Obsess over your brand, not your logo

When I first started doing branding work, I met a business owner whose company had plateaued after a few years of growth.

He was convinced that growth had stopped due to the lack of a good logo. I spent some time sharing my limited knowledge of brand strategy and its role in building a strong positive brand. I failed to convince him. He wanted a “sexy logo”.

I didn’t take up that project and referred him to a logo designer who made good ‘slap-on logos’

He got a logo that he thought was amazing. One year later he shut shop.

I happened to meet him a few months ago. He now works in a large company and he is happy. Over the course of our conversation, the topic of his old business venture came up. He spoke about that logo, and how he would change certain aspects of it if he were to do it all over again. He felt that it didn’t capture his story and the story of his business.

At a fundamental level, he wanted to share his vision with the world. What his company stood for, its purpose of existence, and what made it special.

The only problem was that he wanted to pack all that and more into his logo. I causally touched upon some of the 12 Golden Questions. He had answers, and good answers for most of them. He just didn’t know how to effectively convey all that to the world.

He isn’t alone in his way of thinking. I come across so many business owners, who obsess over their logos. Business owners who want their logo to speak their story. To capture so much meaning into that small visual unit.

To them I say, forget about your logo, and focus on building your brand.

It’s never an easy sell. And I get it. The logo is a tangible representation of you and your company.

One of my go-to points in such cases is one that I am sure most branding folks out there use as well. It is the reaction that Phil Knight (founder of Nike) had when he first saw the now legendary swoosh - “I don’t love it. But maybe it will grow on me.” Today it is one of the most iconic logos in existence.

But how many people know that Nike is the Greek Winged Goddess of Victory?

How many people know that she represents flight, victory, and speed? The very same attributes that the “brand” Nike represents?

When people see the Nike Swoosh, all they see is a stylized tick mark.

But what they feel is what the brand stands for. It is what the brand painstakingly built up over the decades of its existence.

The purpose of a logo is merely to identify. Nothing more.

While I encourage and help my clients create unique logos, that is just the tip of the brand iceberg.

There is so much more that goes into building a powerful brand.

What are your thoughts on making logos increasingly complex to narrate the company’s story?