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THIS VS THAT

‘This VS That’

This is part of our ‘This VS That’ series, where we break down the branding terms that get confused, misused and thrown around in meetings.

Got a term you want us to tackle? Let us know.

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Your logo is not your brand

You’ve heard it before. ‘We need a new brand’. And then the conversation is only about the logo.

Let’s clear this up once and for all.

A logo is what people see.

A brand is what people feel.

A logo is a visual mark. A symbol. A combination of shapes, letters and colours that helps people recognise you. It fits on a business card, a website favicon, a truck. It’s important. It is one of your strongest brand assets, but it’s not your brand.

A brand is the gut feeling people have when they think of you. It’s the sum of every interaction, every touchpoint, every experience someone has with your company. Your brand lives in people’s heads long after they’ve stopped looking at your logo.

Think about it: you can describe the Nike swoosh in two seconds. But the brand Nike? That’s decades of athletes, ads, attitude and ‘Just Do It’ energy. The swoosh is the trigger. The brand is everything it triggers.

A logo fits on a business card.

A brand lives in people’s heads.

Here’s where most companies go wrong: they invest in a beautiful logo and expect it to do all the heavy lifting. But a logo without a brand behind it is just a nice drawing.

The strongest brands in the world could change their logo tomorrow and you’d still recognise them. Apple could switch fonts. Coca-Cola could drop the ribbon. You’d still know exactly what they stand for, because the brand is burned into your memory.

Meanwhile, plenty of companies have perfectly fine logos that mean absolutely nothing. Because they never built the brand to back it up.

Real-world proof

Airbnb didn’t become a global phenomenon because of their symbol. They became one because they sold belonging, and then delivered on that promise in every listing, every host interaction, every email.

Oatly could write their name in Comic Sans and still feel like Oatly. Because their brand is in their weird, wonderful, slightly unhinged tone of voice, not only in their typography.

IKEA’s logo is fine. What makes IKEA IKEA is the experience: the maze-like stores, the meatballs, the flat-pack frustration, the democratic design philosophy. That’s brand.

What this means for you

If you’re asking for a new logo, ask yourself: do I actually need a new logo? Or do I need a clearer story, a sharper positioning, a more consistent experience? That’s the reason we don’t just ‘make a new logo’. We first dive deep into your brand.

A logo redesign takes weeks. Building a brand takes years. One gives you a new look. The other gives you meaning.

Start with the brand. The logo will follow.

mission vs vision

The work and the dream: mission vs. vision. Quick: what’s your company’s mission? What’s your vision?

If you had to pause – or if you’re not 100% sure which is which – you’re not alone. These two terms get swapped, confused and mashed together constantly.

Let’s fix that.