Branding glossary
The vocabulary of branding, without the jargon. Search or filter by topic.
Brand
The set of perceptions people hold about a company, product or person. You influence it; customers ultimately decide it.
Branding
The ongoing work of shaping those perceptions through strategy, identity, communication and experience.
Brand architecture
How a company organises its brands and sub-brands — for example one master brand (“branded house”) versus many independent brands (“house of brands”).
Brand equity
The commercial value created by people’s awareness of and feelings about a brand — why customers choose or pay more for it.
Brand positioning
The distinct place a brand aims to occupy in the customer’s mind relative to alternatives.
Positioning statement
An internal sentence: for [audience], [brand] is the [category] that [benefit] because [reason to believe].
Value proposition
The specific benefit a customer gets, stated in their terms.
Brand promise
The experience customers can expect every time. Breaking it damages trust faster than any campaign can build it.
Brand archetype
One of twelve character models (Hero, Sage, Jester…) used to define personality. Take the quiz.
Brand pillars
Three to five core themes or values that all messaging ladders up to.
Differentiation
What makes a brand meaningfully different from competitors, ideally in a way customers care about.
Distinctiveness
How easily a brand is recognised — via consistent colours, shapes, characters, sounds or phrases — regardless of whether it is “different”.
Distinctive brand assets
Non-name elements that trigger recall of a brand, such as a colour, jingle or mascot.
Rebrand
A significant change to a brand’s strategy, name or identity. A “refresh” is a lighter update to visuals.
Visual identity
The visible system of a brand: logo, colour, typography, imagery, iconography and layout.
Wordmark (logotype)
A logo made of the brand name in distinctive type. Make one.
Lettermark (monogram)
A logo made of initials, useful for long names.
Brandmark (symbol)
A pictorial or abstract symbol used with or without the name.
Combination mark
A symbol and wordmark used together, often with defined lockups.
Emblem
A logo where text sits inside a symbol or badge, common in education, sport and heritage brands.
Lockup
A fixed arrangement of logo elements (e.g. horizontal or stacked) that shouldn’t be rearranged.
Clear space
The minimum empty area around a logo that other elements must not enter.
Responsive logo
A family of logo versions that simplify as space shrinks — from full lockup down to favicon.
Brand guidelines
The rulebook for applying a brand consistently. Build a one-page guide.
Vector
Artwork defined by mathematical paths (SVG, AI, EPS) that scales without losing quality — the right format for logo masters.
Typeface vs font
A typeface is the design (e.g. a family); a font is a specific weight and style file within it.
Serif / sans-serif
Serif faces have small strokes at letter ends; sans-serifs don’t.
Kerning
Adjusting space between specific pairs of letters. Critical in wordmarks.
Tracking
Uniform spacing applied across a whole word or line.
X-height
The height of lowercase letters; affects how large and readable a font feels.
HEX / RGB / CMYK
Colour codes for screen (HEX, RGB) and four-colour print (CMYK).
Pantone (PMS)
A proprietary spot-colour matching system used for consistent print and product colours.
Contrast ratio
The luminance difference between text and background. WCAG AA asks for 4.5:1 for body text. Check yours.
Colour harmony
Rules for combining hues — analogous, complementary, triadic and others.
Trademark
A legally protected sign — word, logo, slogan, sometimes colour or sound — that identifies the source of goods or services.
™ vs ®
™ claims rights in a mark (usable anywhere unregistered); ® may only be used once the mark is registered in that country.
Nice Classification
The international system of 45 classes (34 goods, 11 services) used to define what a trademark covers.
Likelihood of confusion
The core test for trademark conflicts: would consumers likely confuse the source, given similar marks and related goods?
Madrid Protocol
A WIPO system for seeking trademark protection in many member countries through one application.
Descriptive mark
A mark that merely describes the product (e.g. “Fast Delivery”). Hard to register without proof of acquired distinctiveness.
Copyright
Protects original creative works such as logo artwork. Ownership of a commissioned logo should be assigned to you in writing.
Brand awareness
How many people in your market recognise or recall your brand.
Brand voice
The consistent personality expressed in words; tone flexes by situation, voice doesn’t.
Boilerplate
A standard short description of the company used in press releases and profiles.
Touchpoint
Any place a person encounters your brand — packaging, website, support call, invoice.