THE DO'S AND DONT'S OF CORPORATE IDENTITY
by Bob Jankowski and Rob Keane
Corporate identity is more than just how your logo, business cards, and letterhead look. Corporate identity is who your company is: a message delivered through color and design.
Because of this, don't take corporate identity lightly. Treat your choices as if they'll be around for the next century, plastered across billboards and flashing from millions of store shelves. Try to imagine that if you choose your identity poorly, it will be your personal duty to replace each and every example of it by hand.
But how do you know what makes a good identity? Here are a few pointers:
- Go for what works, not what's fancy. How do you want to be perceived? More important, how do you want to be perceived the first time someone sees you? Whether it's on the side of one of your trucks or atop your letter, your logo is usually the first thing people will notice about you. It is asking the client to do business with you. Often you see fancy-looking logos that are creative, clever, and eye-catching, which is good-unless they have nothing to do with the companies they represent.
For instance, if you ran an auto garage, would you want a sign over your garage emblazoned with a delicate script font more appropriate for an arts and crafts store? If you owned a company specializing in machinery parts, would you want a logo colored in light pastels? Your logo should say something about your business.
- Make sure your logo works both with and without color. Many people think only about what a logo looks like when it's in color, in all its glory. But that's only half the story. Remember that these logos will undoubtedly find their way into black and white in newspaper and magazine ads, photocopies, and faxes. In every instance, it must be legible. Sometimes colors (such as reds and greens) blacken when translated to black and white, turning your logo into a solid brick of black and losing all readability. If it doesn't work in black and white, it doesn't work.
- Create a positive, informative image. This is where graphics come in. We've already said that the best-designed work won't help you if it doesn't tell people what you do. So you have to make sure your identity conveys more than just your name. Our company, Graham Communications, uses a magnet in its logo. Our entire philosophy, called magnet marketing, is based on the idea that customers must be attracted to your business for you to be successful. They must want to do business with you. Our logo says it all.
Create your corporate identity with care. It will pay dividends long into the future.