When building your business, or extending your market reach, it's important to develop your brand. But a brand is more than a logo. It's the essence of what your company is, what it means to you and your customers. You see the Nike swoosh and you know that it represents athletic excellence. You see Coca-Cola red and think refreshment. That's what successful branding is.

But that's too simplistic. According to Marty Neumeier, aothor of "The Brand Gap": "A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It's a GUT FEELING because we're all emotional, intuitive beings, despite our best efforts to be rational. It's a PERSON'S gut feeling, because in the end the brand is defined by individuals, not by companies, markets, or the so-called general public. Each person creates his or her own version of it."

Read more about how to apply modern design and business principles to your brand in this week's book excerpt.

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