The logo. It is the staple and face of every business, team, persona, and organization. I want to talk to you about where the logo came from, why your business needs it, and why it matters. Welcome to the first segment of WHY THIS MATTERS.
In the beginning…
The term branding comes from the Old Norse “Brandr” which means to burn. Cattle, timber, and crockery were burnt with the markings or symbols of the owner using a hot iron rod. Ouch! The concept of branding was essentially to depict ownership, in particular things which had value. This practice has been going on since about 2,000BC and was all around just a way of saying, “DON’T TOUCH MY STUFF!” The transition from “This belongs to me, so leave it…” to “This was made by me, so buy it” started to evolve in the 1800s.
Some places, however, still use the old form of branding to declare ownership. My father’s side of the family currently live and are cowboys in Guatemala. They own acres of land and raise hundreds of cattle. When I was about 10 years old visiting my grandparents in my father’s motherland, I got to witness this kind of branding first hand. I watched as my Galant and strong cowboy of an uncle pulled together a few cows in a corral. He then guided each one by one into a small stall where they held the magnificent creature, and commenced to brand her with their symbol of The Mocha; a symbol of a bull with one horn which was the family’s crest. The reason they did this was not to be brutal by any means. It was simply this; the cows would walk for miles from one part of the land to the other, and at times some of them could get lost. Nearby neighbors and friends could quickly recognize the symbol, and say, “Hey! That
why this matters to you…
Your logo should do the same thing as branding cattle (minus the pain of a red hot branding iron). Your logo should be imprinted on your products, your business card, your website, etc! It should convey ownership! When done successfully, it reveals your identity, inviting new clients/customers to get to know you, and distinguishes you from the competition.
There are three levels of Brand Loyalty. Recognition, Preference, and Insistence. Recognition is where the consumer is aware of the of the name, benefit, and package. Preference is where the consumer sees the brand is useful and will buy IF it’s available. Insistence, however, is where we all want to be.
How does your logo look? Did you really ever invest time in having someone create a good icon with a branding guideline for it? It may be time to do so.
The Guy Who Cares About Your Image,
Nery Junior
“The designer does not, as a rule, begin with some preconceived idea. Rather, the idea is (or should be) the result of careful study and observation, and the design a product of that idea.”
-Paul Rand