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 What
is a corporate identity system?
It is like the calling card of a company that simultaneously seeks to
convey two critical facets of its identity - one, a clear sense of purpose
for the corporation and two, a sense of belonging that it enjoys both
amongst its people within (the corporation) as well as outside of it.
In the long run, a corporate image building exercise is meant to stem
the hidden costs of 'impersonality' that usually sets into an organisation
that is too complacent about itself.
Contrary to popular perceptions, corporate identity systems cannot be
conveyed merely through slogans or a logo or its annual report. On the
other hand, it is a composite of the following: (1) the products that
the company makes or sells (or both); (2) the building(s) in which the
company's activities are centred; (3)the company's communication material
ranging from its advertising to its instruction manuals; and of course,
(4) the packaging for/of its products. Since all these have a visible
and a tangible quality to them, they can all be subject to the design
process. Where, in contrast, there are the intangible and yet equally
determining elements of corporate identity, such as the behaviour of the
company towards its people within as well as towards its clients outside,
that cannot be subject to a design process. These are, in stead, usually
shaped by Human Resources Development (HRD) specialists. However, in any
sound corporate identity strategy, the design must be such as to facilitate
rather than be isolated from the company's HRD interests.
The
market and the designer
Aspects
of visual identity
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