Company identity. What is identity: what is included, stages of development and examples. Difference between corporate identity and brand book

The development and formation of a recognizable image of a company, goods or services is inextricably linked with such a concept as brand identity. It is akin to the definition of branding, but it has a number of distinctive features, taking into account which it is important to clearly interpret the terminology and formulate the setting of goals when carrying out work.

Brand identity, according to the generally accepted concept, is a complete set of graphic and other elements that determine the full visual appearance and emotional and semantic perception of a specific (identifiable and individualized) object (firm, corporation, product or service).

A number of well-known authors, in particular Alina Wheeler (a writer who has published a large number of books on branding), interpret the concept of identity as something material that is addressed to the feelings of the consumer, that is, allowing to build verbal and non-verbal communication with the target audience.

In other words, brand identity is a combination of graphic, acoustic, tactile and other elements united by one idea and carrying a common semantic message. In the simple language of the layman, this is what the consumer can see, hold in his hands, listen, touch, etc.

Brand identity includes the following elements:

The logo is the basis for building the identity, the main graphic symbol of the brand's identification.
Corporate identity is a developed and clearly formulated visual shell of a brand (company, service, product), created around the logo and combining all the graphic elements into a single recognizable image through a common color scheme, design solutions and other things. A uniform corporate identity should be shown in every identity carrier. The number and nature of these carriers depends on the individual needs of the brand. These may include:

business documents, stationery (forms, envelopes, cubes, folders, etc.);
product, packaging (design of the product and packaging - boxes, bags, containers, etc.);
image printing (business cards, catalogs, flyers, brochures, etc.);
marketing products (books, CD presentations, websites, etc.);
environment design (interior and exterior design of the company, points of sale);
branded clothing for staff;
souvenir products (promotional souvenirs, business and VIP gifts);
other visual components.

Additional means of communication (smells, sounds, touch, etc.) and actions (direct and indirect communications).

- a guide to the practical use of the elements of the visual and semantic image.

The function of brand identity is to aggregate individual elements, collect them into a single holistic system, each component of which will carry a common semantic message, is within a certain visual style and adhere to one model of building communications.

The main objectives of the brand identity:

To form and consolidate a recognizable image of the company (brand) in the eyes of the target audience, to make it understandable for the consumer and easily identifiable.
To distinguish the brand from the mass of competitors, to draw attention to it.

A recognizable and understandable brand is more in demand both from direct consumers and from the perspective of investors, which, in aggregate, ensures successful commercial and public activities.

Corporate identity is expressed in the attributes of the corporate style (eng. Corporate style). The same as brand identity, only in relation to the corporate brand. The corporate brand is associated with the name of the company (and / or its symbol), can be used for the company's products. Often it is the basis or supplement for the family brand (eng. Family Brand) and individual brand (eng. Individual Brand); In the Asian model of brand management, the Corporate Brand plays a central role: most of the subsidiaries of products and services have one brand, which can change, but only slightly. T.N. monolithic brand or Branded House. In this case, advertising focuses not on product brands, but on the corporate brand: the main advantage is focusing on the unity of the company and common corporate values, which in turn allows you to quickly build a global business structure, but is associated with various risks and difficulties in diversification. production. In the Western model of brand management, the emphasis is on the brands owned by the company, and the corporate brand is assigned a supporting role in the event of the success of products / product categories under independent brands (English House of Brand). The modern brand management model uses a combined approach that takes advantage of the merits of the Asian and Western models. There is also the concept of corporate branding.

Corporate design, along with corporate philosophy, corporate culture and corporate behavior, is one of the elements of corporate identity.

History

The concept of corporate identity emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, when the number of companies operating in one area increased critically, and the problem of their recognition became urgent.

Corporate style

An example from a corporate identity book designed for an industrial brand in the machine tool industry. Key elements of the visual brand identity: "airy" hexagon, corporate colors, individual font, the ability to build a monolithic brand architecture.

