When you launch a new business, it’s critical it has a distinct identity. And if it doesn’t, the market and the customers will define it for you. As a result, you get significant problems with self-identification, confused consumers, and a faceless brand instead of an established business. However, you can easily avoid that failure. With a distinct corporate image, developed from the beginning, you have better chances to make a statement and stand out.
When it comes to corporate image design,Guest Posting it’s important to remember that corporate image is not the same as a corporate identity. Essentially, corporate identity is all the visual brand assets you employ to differentiate your business from others. Also, it includes several aspects that go beyond the visual. Let’s delve deeper:
Visual elements of corporate identity:
Logo
It is a visual symbol of the business that represents your company as a whole. The logo serves as an identification mark of your company and should be recognizable to evoke immediate associations with your brand.
Typography
It is the set of fonts you use when presenting the content or visualizing your brand name. Perfect typography can also enhance the brand message or intensify the effect it produces on the audience.
Color palette
As for the colors you use for presenting the content, it is important to have one color palette. Usually, it is a set of colors that help you to transmit the mood and style of your business. Also, color is what can tie all other elements together, which contributes to consistency and a holistic image.
Illustration and graphics
Your corporate identity needs visuals to engage with the audience and evoke emotional resonance. Illustrations and graphics are the best tools for that. What is more, graphics can facilitate the perception of the content, making it easier to comprehend.
Packaging and materials design
As a company, you may have various marketing materials that also need to be involved in your corporate identity. And the packaging and presentation design is aimed to promote your brand, products, or services, delivering a pleasant experience to everyone who interacts with them.
Website
Naturally, for a business that wants to get a bigger saturation, a website is a necessity rather than a bonus. The corporate website is your representative number one, serving as the prior informational base for your potential customers.
Branding elements of corporate identity:
Brand mission and values
Corporate identity should be informed by the brand’s mission and values. These are the goals the business tries to achieve.
Brand voice
It is the way you transmit your mission and values messages to the audience. In other words, brand voice stands for the style of the brand communication with the whole outer world.
As for the corporate image, it is the summary of everything your company represents and stands for. Also, it includes the way your company treats its customers and employees and the way it is treated outside and inside the business. These are the core elements of the corporate image:
Corporate behavior
If you want a positive corporate image, it’s critical to consider corporate behavior. In a nutshell, it is the behavior of the company and its employees both inside and outside the business. And impeccable corporate behavior means the same impeccable corporate image. Here, you need to make sure that your staff provides excellent customer service and maintains your company’s values. You, as a stakeholder, should also adhere to corporate ethics and represent your company on a more professional level, for instance, at the market meetings or the meetings with investors. What is more, corporate behavior includes the attitude towards the media, press, and the public, especially when speaking about large corporations.
Corporate communication
Another element of the corporate image is the communication strategy of a company or corporate communication. Essentially, it encompasses all communicative activities held either outside or inside the company. That includes all kinds of meetings and presentations. Some companies employ corporate language, which is a good practice because it makes everything structured so that corporate communication looks and feels holistic and logical.
Corporate identity
Ultimately, the corporate image includes corporate identity. And that is the main difference between them. Depending on how well you manage to transmit the mood and style of your business, your corporate image will be or not be successful. That is why corporate identity plays a vital role in corporate image design. If crafted well from the very beginning, it can significantly leverage corporate image. Whether corporate identity is poor or doesn’t even exist, the corporate image will be the same poor or replaced by the collective attitude toward your business, which can not play in your favor.
Thus, corporate identity is a set of attributes you apply, while the corporate image is an intangible constituent that depends heavily on the corporate identity, corporate behavior, and communication. And to make it positive, you need to consider multiple things simultaneously, including your brand attributes or brand mission and values along with your corporate behavior and communication inside the organization. Although being an intangible element, the corporate image still can be measured. You can use social proof or surveys and interviews.
All in all, an excellent corporate image is the best way to create a positive company’s reputation, while corporate identity is one of the instruments for making that happen. And corporate image design is a vast process that involves visual identity practices. To achieve success, you need to focus on both. Then, you will be able to stand out and leverage your company’s reputation within the market.