What is a brand?

Most people think of a brand as a logo, a colour palette, or a tone of voice. And while those elements are important — they help create consistency and recognition, but a brand is so much more than design or messaging. As Marty Neumeier said, “A brand is a result. It’s a customer’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It’s not what you say it is, it’s what they say it is.” A brand is your reputation and the sum of every experience, interaction, and impression — intentional or not. It lives in the minds and hearts of those who engage with you and means it’s emotional, intuitive, and deeply human.

We don’t fall in love with brands because they’re perfectly polished, we fall in love with how they make us feel. Think about your favourite brands — the ones you return to, recommend, or quietly admire. It’s probably not just about the product at the end of the day, it’s about the connection. They probably resonate with something inside you and also reflect your values. They remind you of who you are, or who you want to be. That kind of resonance doesn’t happen by accident, it’s often built gradually, through trust, consistency, and emotional depth. I recently asked a group of high school students: If Nike and Converse both released the exact same shoes — same colour, same quality, same design — which one would you choose? Without hesitation, they said Nike. Because of the emotional connection. It’s often subconscious, but it overrides logic. It’s not just about the shoes, it’s about how the brand makes them feel when they see it, and how they feel when they wear it and I think that’s what sets brands apart.

When a brand makes a promise and keeps it, people remember. When it takes a stand or shows vulnerability, people feel seen. When it creates space for belonging, people connect. This is why the emotional layer of branding matters so deeply, people may not remember your exact words, but they’ll often remember how you made them feel, and that feeling becomes your reputation. In an age where people are craving authenticity more than perfection, especially with the rise of AI, brands that lead with empathy and honesty really do stand out. We’re not just buying products anymore — we’re buying into stories, into meaning, into shared values. Brands with a clear sense of purpose tend to earn something far more valuable than attention, brand loyalty.

I’ve seen quite a few changes throughout my fifteen years in the design industry. I think branding used to be about control — tightly crafted messages, delivered from the top down, but I think now, it’s about conversation and letting your customers feel like they are at the heart of the brand. Listening matters just as much as speaking, feedback, community, and interaction help turn the brand into something alive and evolving. Your brand isn’t just your story, it’s the story others tell about you and the emotional residue you leave behind. I think if a brand wants to be remembered, not just recognised, it has to move beyond visuals and strategy into something more human. You have to create something people can feel, because at the end of the day, connection is what people remember.