Corporate or "corporate" style is often understood as a set of verbal and visual constants that ensure the unity of perception of goods, services, information emanating from a company or trade mark to the consumer. The corporate identity is the brand's trademark, which is broadcast on all channels of the company's positioning:

In presentation and image products: letterheads, business cards, souvenirs, etc .;
The logo is also present in the ATL sphere: in the slogan, outdoor advertising, TV advertising, etc .;
The trademark is actively used in promotions, promotion campaigns, promotional materials distributed by promoters, it becomes part of the design of store shelves, shelf talkers and stoppers;
The logo plays a huge role in the creation of sites, being not only a part of the site, but also one of the key elements of online advertising, banners, etc. Thus, the use of branded attributes on websites is already a self-sufficient advertisement.

The corporate identity is developed based on the logo and trademark. First, a general analysis of companies similar to the one that ordered the logo or brand name is carried out. Then the distinctive features of this company are highlighted. After that, the idea of \u200b\u200ba “semantic image” is formed, which will later become fundamental in the corporate style of this company. This image includes not only graphic elements, but also the psychology of sales (for example, aggressive marketing) and the geographical location of the company, sociological images of the social environment. Then the logo is developed. At the beginning of the development, the main elements are determined: a style-forming idea, colors, fonts. Standards and recommendations for applying corporate symbols to style carriers are being developed. Anything can be the carrier of the style: internal documentation, outdoor advertising, website, office building. After completing the work on the development of the style, a guide is drawn up for its application. The guide is called differently: brand book, guideline, design standards. Although the name "brand book" in this case is incorrect to use, since the document gives recommendations for the visualization of the brands of both the company and the goods and services of the same company (and they may differ), see Brand Architecture.

Prohibitions in the Corporate Identity Guide

Do not resize the mark and logo separately.
Do not change the distance between the fragments of the brand block.
Do not use path tracing.
Do not change corporate colors.
Do not place brand blocks on complex textures.
Do not blur the sign and logo.
Do not use shading.
Do not fill with texture.

Identity , as one of the components of branding, better known under the namescorporate identity or brand ID - this is the visual part of the brand, the task of which is to increase its recognition in the market and create a holistic, different image for the target audience.

Contrary to the opinion of many that identity is a logo, letterheads and business cards, it is still something more - a whole organism, consisting of a large number of elements working exclusively together, according to given rules.

A good and strong identity is deposited in the minds of consumers, increases brand confidence, strengthens the company's position in the market. This integrity saves advertising costs, reduces the importance of marketers in the company.

There is a certain basis of elements that is unified for more companies.

Basic elements of identity

logo
fonts
color palette
pattern

The combination of these elements gives rise to branded business cards, envelopes, letterheads, branded pens, presentations, advertising layouts and much more.

All these elements are necessary for any company, they perform advertising and image functions, connect the image of the company with the consumer.

The identity system is not always obliged to contain a typical set of elements, and the role of each in it may differ.

The main types of identity

Traditional (classical)

Classics are forever! Let us recall vivid examples of traditional identity, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co, McDonald’s.

The visual image of these brands is painstaking work to merge the brand name, slogan, color ... It is difficult to imagine how they would look, replacing at least one of the components.

Such images are achieved not only by developing individual elements, but also by creating rules for use.

In traditional identity, the developed elements live according to certain laws of relationships -guidelines , minimizing as much as possible the likelihood of developing a layout falling out of the general visual style.

Despite the fact that the above is an undoubted advantage and is suitable for the vast majority of companies, in the modern world, with the constant growth of communication channels with the target audience, the frequent launch of new products, the traditional identity is becoming irrelevant for companies operating in the digital and IT market, i.e. to. will have to constantly develop new constants, rules and elements. This is what became the prerequisite for the emergence of a dynamic identity.

