Is it Branding?

Although I have had clients refer to “branding” their practice when purchasing a logo from VeterinaryLogos.com, a logo is actually just one element of visual identity used to express a brand.

Branding is more than just logo design!

In true, comprehensive branding work, many preliminary steps and much analysis take place before creating logo design concepts. Entire teams may be involved in conducting initial marketing audits, interviewing customers and staff, creating ideal customer avatars and determining key factors that differentiate the client organization from its competitors. 

Mood boards and stylescapes may be created to capture the brand’s proposed look and feel. Dozens, if not hundreds of iterations of a custom logo mark may be drawn before narrowing the options and presenting two or three logo design concepts for the client to review. Once the logo is selected and refined, it is integrated into multiple applications—print materials, the website, social media channels and signage. 

The entire branding process can take weeks, if not months. Because so much consulting and creative work can be involved in developing a brand, agency prices for branding can range into the tens of thousands of dollars. Fully developing a national retail brand can easily cost hundreds of thousands—even millions—of dollars. 

For the typical veterinary practice, this branding agency approach is unnecessarily complex and costly. Unless you are in a highly competitive market, or branding an entire hospital chain, it’s fine to consider a no-frills visual identity design as a faster, radically lower-priced alternative to a full-fledged branding process.

There are no lengthy questionnaires or design briefs to fill out, no disruptive, time-consuming interviews with you, your clients and your team. Instead, we proceed directly to the logo design concept stage.

You browse the designs, and if you see a logo that looks and feels right for your practice, simply order it. If you see several concepts you like, I have recommendations for how to narrow your choice to the best logo for your practice.

Once you place your order, I customize your chosen design with your practice name and work with you until your design is finished to your full satisfaction. There can be some back-and-forth about the arrangement of the type and the color selections, but in most cases, the logo files are approved, finished and delivered in less than a week. 

A branding workshop, in which your team collaborates to identify the essence of your practice, is a completely worthwhile and potentially transformative endeavor and a consulting project you may choose to invest in. Client interviews can be used to understand your brand even better.

Meanwhile, VeterinaryLogos.com offers you quick, easy, affordable access to a professionally-designed logo to identify your practice.