Logos, literally

Logos look great, but they rarely tell the whole story. Often they don't quite know what they really want to say, or they can't find the words to say it. And this is a missed opportunity on a massive scale, given that language lives within each of us. However, all too often, its voice lies smothered under a dull blanket of senselessness – its lips are moving, but we feel little connection to the words and what they really mean.

Decades of being taught at school to end letters "Yours sincerely" have only succeeded in forging generations of insincerity, albeit delivered in the most polite manner. Letter writing is now, for better or for worse, a lost art, replaced by letter writing 2.0. Politeness has now been replaced with the blunt force of the email and its brutal attack on nuance and tone. And we are left in a world where people no longer understand the difference between information and conversation, fact and insight, idiom and idiot.

Thousands of years ago, language evolved to become the intelligent aspect of life that set us apart from other living things. And storytelling evolved to provide the means by which knowledge was passed from one generation to the next. The group dynamic to storytelling was incredibly important as this passage of knowledge provided a vital social bond. I can only imagine what the elders would make of the relative hubris of iPods and earphones, the modern day equivalent of learning a new language from cassette tapes, a poor (and very isolating) cousin to the more rewarding act of actually visiting the country in question to immerse yourself in the people and the culture.

I remember my first son being incredibly frustrated around the age of 18 months as he struggled to find the words to express himself. Now that he can express his thoughts and ideas and emotions, he is much happier. Not only for the act of self-expression but also the experience of sharing with those around him. His words connect himself to his world, he says what he sees and he sees what he says. His language and his life are inextricably interwoven.

All of which brings me to my point.

Language is an incredibly powerful device (to use the modern day vernacular). It has the unique ability to pinpoint your exact meaning, thought or emotion in a way that is simply not possible without the power of speech. It brings us together as the uniting force for sharing stories, knowledge and experience. And it gives us the opportunity to reach out beyond ourselves and touch the world around us.

My point is that a logo is not a brand. A brand can tell a story. A logo can barely spell.