Dynamic (generating)

The world and society have been actively changing in recent years, rapid changes are also taking place in the field of visual communications, which also dictates new rules for the development of identity. One of the non-radio and modern options is dynamic identity.
Whereas in the traditional style all elements obey rigid constants, in a dynamic identity everything is much more flexible in use.

The rules do not disappear anywhere, but they become some kind of vectors, and the elements become variable, but require deeper study. You can't change everything as you want, variability should occur under certain conditions. Only in this way will the brand not become chaotic and retain its recognition in front of the audience.

A special case of dynamic identity is polymorphic logo.

This is when the corporate identity is based on a logo consisting of a set of elements, like a designer. These elements are the style-forming of the brand, and all communication is based on them. The logo is constantly adapting to specific communication tasks.

The pioneer and trendsetter of dynamic identity is MTV TV channel. It was he who first used dynamic design, back in the 80s. The color scheme accompanying the graphics and the channel's logo itself spoke to the audience, changing depending on the direction of the music being broadcast.

The task of any designer is to develop the graphic component of communication, but there are other ways of perceiving information, such as video and audio. Why not identify your brand with these tools ?!

Nokia is a vivid example of sound identity. Do you already hear that beautiful melody of the early 2000s in your head? Remember ?! If not, brush up on her, as well as many other successful examples of sound identity -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v\u003dKMSnn2C3EAw&list\u003dPLqWMvGxavxhHrlBupkx dKIkjn-Atvud5v

The second example is a successful mix of audio and video identity - a television ad for Microsoft Internet Explorer with Alex Clare's track “Too Close”. After launching the campaign, this song is inevitably associated with Microsoft.

Development of identity in the studio Media Aid Design

Our studio offers the creation of a turnkey identity or its individual elements.

Stages of work:

Market analysis of competitors and related industries

Analysis of customer niche trends

Study of the target audience and products of the customer's company

Drawing up the image and character of the brand, creating mind maps

Concept development

Scaling

We will be glad to see you among our satisfied customers!

Let's consider a few basic elements

Logo

It is the most important link in creating an identity. The logo must adhere to the requirements:

Restraint and simplicity.
Avoiding trendy items.
Limited variety of font and color.
Industry-specific.
Ability to hook and impress a client.

It is advisable to have several variations of the emblems at once in order to choose the optimal look as a result.

Business Cards

When expanding business sites, a sufficient number of business cards is required. A well-chosen design will increase the flow of customers, but you need to adhere to the rules of simplicity and information content.

Forms

Letterheads are one of the mandatory elements of the identity. They are used for the transmission of applications, orders, protocol documents, as well as business correspondence. They are one of the ways to promote the company. The main information of the form is contact information, as well as symbols.

Emails

Acts as a communication tool among business representatives. To prevent the loss of the letter, be sure to think over its purpose. The test message should be specific and respectful in content. It is advisable to use photographs or other elements that will attract the attention of the recipient. However, this should be done only if the technique is appropriate.

Packaging

When producing goods that require packaging, you need to think over the appropriate options. The right packaging enhances the customer's positive impression of the company's management, products and staff.

Identity development

This service can actually be entrusted to specialists who have qualifications in this matter. This can be done in special studios or over the network by finding a suitable remote work master. If these options are not suitable, you can use online logo creation services. Each of these types of services has its own characteristics.

Design studio

The functionality is most adapted for working with large companies, as it requires a fairly significant amount of money.

The advantages of this option are the presence of qualified designers, as well as the prevalence of studios. The disadvantages include the high cost and duration of the order.

Freelance Designer

Choosing a freelance designer for work is a suitable option for different types of organizations. The price range is quite large, which allows you to choose the optimal price for the work. There are usually no problems with finding specialists.

Pros: abundance of options and quality.
Cons: difficulties in choosing an employee, cases of fraud, as well as a lack of guarantee of satisfaction with the result.

Online service

The best option for those who are just starting to work out a business plan. You can use the Turbologo service.

