Re: Branding

1. What are your suggestions for making this particular branding issue work better?

So this is of course not a company merger, but I thought this exercise could be a bit useful. Each element is broken down and then pieced back together into one logo.

It seems like Katie's idea used this same approach to choose a few elements to merge together.

2. How important is having a good understanding of brand strategy for people in our line of work?

Understanding brand strategy is important when it comes to our ability to communicate how our role as the designer affects a business. Shana, you have the challenge of not only making these two completely different logos work, but also having to first communicate why the difference in two logos are actually contradictory to this companies strategy. We are story tellers, marketers, and brand ambassadors all rolled up in one. It seems, because I don't have first hand experience, its more important to convince our clients why they should believe their visual presence is just as important to their brand.

3. Do you have real life experience with a branding nightmare/success story?
Not yet…

4. How much of branding is good design and good business?
Branding is definitely a hybrid of great design and execution. I think great design is what sets businesses apart from the professional and the amateur.