What is a brand? It’s an all-inclusive word that means everything associated with you. Every touchpoint means every visual aspect:

• logo, uniforms, color scheme, take-out bags, utensils, coffee cups, storefront, food truck, vehicle wrap, social accounts, stationery, stock photography, advertisements, business cards, etc

and emotional aspect:

• feelings of your customer at the sight of your logo
  (ie: mouth-watering, customer care, environmentally-friendly, jovial, charitable, luxury, quality, etc)

All of these aspects are things you’re putting out into the world. The starting point to your brand, I would argue, is your logo. So to begin the construction of your brand or rebrand, let’s understand design.

Why is the swoosh so synonymous with good design? Business owners understand that the swoosh clearly displays motion, sleekness, athleticism, and elite performance in a very simplified way. That appeals. You don’t have to have one design course under your belt to understand appeal.

Certainly the logo is strong because Nike is a famous brand, but why is Nike so successful? It’s the chicken or the egg scenario. In this case, the swoosh the egg. Or chicken. Whichever came first. The simple mark, or design, played a massive role in propelling the company into billion dollar powerhouse.

Why is Design Important?

Maybe you’re looking for numbers. It’s hard to quantify the value of a brand, but Interbrand tried: According to an interview with Interbrand Chairman, Rita Clifton by Thought Economics,

Twenty-four percent is wrapped up in your brand! The way your target market perceives your brand is a substantial chunk of the value of your entire business. So the value of your company is only partly measured by your assets. Careful thought behind logo design seems quite important now. It’s the difference between customer confusion and customer recognition.

Brand Perception

If you’re looking for a brand that is diligent in its touchpoints, look no further than the two-tailed mermaid.

What brand has penetrated our society so much as to bring a European-style leisure activity to the US, insist we become nearly bilingual upon ordering and arguably add its own name to the American tripod of baseball, mamas and apple pie?

As an industry-transcending brand, Starbucks is a wonderful blueprint to model your own brand strategy.

Reasons to Come to You

Huffington Post writer Stephanie Ciccarelli lists three reasons customers choose a brand.

• Trust

• Ease-of-Use

• Speed

So is your overall branding effort exuding trust, ease-of-use and speed? Does your logo portray that?