Recently, we had a potential client approach us with a simple request: he just wanted a new logo and asked for a quote. During our video meeting, we explained that while a logo is important, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. A logo alone can only do so much.
A logo is a crucial element of a broader visual narrative. What's a visual narrative? Well, think about how we all digest and retain information. We are all different, for example: some of us read every last word, others largely look the the pictures and listen to the narrator, and some of us just listen. So our brand story needs to be told in different formats for different audiences. But there's also more to our brand story than our name, or what we do. There's our process, beliefs, intentions, and perhaps most importantly how we create value. A logo can't tell us all these things, and it can only tell stories visually. It's still an incredibly valuable storytelling tool, but it's just one tool in a whole workshop.
Brand strategy is developed through detailed research and creative brainstorming, ensuring that every visual element, including the logo, works in harmony to tell an engaging brand story. This integrated approach has consistently delivered great results for our clients. While some designers offer standalone logo design services, it's important to understand a logo alone has limited value.
Our prospect's enquiry got us thinking about the common confusion between graphic designers and brand designers.
Perhaps the best way to describe the fundamental difference is this: Graphic Design is an umbrella term that covers hundreds of specialities. Brand Design is a speciality skill set.
Brand Designer vs. Graphic Designer
Generally speaking: A graphic designer can take brand style guidelines and interpret them to create additional design and marketing materials such as documents, advertisements, social media graphics, and more. Graphic designers are well versed in the fundamentals of design such as typography, colour, layout and printing/digital production. Graphic designers who underwent design training will also have studied logo creation to varying levels of competency. However, it is often the case that training can vary in depth and quality between institutions and there are different schools of design theory depending on location.
A brand designer typically has a background in graphic design and can do all those things, but has an extended specialised skill set and experience. A brand designer forms part of a team that often includes: new business directors, business strategists, brand strategists, copywriters, production specialists and sales/marketing professionals. Their approach is fundamentally different as they interpret strategy into visual and verbal storytelling that is unique in its sector, commercially viable and has good governance. In short: it's bespoke design employed as a business toolset.
In essence, while graphic designers excel at executing visual assets within a predefined brand framework, brand designers craft the strategic vision that guides these assets. They create visual, verbal and behavioural brand narratives that align with the brand’s goals and resonate with the target audience.
A holistic brand approach is all about seeing the big picture. Instead of focusing on just one aspect of your brand—like the logo or a single marketing campaign—it’s about creating a cohesive and consistent brand experience across every touchpoint.
This means everything from your visuals and messaging to customer service and social media presence work together seamlessly to tell the same story and evoke the same emotions. A holistic approach ensures that every piece of your brand puzzle fits perfectly, creating a strong, unified identity that resonates with your audience and builds lasting connections.
In essence, it’s about treating your brand as a whole, not just the sum of its parts, to create a more powerful and impactful presence in the market.
At our studio, we approach graphic design as part of a comprehensive brand strategy. We believe that to achieve the best results, it’s essential to see and understand the full picture.
This holistic perspective allows us to help our clients build strong, unified brands that grow and thrive over time. If we were to take a brief to design a standalone logo, the reality is that it would take up a similar amount of time to extract enough useful direction and data as a full brand strategy requires. That makes it expensive and ineffective if the only outcome is a logo. We think that's irresponsible. Why deliver half a strategy? Why build something that only tells part of the story?
A good example of what we do as the part of our branding service you can find in the case study, one of our latest work for a welding company.
So, the next time you think a logo alone will do the trick, remember: it’s one part of a bigger strategy. The real power comes from a well-crafted brand strategy translated to visual, verbal and behavioural brand narratives.
