A hot take: not everything needs to be a logo

For me, great branding always begins with creative strategy: understanding what a brand stands for, how it behaves, and the experience it creates. The logo is part of that, of course, but it’s rarely the thing that makes people feel something.

What I think creates a meaningful and effective brand are the behaviours and signals that repeat over time:

• A tone of voice that instantly feels familiar

• Moments of personality in customer interactions

• A visual system that’s recognisable even without the mark

• Colour, type, movement and layout working together with purpose

• A clear idea that guides how the brand shows up everywhere

When I’m developing a brand, this is where I begin: mapping out the thinking, the story, and the behaviours. Once that foundation is solid, designing the visual identity is a lot easier. It's easier to see if it fits the brand and the logo becomes one element in a much larger, more meaningful system.

So instead of asking “What should our logo look like?”, I find it’s more useful to start with:

“What are we trying to make people feel, remember, or do?”

Get that right, and the logo naturally finds its place as a simple, elegant signature on a well thought through strategy.