 april 19, 2015from the april 2015 issue of entrepreneurwhen business owners embark on the design process, they may commission a logo, but what they&rsquore really seeking is a brand. because the brand&mdashnot the logo&mdashis what consumers will interact and fall in love with and the reason they&rsquoll stick around.one irony of design&mdashthe role of which is to make everyday experiences easier and more intuitive&mdashis the lack of clarity in terminology. designspeak can get fuzzy. so what exactly does it mean for a business to commission a logo, brand or brand identitya logo is the mark that makes a company identifiable, much as names give people a place in the world. a brand is a company&rsquos purpose, visualized it is the heart and soul of the business, encapsulating its truth in a desirable way. a brand identity is the expression of a business and can be flexible and evolutionary, changing as the company grows. the strongest brands are built by leaders who go beyond a logo they utilize the full breadth of design thinking to add flesh to a business, transforming it into something that comes to life. to help illustrate the point, here are five examples of organizations big and small that have used design to go beyond a great mark to create truly robust brands.the people&rsquos supermarketlogo design c unrealthis community coop in london was inspired in part by brooklyn&rsquos park slope food coop&mdashbut didn&rsquot adopt its crunchy aesthetic. instead, the branding for the people&rsquos supermarket, created by londonbased unreal, showcases the market&rsquos democratic and communal nature. the brand&rsquos tagline, &ldquofor the people, by the people,&rdquo is emphasized by an approachable sunnyyellow palette that extends across products, marketing materials and offshoot brands like the people&rsquos kitchen and the people&rsquos cafe. and the most clever part above the word mark is an intentional design tool a shape reminiscent of the punchedout hole that allows retailers to hang packaged goods, representing the modesty and democracy of a common marketplace. all told, unreal produced a brand identity for the people&rsquos supermarket that is bold, impactful and enticing, creating a desirable expression for the responsibly sourced food movement.makers & merchantslogo design c horsedesigners often hear that they should &ldquomake the logo bigger,&rdquo but the best brands display subtlety. u.k.based makers & merchants creates a range of food and home goods made in partnership with artisans around the world. the challenge for branding such a project is in how to unify numerous products in a cohesive way, without losing the integrity and uniqueness of each crafted item.to address this challenge, londonbased horse studio created a branding portfolio that explores multiple patterns, textures and styles, all unified by a strict red palette. this allows the brand to take on bits and pieces of the heritage or inspiration behind each product without stepping outside the bounds of the portfolio, proving that ranges don&rsquot necessarily need to &ldquobrand block&rdquo&mdasha design tactic for creating shelf impact using graphics that appear to travel from pack to pack&mdashto be noticed. and that &ldquomake the logo bigger&rdquo nonsense makers & merchants&rsquo modest mark is discreetly placed on each item in a manner that&rsquos organic and unobtrusive.mast brothers chocolatelogo design c mast brothersfor what started as a small family business in brooklyn, mast brothers chocolate has built an incredibly strong brand. no frilly, indulgent candy bars here&mdashrick and michael mast take their chocolate seriously. the logo is spare and simple the copy that surrounds the brand speaks to the science, sourcing and craft behind the products and the packaging makes each chocolate bar into a work of art.each pattern is unique to the flavor of the bar around which it&rsquos wrapped, discreetly referencing the chocolate&rsquos creation. for example, a bar made in conjunction with stumptown coffee a few years back was adorned with a pattern of bicycles as a tribute to the bikeloving culture shared by brooklyn and stumptown&rsquos base in portland, ore. the duo&rsquos new collaboration features vintage motorcycles, another cultural commonality. to add even more authenticity to an already earnest brand, the packaging is also invisibly tied to family heritage, as family members, friends and staff design many of the beautiful patterns.all great companies must grow, but mast brothers has smartly retained its brand throughout expansion. its new brooklyn &ldquobrew bar,&rdquo for example, &ldquodedicated to the craft of brewed chocolate beverages,&rdquo incorporates beloved mast brothers patterns on cups and packaging that pleasantly offset the space&rsquos otherwise spare aesthetic.city of melbournelogo design c landorcreating a brand for a major city is no easy task, especially one as culturally and politically diverse as melbourne, australia. local agency landor devised a design system for the city of melbourne council that&rsquos a great example of the &ldquohead, heart and soul&rdquo approach to branding. an edgy &ldquom&rdquo changes color and pattern for each city initiative, government entity or program, and the geometric style that roots these patterns extends beyond the logo as a secondary language on signage, collateral and advertisements. by creating a flexible system that is both recognizable and malleable enough to encompass a wide range of needs, the brand can evolve as the city evolves around it.the system in its entirety acts as both a guide to visitors and a reminder to residents that melbourne is unified and a lively place to live. in its breadth, the branding for melbourne portrays the city as vibrant, modern and progressive.the girl the bulllogo design c serious studioa great restaurant shouldn&rsquot need incredible design to help it shine its food should do the shining for it. that said, when a business combines great food and great design, it&rsquos a place worth spending time. the girl  the bull is a restaurant in parañaque city, philippines, whose branding, created by manilabased serious studio, reflects not only the warmth of the cooking but the connection between chefs and their ingredients.silhouettes of a girl and a bull face off on stationery and menus, reminding consumers of the provenance of their food and the talented people who make it. classical etching brings a homey feel to the brand&rsquos illustrations, and photography brings the brand collateral to life. as an added touch, the restaurant&rsquos website incorporates tiny bits of film, creating a moving quality that makes viewers feel as if they&rsquore sitting in a friend&rsquos kitchen. the warmth of the brand and the caliber of the food are a winning combination.these companies showcase the power of a great brand idea richly expressed through strategic design thinking. so, the next time you consider commissioning a logo, remember that it is actually a wellexecuted brand that brings your business&rsquos personality to life and drives an emotional connection with your consumers.
