online lecture: from logo to branding

Our team at the ICU branding agency held an online lecture, where brand designer Yulia Sukhareva presented on the topic: «From Logo to Branding: The Difference Between Brand Style, Identity, and Branding».

All these processes are closely interconnected and can be visualized like a matryoshka doll: the logo is part of the visual identity, the visual identity is part of brand identity, which, in turn, is an element of the brand strategy. It’s crucial to define the business goals and choose the appropriate stage of work. For example, a company may need to increase brand recognition, strengthen its image, or create a unified design system.

A logo is a graphic symbol that serves to identify the brand. The logo also has other functions:

1. Building trust: the company openly displays its identity and activities;

2. Creating an emotional connection: the brand instills a specific image within the logo.

For example, Metoplax, a liquid metal manufacturer for whom we developed branding, openly communicates its identity through the logo by placing it on all print and digital media. The logo reflects the company’s activity through an image symbolizing metal coatings.

When designing logos, designers use various methods:

1. — metaphor: explaining complex concepts through simple images;
2. — cliché: using images that evoke clear and immediate associations;
3. — combination: merging several images in a logo with complex graphics.

As companies grow, they need more identifying elements to stand out from competitors and be memorable to their audience. Here, brand style becomes relevant—a set of visual identity that distinguishes the company from others in its niche. It includes:

1. — logo;
2. — colour palette;
3. — font;
4. — graphic elements;
5. — photography and video style.

All of these elements work within a unified style system, ensuring brand recognition.

Visual identity suits small and medium-sized companies, refreshing brand visuals, and intangible products. For example, we modernized the brand style of the real estate agency EVO by:

1. — refining the colour palette;
2. — creating unified graphic elements;
3. — adapting the design concept for various formats and media.

The new visual identity elements make the brand stand out and convey the company’s value: the synergy between realtor and client.

As a business expands and seeks to attract new clients, brand identity becomes crucial. It connects with the audience through various sensory cues, evoking specific associations and emotions—think of CocaCola's holiday tune or IKEA’s famous meatballs.

Brand identity encourages thinking beyond traditional, static media. For EVO, we designed a keychain, stationery, and envelope as primary graphic identity elements, reinforcing the style and metaphor.

Brand strategy is the final, large-scale process of building a brand. It’s a comprehensive undertaking based on research and encapsulated in a brand platform, which shapes the brand’s Tone of Voice (ToV)—how the brand communicates.

A brand can be compared to a person: it has character, voice, appearance, personal experience, values, and goals.

All brand features are contained in a brand book—a guide to the company’s ideological, material, and stylistic standards that must be adhered to.

Our brand designer Yulia shared the case of Victoria 92, a fruit-growing company. Working in the orchard is hard labor, but the employees love their work and carefully oversee each stage, from planting seeds to shipping fresh fruits and berries. Their dedication presents them as residents of a "fruit universe" where they playfully work toward ripeness.

Each process is essential for a business at different stages of its development. It’s important to define the goals and objectives that logo design, visual identity, brand identity, and brand strategy will address.

You can find lecture materials at the provided link.

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