The advantages include ease of use, a variety of layouts, a low price level, admission to adjusting and downloading identity, as well as format variations. There were no drawbacks in use.

Having made a choice in favor of the option that is optimal for your company, you can be sure of the quality of the product received, as well as the effectiveness of the use of identity in business.

Conclusion

The use of identity increases the chances of a company to break out of the number of competing organizations, acquire a permanent customer base and respect of customers. It takes a lot of effort to create a coherent image of a successful and reliable organization. This can take a significant amount of time, but the profit generated will overshadow the effort and hours spent.

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The professional environment for creative graphic designers is replete with special English jargon. Such definitions make it easier to work within the community, but when it comes to communicating outside one's own circle, some confusion in terms becomes a real obstacle to understanding. Let's try to figure out what an identity, brand book, corporate identity and logo are.

What is identity?

The modern market is a vibrant and diverse world in which each large organization has its own recognizable identity. This is the logo, uniform, trademark, color scheme, by which buyers and partners distinguish this company from any other. To achieve such rapid recognition, corporate identity or identity is used. Its meaning is to create special images that correspond to the strategy and ideas of the company. From English " identity”Is translated as“ identity ”.

Identity is a set of geometric lines and shapes, graphic symbols that are within a single harmonious structure. The main goal of identity is to effectively distinguish a company in its competitive environment with the help of vivid visual images and to increase customer loyalty and company recognition.

The identity consists of several fundamental elements:

logo - it is on the basis of this special graphic sign that the corporate style is created;

corporate identity - the visual image of the company;

brandbook - guidelines for working with corporate identity.

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Logo is the beginning of everything

The center of identity is a logo designed to ensure both the recognition of the company itself and its products or services. This symbol or emblem is applied to business cards, notebooks, letterheads, envelopes, souvenirs, uniforms, product labels. At first glance, it may seem that the same regularly repeated symbol looks unattractive. But this is not the case. Constant repetition of the logo leads to better memorization of the company and increased sales. Coming to the supermarket, the consumer will choose the one with the familiar sign among the huge variety of goods.

A logo is not just a word or a bright picture, it is much more. A professionally designed logo will tell a lot about the company: its history, occupation, product sold, difference from competitors.
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Corporate identity - appearance

Corporate identity is the image of the company. The brighter and more unique it is, the more chances a company has to be noticed in the stream of competitors, and in today's market it is easy to get lost among similar firms and manufacturers. To do business successfully, you need to stand out from their background. One of the most effective tools for achieving this goal is the development of corporate identity. What it is?

Corporate identity is a certain set of visual elements that allow you to identify a trademark and stand out in a competitive environment. Its development includes a selection of unique color and graphic solutions, the search for interesting stylistic moves, which are later used to design letterheads, business cards, souvenirs, advertising materials and much more. After completing work on the creation of an individual corporate identity, a guide is drawn up for its use - a brand book.
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Brandbook - company philosophy

A brand book is an internal corporate property that is protected from competitors like the apple of an eye. This manual is classified information and is intended for internal company operations only.

A brand book is a set of rules that describes the features of using corporate identity elements. But it is not only a collection of rules for graphic standards (fonts, colors), but also a kind of book, which describes the essence of a trademark, its main idea, mission, values, philosophy. It contains key information about product features, corporate culture and other important nuances that should not be known to competitors.
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Difference between corporate identity and brand book

Often the corporate identity and the brand book are confused, considering them to be equivalent terms. But these are completely different concepts, each of which performs its own function. The corporate identity forms the prestige of the company in the eyes of customers. A brand book is a set of rules for creating a corporate identity. Another important difference is the different target audience. The corporate identity is created for consumers and used in the external activities of the company. Brandbook is an internal document open only to company employees. The corporate identity is intended to attract more customers; it is the visual image that consumers see in the store. Whereas the brand book is classified information, which is allowed only for designers, artists, programmers - the company's employees.
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