree) because your brand isn’t just what your logo looks like — it’s about your service, the customer experience.  In some ways, he implied, maybe there shouldn’t be logos anymore. Maybe you’re misplacing your focus if you put more energy into your logo than into truly understanding what your brand means — or should mean — to people.

I can’t count the number of times someone has come to me with a cute image, or even a not cute image that the spent serious time and money on. It’s memorable, so they think they have “brand”. They do not.

Brand is defined by the American Marketing Association as: Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature… that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

I highlighted the important part in case you didn’t catch it on your own. Great, you have a nice little design! But what does it mean to your customers or clients? And how does it make you different from other people?  If you are putting more time and effort into a cute logo than you are putting into your business plans, determining what you stand for and how you deliver that, you are at sea without a rudder. A pretty boat, no rudder.


The best analogy I can give (especially for not being sports savvy myself) is that prioritizing your logo above your business strategy and development is the same as having beautiful, fancy football uniforms but hitting the field with no game plan. 

A great brand can actually have little to do with design.  Let’s be clear here: great design helps a whole lot.  Actually, working on logo is one of my favorite parts of developing a brand, but it can’t come first.  If you’re doing a great job and your logo is typeface, your company will be ok.  You have a fancy logo and it doesn’t mean anything to anyone? You’re sinking.

I’m going to go ahead and head off the comments we (read: brand/marketing strategy executives) get from clients (and laugh about at our little get-togethers):

“I want to be like Apple!”

Ah, love this one. And I can’t even count on my little hands how many times I’ve heard it.  Sure, deliver superior product design, product operation, and above and beyond customer service, and I”ll see what I can do for you.  Oh, and of course that multimillion dollar budget they had to put behind an apple logo every year in order to eventually make it a household name?

Apple is an incredible brand, but it’s not what the average business should begin aiming for. It’s misplaced and you’ll miss the opportunity to create your own mark.   Also, as a result of the apple, sometimes businesses mistakenly think that if they pick something unusual as a logo they will be more memorable — this is hit or miss. When you choose your name/logo, have a good reason for doing it. And please, for the love, do not have this reason be only because you want to be like Apple.

Am I going to be popular for posting this? Probably not. (The irony that it’s being written on my MacBook over my AirPort network with my trusty iPhone at my side is not lost on me.) 

You have worked hard to create your business and your identity. Don’t worry who you want to be like, blaze your own path.  But attachment to logo (or even brand name) can be problematic and stand in the way of your long-term growth.  Focus first on what you are, how you deliver that, and how you blow everyone else out of the water. 

The logo will come.