What is Corporate Design – a definition
Corporate design is the visible part of corporate identity. Corporate design is the visual expression of how the company wants to be perceived: what the company stands for, its attitude, achievements, competencies it embodies.
With its elements, corporate design reflects the desired image of the brand, which is to be received by the respective target groups – customers, partners, but also employees. It creates identification potential with regard to the competence, attitude and performance promise of a company – internally and externally.
Corporate Design for SIDES
Corporate Design – What are the advantages?
Corporate design shows the attitude and personality of a brand. Ideally, it triggers positive emotions and thus differentiates the company from the competition. An expressive corporate design visibly and noticeably distinguishes companies from other market competitors and is thus a real sales driver.
Corporate design examples
We are specialized in corporate design.
What is the difference to Corporate Identity?
Corporate identity describes all the characteristics of a company that make it unique and distinguish it from other companies. In addition to corporate culture, corporate communication and corporate behavior, corporate design is the visual expression of these characteristics. While Corporate Identity captures the totality of all aspects of a company, Corporate Design refers to the design. All aspects influence customer perception.
Elements of Corporate Design
Corporate design (as well as brand design) is much more than “just” a logo. In order to create an overall image among the target groups, a word-picture mark must be embedded in an appropriate design context. In addition to the logo or the word-picture mark, the following elements are especially formative for the design system:
Logo design
An image or symbol by which people optimally identify a brand at first glance, even if the name is not visible.
Typography
Fonts that brands use or sometimes even have designed exclusively for them say a lot about the character of the brand. A corresponding typeface can convey a conservative, businesslike, lovely or disruptive identity, for example.
Icons
A concise icon system facilitates the communication of content and can contribute significantly to the identity of a brand. Ideally, the brand is already recognized by the style of the icons.
Color concept
Colors carry meaning, both culturally and emotionally. From colors, observers infer certain (brand) characteristics. That is why the composition of a color scheme is a central component of corporate design.
Design grid
The design grid is used to arrange, systematize and stage content. Design laws and principles support the guidance of the eye and thus the comprehension of content.
Imagery language
Images have the power to communicate emotions and messages immediately. Essential for the image style is not only the motif itself, but also the image mood: light, color climate, contrast and composition.
Creating a corporate design
A successful corporate design system has the power to create a feeling for the brand at first glance. Craftsmanship, digital affinity, sustainability, exclusivity can be conveyed with it and gives consumers, but also professionals, orientation as to whether the company with its culture, performance, products, services fits them. The corporate design process is divided into four phases: the brand analysis, the strategic basis, the conception and development phase, and the transfer into guidelines.
Corporate Design – For whom does it make sense?
In every organization or brand, every company or association, there is a personality that can be made tangible by means of corporate design. This applies to companies in every industry and every business model. Corporate design therefore makes sense for organizations that want to control customer perception with corporate communication.
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Developing brand strategy fundamentals
The individual brand strategy depends on external and internal factors, which are different for each company. However, there are aspects that are essential in the process of developing a brand strategy. Performance, target group, values, brand core, purpose, vision and mission, for example, should be developed and defined in a brand workshop – they form the strategic basis that is translated into design.
Mission Statement
The mission statement states the value proposition.
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Positioning Cross
Define for whom and for which needs the brand offers solutions
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Vision Statement
Define a specific goal that the brand wants to achieve within a defined period of time.
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Brand Purpose Board
Align the social added value, the needs of the target group and your own goals.
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Buyer Personae
Define for whom and for which needs the brand offers solutions
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Golden Circle
Get clear about the why, how and what of your brand and build the strategic basis with it
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Identity Prisma
Define the brand identity on 3 different levels with the identity prism template.
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Brand Wheel
The brand steering wheel according to Esch is suitable for a systemic analysis of the brand.
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Brand Values Card Deck
Develop brand values with examples and exercises and define what the brand stands for
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Brand Key
The Unilever Brand Key is a brand strategy model, focuses on competitors and target groups.
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Brand Wheel
The Unilever Brand Key is a brand strategy model, focuses on competitors and target groups.
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Personality Sliders
Define the brand personality: with the Brand Personality Sliders template.
Conceive and develop design
The result of strategic development is a brand identity that triggers clear associations and emotions. In the conception phase, the task is to capture this feeling visually and to give it expression with logo design, key visuals. Colors, fonts, images, patterns and grids. The brand strategy serves as a briefing against which it can be checked whether a design decision is in line with the brand personality – or not.
Brand Design System for She Succeeds
Defining guidelines with a corporate design manual
Rules for application should be recorded in the corporate design manual or corporate design handbook for the respective scenarios. A consistent and at the same time dynamic appearance helps to consistently anchor the communication visually with the viewers and to develop it further. A corporate manual has the following advantages:
- A manual makes it comprehensible whether the corporate design can be used and reproduced cross-medially
- Clear guidelines avoid irritations and visual uncontrolled growth, which runs counter to the corporate image.
- Internal and external communication processes become transparent and efficient
- The corporate design can be systematically developed, supplemented and differentiated with the help of this tool.
Corporate Design Agency
When companies grow, the brand usually doesn’t grow with them. As a branding agency, Helder translates your strategy into design and messaging – so you create a brand that makes a difference.
What is a corporate design?
Corporate design is the visible part of corporate identity. It visualizes the personality of a company at all touchpoints so that the brand is recognized by means of visual communication tools.
What is part of a corporate design?
In order to develop a consistent visual appearance, the corporate design should include the following elements:
- Logo
- Typography
- Colors
- Image style
- Design grid
- Icons
Why is corporate design important?
The corporate design makes it tangible what a company stands for and thus makes it recognizable whether a company suits you or not. An expressive corporate design supports the identity of the company and positively distinguishes it from the competition.
What makes a good corporate design?
A good corporate design makes a company tangible. Consistent recurring elements build trust with customers and present a uniform, clear image. A good corporate design should therefore be coherent in itself and correspond to the brand personality.
What is Corporate Behavior?
Corporate Behaviour is part of Corporate Identity or corporate identity. It describes the behavior of a company to achieve its corporate goals.
Was ist Unternehmenskultur?
Corporate culture is part of corporate identity or corporate identity. It refers to the lived culture within a company, i.e. attitudes, values, norms that influence behavior and decisions.
How much does it cost to have a corporate design created?
The cost of a corporate design is based on the scope of the project. How large a company is, whether subcontractors need to be considered and what communication materials need to be created all influence the corporate design price.
What belongs in a corporate design manual?
The Corporate Design Manual records the rules and applications of corporate design and includes the following elements:
- Summary of the brand personality
- Listing of the design system with logo, colors, fonts, images and graphics
- Rules for handling the design
- Exemplary applications
What does CI-compliant mean?
A design element is CI-compliant if it is based on the developed design system. A corporate design manual contains guidelines for handling. Only CI-compliant elements support a uniform visual appearance and prevent a disjointed image.
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