How Much Brand Consistency Is Necessary?
Anonymous (not verified) | Mon, 2009-02-02 22:24OK, I am running into this situation in a Logo project I am working on. I can't show the real logo so I will use this as an example. If you can see in the picture the mock product is called Neno TV and the tagline is "Your personal Tv".
My question is do you think its detrimental to the brand if the logo is shown in two different ways to prevent redundancy? (one way with the tagline and another way when its not there) I am also wondering if this inconsistency should be avoided, or if you know of any other brands that do the same thing? Or any articles that somewhat address this?
Sorry if the example is poor but I thought of it quickly so I could give some perspective into what I am talking about.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance.
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it's not necessarily "redundant" to show it the same way with or without the tag line, even if the letters TV appear in both. especially if you have TV in blue and offset up top. it may work better if you have a stronger difference between the logo typeface and the tag line typeface.
but if the TV is part of the logomark, it needs to stay with the logomark. if you move it when you put the tag line in there, i think it comes across as not part of the mark and weakens the identity. the logomark needs to always look the same, regardless of the tag line. the tag line is supposed to reinforce the logomark, not change it.
Hi
Saw your posts on this brand issue. I am having a simular one myself and would like to know your view.
Right, i am just in the middle of rebranding for my company and the logo essentially is enclosed in a bevelled metallic style rectangle border/frame. However, this only looks good on print design but doesnt work well at smaller lower resolution on the website so i have used a softer red border line.
But I am not sure if i should have two different border frames? The essential part of the logo is typographic except that the border frame would be different (2 border versions). Do you think this will cause any any major brand inconsistency?
Look forward to your post....
thanks alot
J
www.mercury75.com
James Lake
Creative Director
M75 Communications
www.mercury75.com
[url=http://www.mcmurry.com/about_us/logo_hall_fame.php]McMurry[/url] was in a similar situation. They're a very large ad agency/publishing company with a "customizable logo"
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Very cool, that reminds me of the Natural History Museum (London) which has a similar configurable logo: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/ - clicking through the various sections will reveal different logo backgrounds.
In my mind a logo shouldn't ever need a tagline in order to function.
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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
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Dirt and Rust
gwells: Those are valid points, thanks for your input. The logo was created quickly and in the real logo I am working on there is a difference in the Logo typeface and tagline. I agree with you though that the logomark needs to look the same however, I didnt know if their was an exception.
natobasso: A logo should never "need" a tagline, this is true. However, my question was not whether a logo "needs" a tagline to function but what do you do if you need to combine your tagline and logo and both contain similar elements?
To both of your points I do see that the tagline should never dictate the look of the Logo. Thank you again for your contribution.
The example you've given is perfectly fine, in my opinion. Many companies slightly alter the overall appearance of their logo to accommodate taglines. Some even have two logos, one vertical and one horizontal. Still other have one with a logomark with the company name and another without (Adobe comes to mind).
The important thing is that the logo, no matter how it's used, retains its brand value and recognition.
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i think two version of a logo (stacked and landscape) are very common. but those generally are just rearranging the text portion of the logo with a logomark to let the logo fit different visual situations, not changing the logomark itself.
the reason i didn't think the example given is appropriate is because, essentially, the TV is moved from a superscript position to a subscript position, which has different connotations. and i don't think it's common for companies to remove part of the logomark and place it inside the tagline instead.
for branding to be most effective, the logomark itself needs to be inviolate. the taglines and text variations don't impinge on the strength of the logomark itself.
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Coke, Pepsi, Intel. Many, many companies move thing around, remove the mark, etc. - it's just that they're much more established brands, so you & I barely even notice it happening.
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couple of thoughts on that.
coke, pepsi, and intel rearrange the mark and the text, they don't split the text up.
i.e., they don't go from "cocacola" to
coca
the best cola.
of course, coke and pepsi have altered their brands over the years to the point where pepsi is now just pepsi, not pepsicola and cocacola is coke because they embraced the "slang" usage of their original names.
but they also have *established* brands, which is a much different situation to work with than a new unknown brand.
My take is that as long as you have good solid rules behind how your logo can be used and modified and you plan ahead for future requirements you won't have a problem.
If the logo is going to be handed over, to an in-house team for example, make sure they understand not only the guidelines and rules, but why they are in place and should be followed.