Branding is not – just – design

Let’s talk about the term branding? More and more professionals are looking to better understand this universe that, despite often being confused with design, goes far beyond.

We can say that branding is strategy. It's the planning, the study, the research. It's the set of practices that support a brand to be coherent — whether in its tone of voice, its visual identity, or even its internal and external postures. It’s the essence of what a brand wants to be — and of what it wants others to perceive it as.

The term branding originated in the USA, and its literal translation means “to mark.” It comes from the practice of marking cattle so they wouldn’t be stolen. And today, we do something very similar: we use brand marks — both physical and symbolic — to identify companies, people, and products.

So, when we talk about branding, we’re talking about a strategy of construction, structuring, and management of brands — which doesn’t mean it's just about visual aspects, okay?

Branding in design

What we often find is that design — especially visual identity projects — is the main gateway to branding for most professionals.

People arrive with a request like, "I need a logo for my new company,” but in many cases, they haven’t even asked the right questions yet. That’s when the design professional, even without realizing it, ends up doing branding: asking about target audiences, tone of voice, positioning, brand personality…

That is: branding is already part of many design processes — even if it's not named as such.

The ideal scenario is for designers and brand strategists to work in a complementary way: with branding laying the groundwork and design giving shape to that strategy. But the reality is that, in many cases, design ends up incorporating the strategy itself — and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as there's depth in the process and awareness of what’s being built.

Branding through design

Beyond that, we also need to recognize the power of design as a branding tool. Design builds meaning, organizes narratives, translates personality, and generates connection. So yes — design is branding too.

Whether through colors, typography, space, or language, design is capable of communicating a brand's essence in a direct and emotional way. It’s not just decoration — it’s communication.

So before thinking that branding is something “far from your reality,” take another look at your processes. You might already be doing it — and if you’re not yet, maybe it’s time to start. 😉