It’s Not All About the Logo

What is branding? It all begins with a logo, right? Well, not so fast…

Your brand is the perception of your organization that lives in the hearts and minds of your customers. It’s the feeling they have when they use your products or walk into your business. Yes, a logo is important to brand identity and can be highly recognizable, but successful brand development goes far beyond just that.

As a branding and marketing company, we frequently have prospective clients approach us for logo development. While we’re happy to oblige, we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t push our clients to look beyond their logo and to tell their story through the verbal and visual identity of their organization — Who are they? What do they stand for? Who is the target audience? What sets them apart? What do they offer that other business don’t? Etc.

While browsing one of the many industry blogs I frequent, I came upon a great example of why this is so important.

Take a look at the identity design that was developed for CHUBB, a global insurance company based in Zurich. Don’t scroll too far… take a minute just to look at the logo.

Does it resonate with you? Does it give you a sense of who the company is, what they believe in? It’s for an insurance company, right? So you can envision the logo with your typical corporate color palette and photography. Blue, for sure. Maybe they’ll mix a little yellow or green in there to punch it up. Photography may visualize the car crash or house fire the company promises to protect you from. Can you see this working with that color palette and type of photography? I can.


But then you scroll a little further… and that’s not what you see at all. It’s the exact same logo but the visual brand includes abstract imagery and a color palette that is anything but typical. It’s bold, unexpected, and refreshing. Especially for an insurance company.