The 5 Different Design Styles Branding The 5 Different Design Styles

Agenda Branding (History, AMA Definition) Branding Elements Design Types Wordmark (Text) Lettermark (Initials) Brandmark (Symbol or Icon) Combination Mark (Text and Symbol) Emblem (Text Inside Symbol) Why is it Important?

Branding (AMA Definition) The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.

Brand Elements Name: The word or words used to identify a company, product, service, or concept. Logo: The visual trademark that identifies the brand. Catchphrase: "The Quicker Picker Upper" is associated with Bounty paper towels. Graphics: The dynamic ribbon is a trademarked part of Coca-Cola's brand. Shapes: The distinctive shapes of the Coca-Cola bottle and of the Volkswagen Beetle are trademarked elements of those brands. Colors: Owens-Corning is the only brand of fiberglass insulation that can be pink. Sounds: A unique tune or set of notes can denote a brand. NBC's chimes are a famous example. Scents: The rose-jasmine-musk scent of Chanel No. 5 is trademarked. Tastes: Kentucky Fried Chicken has trademarked its special recipe of eleven herbs and spices for fried chicken. Movements: Lamborghini has trademarked the upward motion of its car doors.

Wordmark (Text) In a recent study of logos belonging to the top 100 brands in the world, 37% of them consisted only of text, often stylized using a unique font. These are known as wordmarks or sometimes logotypes (since they are designs composed entirely from “type”). Wordmarks work best when the name of the company is very distinctive. Google has a simple, minimalist logo design, but it works for them in part because their name is so quirky and memorable (not to mention short). The same can be said for Yahoo, Pinterest, & other brands that use relatively simple text as their company logo.

Lettermark (Initials) Simplicity is key when creating a logo, and lettermarks are about as simple as it gets. They’re similar to wordmarks in that they’re comprised of text, but highlight the company’s initials rather than their full name. This can be handy if your organization’s name is difficult to pronounce or especially long. After all, “IBM” makes for a much catchier and more concise logo than “International Business Machines.” When you know that you’ll have minimal space available for branding, lettermarks are a good way to save on size and still provide an indication of your brand’s name. Using a lettermark logo design assigns equal visual weight to every word in the name of your company, which may make them easier for customers to remember.

Brandmark (Symbol or Icon) A symbol can express certain ideas much more effectively than text. Think of how well traffic signs are able to associate images with information (“merge left,” “school crossing,” and so forth) and, without a single word, compel you to take action. In the same way, Brandmark logos (which consist only of a symbol or icon) can give your audience a clear representation of your company’s identity without the use of words or letters. This makes them very useful for global companies, since consumers in other countries can associate the logo design with an identity regardless of what languages they understand.

Combination Mark (Text and Symbol) 56% of the top brands’ logos incorporate both text and a symbol. Combination marks also known as iconic logotypes, are the best of both worlds, so it makes sense that they’d be so popular; they spell out the name of a company while simultaneously associating it with a visual icon. Because combination marks are more complex, they require more time and thought to design effectively. But that extra work gives you a logo design that’s more versatile than most. These logo types can often be split apart, giving you the ability to use the text or the symbol independently if the situation calls for it.

Emblem (Text Inside Symbol) Unlike combination marks, which position text and symbols side-by-side, emblems involve placing text inside of a symbol so that the two are practically inseparable. They tend to resemble the look of an official badge or seal, making them a common choice for government and political organizations, but they’re also used by well-known private companies like Starbucks Coffee and Harley Davidson. Emblems are a bit on the inflexible side, since they can’t be separated into individual elements the way that a combination mark can. In exchange, you get a more compact logo design that can more easily fit both your graphical symbol and company name into tighter spaces.

Microsoft WORD What are the 5 different types of branding? How do they work? Why are they important in business?