1. About corporate identity

All businesses, organizations and brands have a visual identity; an identity that is associated with their name.

This identity is a product of the owner’s collected visual representation in-  and communication with the surrounding world. Everyone that comes into contact with this identity is affected by it in some way or other, and forms an opinion of the owner – consciously or subconsciously – based on it.

To ensure that a client, and the client’s products and services, are perceived as reliable, professional and serious, the visual identity must be managed and controlled. This is accomplished by the development of a so-called corporate identity program: a set of visual rules and graphic standards that are to govern the design of all material through which the company is represented.

The corporate identity program must be applied consistently and cohesively in order for the image of the client to be clear and convincing, instill confidence and communicate the core values that permeates the organization and are considered fundamental for its existence.

For startup companies, the development of a corporate identity is something of a brand related R&D process, which requires a lot of soul-searching and market-related analysis and input.

For existing companies, the corporate identity is more of a brand commodity that can benefit the company or weigh the company down, depending on whether it is in or out of step with the company’s evolutionary curve. It therefore needs to be revised and refreshed intermittently.

Over the course of the next week, I will outline my views on branding and corporate identity design processes.

Next: Part 2. “Buying corporate identity services”