The Truth About Branding: Designers Don’t Build Brands

Branding is often misunderstood. Many businesses believe that hiring a designer to create a logo, colour palette, and typography set means they now “have a brand.” But branding isn’t just about visuals—it’s about the experience, reputation, and emotional connection a business creates over time.

Designers play a crucial role in shaping a brand’s identity, but they don’t create brands on their own. A brand is built through business strategy, customer experience, communication, and consistency. Designers provide the visual foundation—the platform—but the actual brand grows through everything the company does.

One of the best examples of this concept in action is the story of Chase Manhattan Bank and its iconic logo.

In March 1955, Chase National Bank merged with the Bank of the Manhattan Company to form Chase Manhattan Bank, becoming the second-largest bank in the United States. The newly formed company needed a strong identity, but early attempts at branding were cluttered—featuring a map, a globe, the bank’s name, and the phrase “world-wide banking.”

Tom Geismar, from the renowned design firm Chermayeff, Geismar & Haviv, saw the need for something simpler. However, there was no universal symbol for banking, nor a pre-existing icon that represented Chase.

“We became convinced that the bank would benefit from a simple symbol that could not only unite the two newly merged corporate cultures but also come to stand in for the company’s long, unwieldy name in the public mind. However, there is no symbol that really means banking, and no symbol that represented Chase. We turned to the idea of using an abstract symbol, since we knew that Chase Manhattan had tremendous advertising resources that could quickly establish the symbol in the public mind.”
Tom Geismar, Partner at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv

The solution? An abstract mark that, over time, would gain meaning through repetition, association, and strong brand positioning.

Initially, the symbol meant nothing—it was simply a canvas for meaning. Over time, it began to absorb the associations that people developed with the bank. Geismar and his team didn’t build the brand; they designed the platform, and the brand took shape afterward.

This approach highlights a fundamental truth: designers don’t create brands; they create the foundation upon which brands are built. The Chase symbol didn’t inherently mean anything when it was first designed—but as the bank grew and invested in marketing, the symbol became a recognisable asset associated with trust, stability, and financial strength.

Many businesses mistakenly think of branding as a logo or visual identity, but branding is much more than that. While designers play a crucial role in shaping how a brand looks and communicates, they don’t build brands. Brands are built through business decisions, customer interactions, and long-term strategy.

That being said, there are a few cases where designers can be directly involved in brand-building:

When designers are deeply embedded in a business and involved in decision-making beyond just visual identity, they can influence the company’s strategy, product development, customer service, and overall direction.

This requires more than just designing a logo or a website—it involves working closely with executives, shaping company culture, and ensuring design thinking is applied across all business operations. However, this level of involvement is rare, as many businesses still view design as a surface-level component rather than a strategic asset.

When designers own a business, they naturally have the ability to shape its brand from the inside out. In this case, branding isn’t just about visuals—it’s about developing the core values, customer experience, and long-term vision of the company.

For designers who start their own businesses, branding becomes an ongoing process—something they live and breathe every day rather than an external service they provide for clients.

In-house designers have the potential to shape a company’s brand identity over time, but their impact depends on their level of influence within the organisation. Senior designers who are involved in business strategy and decision-making can play a significant role in shaping how a brand evolves.

However, not all businesses are design-led, and in many cases, designers are excluded from critical decisions. In companies that undervalue design, branding efforts may become diluted, and designers may struggle to have a lasting impact on the business.

A brand is more than just a logo—it’s the perception, reputation, and emotional connection people have with a company. A logo is simply a visual cue; its value comes from the brand behind it.

A perfect example? The Nike Swoosh.

Designed in 1971 for just $35, it had no inherent value at the time. But as Nike grew into a global brand known for athletic performance, innovation, and empowerment, the Swoosh became one of the most recognisable and valuable symbols in the world—now worth an estimated $30 billion.

This reinforces the idea that a logo doesn’t define a brand—the brand gives the logo meaning.

Branding isn’t just about a logo or a colour scheme—it’s the sum of everything a business stands for, how it operates, and how it communicates with its audience. Designers create the visual identity, but a brand’s true power comes from customer experiences, business decisions, and long-term consistency.

So, if you’re looking to build a strong brand, remember: the visual identity is just the beginning—the real work happens in how you bring that brand to life every day.