What is a logo?
THIS IS PART OF OUR BRANDING 101 SERIES WHERE WE TAKE A MOMENT TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORLD OF BRANDING. ALL IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE IT SIMPLER TO UNDERSTAND NO MATTER YOUR BACKGROUND.
So what exactly is a logo? I would like to point you back to the first post in this branding series where I wrote: ‘Let’s think of a logo as the person’s face. It’s how they are easily identified from others just from looking at them. But it’s not the whole picture of what they look like. A logo is a visual representation of who you are as an organisation… the first piece of the puzzle to people recognising you. And it typically takes the form of a mark that combines both text and image.’
At its core, a logo is a symbolic visual identifier.
Sometimes a logo is just type based. Sometimes it’s a symbol, sometimes it’s a combination. And what’s right really depends on what they are serving to be an identifier for. Logos should be approached strategically for how to stand out in the world they are to exist in, and the people they are appealing to.
When you think of Nike you think of the tick. When you think of Apple, you think of the apple with a bite out of it. McDonalds have the golden arches and when you think of FedEx, purple and orange text come to mind with that sneaky beautiful arrow between the e and the x. And I’m sure any of you reading this will have thoughts and associations about each of those brands.
As you grow, your logo becomes the face that someone will think of when they think of your brand. While a designer will usually design and create a logo with meaning and symbolism, the real meaning really gets added over time.
Not sure what I mean by that? A perfect example is probably the swastika oddly enough. A symbol that was an ancient religious icon and a symbol for divinity and spirituality in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The meaning of the word translates to ‘conducive to well being’ and it has also been a symbol for good luck and fortune. But in the modern western world it’s impossible to look at that symbol without the associations of the Nazi’s and World War II, even eighty years later – it has been infused with negativity and is still interpreted as a symbol of hate and antisemitism.
It’s really quite powerful what an image made of a few lines can come to represent and how they can make us feel over time, as history and meaning are added to them through experience.
