Quick guide to understand the difference between branding and logos

Originally published on RLC Roots via Substack. Subscribe to be the first to see our newest posts.

Renee Garcia • April 9, 2025

A brief overview to help you understand these often confused words.

You’re likely familiar with the words if you spend time in the business world, but do you understand them? Hopefully you can get some clarity on these two terms after reading through this post.
Branding:
how you make people feel when they interact with you or your product.

Brand Guidelines (also know as "Brand Standards"):
a comprehensive document that defines your brand foundations and visual guidelines to help you make the right impact and show up consistently for your customers, so you can build trust and increase brand recognition.

Brand strategy:
the foundation of your brand that includes: your vision, mission, values, ideal customer, positioning and more. Helps you get clear on how you want your clients / customers to feel when they encounter your brand in the wild, so you can craft a plan to make the right impression with them.

Logo family:
the set of logos that are created so you can place it on a wide range of spaces with ease. They make your logo more versatile and scalable.

Logo:
an identifying mark that represents a business or organization.

Logomark:
the simplest version of your logo (they don't often include text).

Interested in more easy-to-understand definitions about branding, creative design, and print? Follow this link for more.


The difference between a logo and branding? A logo is a single identifying mark that can be seen (on a product, social post, billboard, etc) and tied it back to you, it’s a single piece in a thousand piece puzzle.


Branding is the entire puzzle, only telling the whole story when all the pieces fit snuggly together. Branding includes your brand voice, messaging, company culture, visual identity, logos, and every touchpoint people can interact with. And that is why it is so important to have all these details thought out and defined. So you know you are crafting the right experience, creating the right moments, and connecting with the right people. Leaving the right impression and making memories, so people keep coming back for more. All while spreading the word by telling their friends about how great you are.


Have more questions about branding and logos? Or looking for your next creative partner to help you revive your brand or tackle part of your to-do list, so you can focus on your mission? Schedule a Connection Chat to have a longer conversation.

Book a Connection Chat

This is also a good way to reconnect with me if we haven’t talked in a while, friends and potential collaborators are always welcome to book too!

A group of women co-creating at a table painting with watercolors.

The Overlooked Consequences of AI Integration

By Renée Fidz & Renee Garcia • March 20, 2025
What happens when a creative process, one that once took days, weeks, months, YEARS, is now compressed into one click of a button? What is lost in the pursuit of convenience, speed, and affordability? And what might the spread of AI-generated content might mean for the future of news and research.
A field of yellow daisies growing in the grass.

Creative design terms explained

By Renee Garcia • March 4, 2025
A reference guide to understand the language I use and the deliverables we can create together. Carefully crafted list of simplified definitions for words I use on a daily basis as a creative designer. They are familiar to me, but I understand that they might be new to you. I am constantly adding to this list as I have conversations with clients and associates.
valley of green lit up by rays of sun coming through the gray clouds above

What they don't tell you when you set out to change the world

By Renee Garcia • December 13, 2024
Reminders for fellow eco-entrepreneurs and purpose driven brands who might be feeling the weight of the climate crisis on their shoulders. Click for some encouragement and inspiration to continue towards your daring mission!
Woman sitting in front of a couch on the carpet with her laptop in her lap

Website Mistakes to Avoid

By Renee Garcia • November 13, 2024
There are so many challenges when it comes to selecting the best platform for your business, building a website, and making sure everything is accessible. I certainly learned a lot during both builds, but I would have rather made the right choice for me the first time around. Click to learn about my rough website building process to help you avoid a few headaches.
Shrub and grass filled field with winding road leading up to surrounding hills

When to explore something new

By Renee Garcia & Angela Ellison • August 20, 2024
In this end of summer season, I’ve been thinking about times of change. The once blooming flowers are dropping to the ground, gardens are full of abundance, and surrounding colors in nature are starting to shift. Life has many twists and turns—it’s easy to get lost along the way. Today Angela and I will be sharing some of our entrepreneurial and life experiences that have pushed us to explore something new.
Photo of a woman facing a computer watching analytics.

Things they don't tell you about following design trends

By Renee Garcia • July 10, 2024
Tempting as it may be to mimic along when we see a cool trend, this may not be the best thing for our business. Our tastes change over time, so it’s natural to want to change things up accordingly. That’s why it’s important to create a brand rooted in strategy. When we know our ideal client / customer, we can ensure our brand continues to reflect their interests. In a world where people seem to be longing for authenticity, don't be afraid to be stay true to yourself.
Chess board shown from one of the corners

Stop overlooking your competition

By Renee Garcia • June 18, 2024
Of course there is no one like YOU! Don’t let that go to your head when you are setting the foundation for your brand. It’s easy to be fooled into thinking that there is no overlap between your target audience and those of another business. Read more to learn how to identify your business competition and learn about shifting your mindset around the idea of competition.
Open, rose with petals around the edges wilting a bit while pulling further away

Everything you need to know about logo families

By Renee Garcia • May 15, 2024
You might be asking yourself—what is a logo family and why might I need one? Let’s walk through 3 reasons to expand your brand assets to create a logo family.
A joyful black woman holding an umbrella under a gorgeous blue and cloud filled sky

Do I need to rebrand?

By Renee Garcia • April 9, 2024
This post was inspired by recent conversations and reflections with my dear friend Angela from Angela Ellison Creative who went through a major rebrand at the start of the year. Her rebrand was one of my favorite branding projects to date—we both are in love with how her visual identity turned out and, as her designer, I could not be more proud of how well she is transforming all her brand touch points. Knowing when to rebrand is really tricky, this guide might help you make the right choice for you and your business.
Photo of Renee, with shoulder length red hair and glasses. Smiling and sitting on a wooden bench in a park with her laptop.

Running a business—hard truths and lessons learned

By Renee Garcia • February 24, 2024
People might claim to have the quick solution, an easier path to reach your goals, but the truth is it isn’t likely to be happen overnight. It takes time to establish a business, standards and processes that work for you. What works for someone else might not work for you, people are all unique and their businesses should reflect that. Click to read about signs you might be ready for a change.
More Posts