What is Logo Design?

Everyone knows what logo design is. We see logos every day. They surround us.

I bet if you looked around you right now, you would see at least 5 logos. I can see the logo designs for; HMRC, EDF, Homepride, Disney, and Apple. And that’s just by raising my head from the computer.

Logo design surrounds us. Everyone has a logo.

But, what actually is logo design? And what job does a logo do?

Let’s take a look…

Your Brand vs Your Brand Identity vs Your Logo Design

The first thing we need to clear up is the difference between your brand, your brand identity, and your logo design.

Don’t be fooled, they’re not the same! However, you do need to pay close attention to each of them.

Your Brand

Your brand is your perceived corporate image as a whole. This is your brand mission, vision, story, and brand strategy, all wrapped together.

If you’re struggling to get your head around what your brand is, and how you begin to form your brand, then take a look at The Ultimate Small Business Branding Guide. It’s packed full of tips and advice for branding your business.

Your Brand Identity

Your brand identity is the visual representation of your overall brand. It’s how your brand communicates visually.

And sure, your logo design is part of your brand identity, but there’s more to it than that. It’s the language you use, the typographic choices you make, the style of photography in your brand communication, and more.

When you work with a design agency to help design and develop your brand, they should wrap up your brand identity in a document, often called Brand Identity Guidelines.

This can then be used when working with others to help communicate your brand visually.

Your Logo Design

Your logo design identifies your business in its simplest form using a logo mark, typographic solution, or combination of both.

That’s all there is to it. Your logo design is the simplest visual representation of your business possible.

From Nike’s tick, to McDonald’s Golden Arches, the best logos are as simple as possible.

As quoted by creative, Antoine de Saint-Exupery:

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

When looking at your own logo design, keep that in mind.