Managing Corporate Identity in the Post-Digital Era
I didn’t believe Nicholas Negroponte during the 1983 IDCA, “The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be.” He said we would be reading our daily news on a flat screen panel. Well, mud on my face.
Now everything is digital. Sound, text, pictures, even corporate identities. Consider Google. Every day during the 2008 Olympic Games the Google home page sported a new graphic.
Most brand experts would not advise a company to do what Google does. Messing with the sacrosanct logo is no-no number one. But as a designer, I have to admit that I find their non-slick approach refreshing. Every morning when I launch my browser, the goofy, newly abridged Google logo puts a smile on my face. And I sit and wonder who at Google gets that job. But Google can get away with it, because changing their logo is part of their brand.
But for most of us, how we manage our corporate identity is challenging. Today every business professional has access to desktop design tools (or at least they think they do), and unfortunately most business professionals often have little or no design education or even an appreciation for brand consistency.
I remember the day the Macintosh first landed in our office. The following year Postscript on the Apple LaserWriter became available, and that was the beginning of the desktop publishing revolution. DTP quickly changed the way we graphic professionals worked, but it also changed the way business professionals worked (meaning the democratization of design and typography, alas!).
In the good old days, Photostats were used for reproduction. Marketing directors were delivered logo “slicks” along with identity guidelines. That’s all they got for reproduction. Now deliverables are electronic, with logo variations in spot color and CMYK, some with drop shadows, some without; RGB files for web and, God forbid, animation. Now we even need 16 x 16 pixel-wide company icons to fit in the navigation bar and we need itty-bitty black and white versions of our logos for handheld devices. I do not want to go back to working in the stat room or burn myself with the hot waxer again, but I would like more control. Identities are fluid, and now more than ever, they need to be properly managed.
I often come across an administrative assistant attempting to use the company logo to make his or her own event poster, or an eager engineer trying to squeeze a non-proportional logo into the corner of beta software. Brand guidelines aside, a lot of employees just do not get it, or maybe I’ll give them the benefit of doubt and assume they were not cc’d.
If your company is young, small and going through growing pains, here are a few simple steps to help control your company identity.
Step 1: Make certain top management has the buy-in: The head honcho must see protecting the brand/logo as a priority, and it certainly helps if top management has vision.
Step 2: Manage by procurement: All creatives, printing, e-blasts and even tchotchkes must be purchased through one department. If your company is small enough, get the purchasing guy to sit next to the marketing guy. This will ensure that the overzealous junior marketer will not use her personal credit card to purchase 1M golf balls with a misprinted logo. Limit vendor selection.
Step 3: Supply templates: PowerPoint, Word, e-mail, etc., and provide updated guidelines. Hold brown bag lunches to teach employees how to use the templates. Preach the importance of brand allegiance. Be more than the logo police, be the logo preacher. Create a company culture that embraces the brand. Make sure your contractors and vendors are equipped and that they understand the allegiance.
Successful corporate identity (branding) isn’t just about neat logos, snappy taglines or clever ads. It’s about everything you do—from your product and your services to how your voicemail system works. But making sure the logo is properly reproduced is a good foundation for building and maintaining a successful brand.
Erin Murphy is a graphic designer experienced in branding, collateral, packaging, exhibits and website design. Her solutions are fresh and straightforward. She currently owns and operates one|em design in Santa Cruz, California. She can be contacted at erin@one-em.com.
www.one-em.com