Corporate Identity Design
A corporate identity can be defined as a system of rules and symbols that identify your company or organization. It represents your brand; the reputation your company holds in the minds of the consumers. Corporate identity design can help communicate to consumers what makes you unique, your strong points and it also helps influence buying decisions by creating a sense of trust.

There are hundreds of ways that consumers interact with your company every day; advertising, direct mail, web site, e-mail and business cards are among a few. Each of these points of interaction are known as Brand Interaction Points. These are all opportunities for you to communicate with and influence consumers.

Corporate Identity Design is a system of tools to help your company create a consistent and clear message across all of your Brand Interaction Points. Awareness of your brand happens through a repeated exposure of your logo and corporate identity. As consumers interact with your Brand Interaction Points they are repeatedly seeing corporate identity and the message you wish you communicate.

Corporate Identity Design Builds Value

Many companies hold off on creating a corporate identity. Some feel that it's not important others want to put the funding towards advertising or marketing. A corporate identity design program can do many things:

- Corporate Identity Design will help a new business identity itself
- Corporate Identity Design can revitalize an existing business
- Corporate Identity Design creates excitement about an existing product or service
- Corporate Identity Design creates a sense of trust in a company or product
- Corporate Identity Design will unify a company with many separate divisions
- Corporate Identity Design can communicate your company's position
- Corporate Identity Design can help prepare a company to go public
- Corporate Identity Design creates consistency
- Corporate Identity Design increases shareholder value
- Corporate Identity Design promotes awareness
- Corporate Identity Design makes it easier to sell products and services
- Corporate Identity Design influences buying decisions
- Corporate Identity Design allows you to take a greater market share

The Logo - The Point of Focus in a Corporate Identity

The first item to be designed in a Corporate Identity is the logo. The logo serves as a focus point for the entire brand and should appear on as many Brand Interaction Points as possible. A common misconception is that a good logo will help sell your services and products. The logo is only as powerful as the brand it represents.

There are many different types of logos out there. Some logos are more literal while others are symbolic or abstract. There are logos that are more of an image while others are a unique stylization of a word or the name of the company. There is no specific way to figure out what type of logo will fit in best with your corporate identity design and what type will not. Both you and the design team can discuss why one type of logo will or will not work for you.

 

The Corporate Identity Design Process

This design process is commonly used by many design firms in some shape or form. It begins with research and strategy and it allows for creativity. The amount of time the Corporate Identity Design process below will take depends on factors like the size of the business, complexity of the project, the nature of the problem, the amount of research required and the number of items the corporate identity will be applied to.

The corporate identity design process should be managed on both the client and designer side. The owner/CEO of a small business usually is the key decision maker and project leader on the client. Larger businesses may appoint a specific person to be the go-between - usually the Director of Marketing.

Phase 1 - Research and Analysis - Corporate Identity Design should always begin with research. This ensures that the design team is better informed and able to determine the best way to differentiate your corporate identity. All creative and intuitive decisions are based on the research completed. Types of research performed in the corporate identity design process include:

- Internal Audit - The corporate identity design firm should receive your mission statement, strategic planning documents, business plans, marketing plans, annual reports, any market research you have already done, employee surveys, history and press. Include any previously used marketing materials such as brochures and advertisements. Also, one-on-one interviews with senior management and employees can gain addition insight.

- Customer Insight - As mentioned earlier, your brand is held in the minds of individuals. Research is done in the corporate identity design process to find out just what your customers think of you. Interviews are performed on random customers or clients to find out just what they think of you. The results of this research often dig up very interesting information and new perspectives on who you are - some things you probably don't know. This can be performed through online surveys or small focus groups.

- Non-Customer Insight - (also known as quantitative research) - Corporate identity design research is also performed on the general population. A large group of individuals is asked a specific list of questions in order to find out what might happen. They can't provide insight on your company, but if you are looking to enter a new market this is the way to predict the success of your new product or service. This can be performed through online surveys or small focus groups.

- Competitive Audit - The purpose of this research is to determine and identity competitors and to figure out how they approach the market. What made Competitor A succeed and Competitor B fail. Why did consumers reject Product A, but not Product B when they are the same thing? This research can help determine your key competitive advantages and the best way to approach the market.

Phase 2- Strategy - This phase in the corporate identity design process gathers and organizes the information from Phase 1 in order to clarify, position and determine the brand essence. Your central idea, underlying concept, key messages and voice will be determined. A corporate identity design brief will be presented which shows industry trends, results of the research and interviews, charts showing how the brand identity will be organized, the brand strategy and the goals of the corporate identity design project.

Two to three strategic directions for the corporate identity design should be presented and agreed on. The chosen direction will determine how the corporate identity design will be presented and created.

Phase 3 - Design - This corporate identity design phase begins with the creation of a logo - your brand's focus point. Creativity can take many directions, but all the choices have been narrowed in Phase 2. The design team will begin to create and develop many logos. Some of the developed logos will lead to other ideas. Of the many ideas formed, only two or three logos will be chosen to present to your company.

Choosing the logo for the corporate identity should be determined by a select few. Everyone will have different opinions about the logos. Too many comments, opinions and requests for changes will end up clouding the design and alter the vision of the project originally decided in Phase 2. Altering the logos that are presented is a normal part of the corporate identity design process.

There two other aspects of the corporate identity design that are covered in this phase:

- Color - The design team will choose color palettes that show the personality of your company in the corporate identity. The end result of this is to eventually own a color palette, which will help consumers identity you.

- Type - Your corporate identity also includes combinations of fonts. Certain fonts communicate feeling and reflect your company's position. Distinctive and and consistent use of type styles is an integral part of your corporate identity design.

The end result of Phase 3 is a presentation of your corporate identity design. This is done by applying the corporate identity on trial applications such as a brochure, advertisement or stationery. More than one application should be presented to show the broad range and uses of corporate identity design.

Phase 4 - Application - The new corporate identity design system will should be applied to most if not all corporate materials. The most basic application is on the stationery system; the business cards, letterheads and envelopes. Extended forms of stationery include transmittal sheets, invoices and other business forms. Application of the corporate identity design can go as far as signage systems, vehicles and uniforms. How will the identity be applied to brochures and advertisements? These points should all be covered in this phase of the Corporate Identity Design process.

The application of the corporate identity can extend further than the visual elements of your company. The identity can also be applied to telephone answering methods, voicemail messages, automated telephone support systems.

Phase 5 - The actual implementation of all the elements that were designed and planned should be done in several steps. A private launch of the new brand can mean new business cards and stationery for employees and a signage system. A public launch of the new brand identity can include things that clients and customers see; a redesigned website, package design, advertisements and brochures.

A standards manual should be made so that other companies who will work with your corporate identity use it properly. A lot of planning and effort was put forth to ensure the brand is presented properly. The standards manual ensures that anyone using your logo and corporate identity will use it the way it was meant to be used. If the logo and company name always appear in certain colors or in a certain position on the page the standards manual will communicate the needed information.

Conclusion

Corporate Identity Design is a powerful tool used by a wide spectrum of businesses and organizations, but it must be used properly. The purpose of a brand identity is to create relevancy between the consumer and your product or service. This is done by consistently communicating your message to the consumer by following a specific set of rules and guidelines set forth by you and the design firm.

When you are finished with the corporate identity design project, your effective brand identity will be memorable, recognizable and consistent. You will also be able to legally protect your identity.