A brand isn’t a logo. A logo is merely a symbol that represents the brand. Your corporate identity, the stuff found on letterheads and signage, isn’t a brand either. A brand isn’t the product or service that you make. So if a brand isn’t all of these things what is a brand?

A brand is how an individual feels about a company. It’s an individual’s feeling because a brand is defined by how an individual feels about the brand, not what the company wants an individual to feel. Sure companies can’t control how an individual feels, but they certainly can influence the feelings of an individual by properly communicating the qualities that make their brand special.

Have you ever had a client come up to you looking for design work, hoping that you could design them a strong brand? Maybe you thought you could, but you were wrong. Brands can’t be designed. They can be planned. They can be maintained. They can be groomed. You just can’t design one from scratch because brand isn’t design. Design can be part of the brand though.

via Drawar – Your Logo Is Not Your Brand. This is an idea that I tried expressing to some people after the Starbucks logo change.