Brand Logos

Lately, we have been asked to develop new identities for many companies, products and projects. I am in the middle of reviewing many final logo options for one client today. This makes me think again about what makes a strong brand identity. Here are my thoughts on what to consider when developing each major element of a brand's identity system.

Brand Name:

• It needs to be short and simple, generally having no more than three syllables. 
• It must be easy to pronounce and spell.
• It should be distinctive.
• It is a plus if the name communicates something about the brand or the benefits the brand delivers.
• It needs to be available to protect legally via trademark.
• Some intuitive version of the URL must also be available. If it is, acquire the URL (and some of its more likely variations) immediately. 

Brand Logo:

• An icon that reinforces the name and that is memorable is highly desirable.
• The type of logo and type fonts chosen must match/reinforce the feeling one intends to convey about the brand. So must the color palette. For instance, one logo we are developing must communicate hope and people thriving. Another must convey longevity, gravitas and security. The third one needs to be contemporary and hip.
• Consider what competitors' identity systems are like, but don't force yourself into a box that makes your system look like everyone else's.
• Be sure you know the primary uses before developing the identity system. For instance, how does it look on a business card, in the signature line of an email message, on the side of a building or on a ball cap?
• Given the primary uses, consider what the general shape of the logo needs to be. Is it square, horizontal, vertical or something else?
• How will the logo look in black and white? There will be occasions when it cannot be presented in its full palette of colors. 
• Is the system flexible enough to be used in the widest variety of situations without compromising its recognition and recall?

Brand Tagline:

• Sometimes we include a tagline as a part of the identity system. Taglines are useful in clarifying the product categories or brand benefits, especially when the name itself does not serve that function.
• Taglines need to be succinct, memorable and elegant, using an economy of words.
• If it is to be a part of the identity system, the tagline needs to be locked with the name and icon in a specific spatial relationship.
• You might offer options for using the logo with and without the tagline. If you do this, be specific about the circumstances under which you would include it or not. 

One could write a whole book on this subject (and several people have), however these are my concise, top-of-mind thoughts on the topic of brand logos.

Origin of the "Kodak" Name

Kodak is perhaps one of the best examples of a coined brand name. It was registered as a trademark in 1888, having first been used in 1887 as the name of a camera. I personally like the name because it is easy to pronounce with the same strong consonant at the beginning and the ending of the word and with pleasant vowel sounds in between. Since 1888, the name has been applied to hundreds of products produced by the Eastman Kodak Company. In 1920, Samuel Crowther of SYSTEM Magazine quoted George Eastman's explanation of the name's development: "I devised the name myself...the letter "K" had been a favorite with me -- it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter...It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with "K." The word, 'Kodak' is the result."

I list Kodak as one of the seven brand names I admire in the blog post, Seven Absolutely Brilliant Brand Names. Here is another blog post on brand naming.

Brands and Identity

Brands create identities for organizations or their products or services.  One definition of identity is “the collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known.”

To understand identity better, lets think about how identity is determined for people. A person is identified in the following ways:

• His name
• His body and face
• His facial expressions
• His voice
• His mannerisms
• What he wears
• What he drives
• How he carries himself
• His personality
• His beliefs
• His attitudes
• His values
• His habits
• His behaviors
• His occupation
• His hobbies
• His fingerprints
• His ocular scan
• His DNA

How can these human identity attributes inform brand identity? Brands can have some of the same attributes, while they also have others. Here are some of a brand’s identity attributes:

• Name
• Icon
• Type fonts
• Color palette
• Visual style
• Other distinctive visual elements
• Brand voice
• Distinctive sounds
• Jingles or theme songs
• Distinctive scents
• Distinctive textures
• Personality
• Beliefs
• Attitudes
• Values
• Behaviors
• Spokespeople
• Characters

The idea is to create a brand identity that is multi-faceted, nuanced, robust, distinctive, likeable, compelling and consistently presented (with some room for spontaneity or surprise). Ultimately, the identity is intended to create recognition, recall, distinctiveness and likability. Each and every identity element should be able to encode and decode positive associations in people’s brains.

I wish you great success in crafting a compelling identity for your brand.