Well beyond a logo, an Instagram feed, or a website, a brand is the sum of associations one has about a given organization, company, product, or place. Imbued with meaning, these associations determine a brand’s place – for better or worse – in our heads and hearts.

Brand identities and other touchpoints serve to trigger relevant associations in our minds. These triggers include a place’s logo, but extend to anywhere the brand reaches its audiences. Physically expressed as signage, packaging or other printed goods, brand is also transmitted in service encounters, in the halls and walls of a workplace, and other ways unseen.

Taken together, these physical, verbal and behavioral cues point audiences back to existing perceptions of a brand. Every touchpoint offers an opportunity to delight or disappoint, and the name and visual identity are no exception. But winning brands make their mark by delighting us at every touchpoint, in every experience, not by logos alone.