Dilemma Update: How Liberal are You with Your Brand
by DRM2
[tweetmeme]After putting much thought into my response and getting carried completely away with Halloween costume building, I have finally come back to put my two cents into this dilemma. I appreciate the comments posted, even if most of them came from the spurring of my wife.
As I was thinking of the examples I presented on artistic branding, as well as other companies that later came to mind; I wanted to see if there were any similarities I could find between them. With all of the brands I was choosing, I noticed a trend forming. Ultimately, I think I figured out where to draw the line between a tight hold on a companies brand, and bringing on some artistic evolution.
All of the brands that I can think of that have very open artistic adaptations, are all in a sense social icons. It seems they have broken the “cool” barrier for consumers. And as I put more thought into this, I believe that it is because their brands have been opened to mass trendiness that their logos require artistic adaptation to remain “cool.” Volcom, Harley Davidson, and Coca-Cola are all great examples of companies that have reach beyond corporate identity and are pushing into the social sphere. So when all is said and done, not every company should be liberal with their logo layouts.
I really believe that if a company is not on its way to becoming the next trendy icon, and I know it is tough to admit this sometimes, but it is probably best to remain very strict on logo usage. However, not all hope is lost, I do think it is appropriate for the company to have a style guide adequate for a broad range of options. For example, you should have these versions of your logo:
- primary
- reverse
- grayscale
- without company name
- horizontal
- vertical/stacked
This way you are not limited in your branding, and can appropriately used your logo in all of your marketing materials.
A final word – When it comes to branding I always like to see how Apple does it. Because I idealize Apple Inc. and their marketing, I believe they make for a pretty good barometer. I think it is safe to say that Apple has successfully broken into the “cool” social sphere of consumers. However, I have noticed that they still remain very closed about the artistic use of their logo. Maybe true “logo zen” is when a company can make its brand a culture icon without artistic adaptation. Just a thought! -DRM2
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I like your take on this, Malmborg.
I agree. Until a company has an identifiable brand, it is best to be really strict on how the logo is used.
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The traduction in French is not comprehensible.
I do’nt understand what is the problem.
But about the brand ,it is essentiel for the company and too for the customers.
Firstly for the company, if their product is the best in the market and known to be the best, they can give on it the price as level as possible.
And it is good for their business.
For them it is suffisant to be known for one thing, their can product and sell all things after it. For example Nike is firstly known for their basket, and now they are others things like bags, glasses … and the customers buy them because that is Nike. They buy the brand but not the quality of the product.
Secondly, for the custumers, they know what they want, they know what they buy and they are sure that they have not lost their money because that is what they want.
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