Rotovision - Identify 001-031, Branding

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iDENTIFY
BUILDING BRAND THROUGH
LETTERHEADS, LOGOS
AND BUSINESS CARDS
CHARLOTTE RIVERS
A RotoVision Book
Published and distributed by
RotoVision SA
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Copyright © RotoVision SA
2003
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ISBN 2-88046-723-3
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6>>
Introduction
7>>
Introduction>>
The logos of corporations such as Nike, Shell and The
Gap have become not only a major part of our culture
but also our social language. These names, marks and logos
of course form the core of a far wider corporate identity
branding process that sees these identities applied to all
areas of communications and products, including packaging,
brochures and advertising.
produced by a variety of design houses in the UK, USA, Asia,
Europe and Australia.
Left>>
Business Card for the
Architecture School of Versailles
designed by Pierre Emmanuel
Meunier.
Above Right>>
Business
card for and by Nitesh Mody at Moot
Design
Bottom Right>>
Business
card and letter head for Enmeiji, an
800-year-old Buddhist temple in
Tokyo, designed by Azone and
Associates, Japan.
bespoke typefaces. Colour and Texture looks at designs that
use corporate colours in the logo and those that use
embossing or special papers to create texture. Grids and
Guides looks at the provision by designers of identity
guidelines that instruct the client on the layout process and
the application of the identity in a range of areas, including
the basic stationery set.
Each and every company, whether it be a local council, a
restaurant, a photographers studio or a university, has a
message to convey to its clients. It is down to the skill of the
designer to understand that message and create a visual
language to convey it.
These lower profile identities often allow for more
experimentation and see greater creativity in the application
of an identity onto a business card or letterhead. They have
been designed to appeal to the intended audience on a
more personal level and to accommodate a wide variety
of applications.
Although it is unlikely that many of the identities in this book
are aiming to achieve global recognition on the scale of
Levi’s, IBM or Sony, the fundamentals behind the design and
application of a logo remain the same. It provides a visual
anchor for any company, whether it be an international
corporate or a small local business.
History has it that the idea of a corporate identity began
towards the end of the nineteenth century, when US
companies such as Campbell Soup, Quaker Oats and H.J.
Heinz employed packaging and brand names to sell their
products. In 1907, architect Peter Behrens was
commissioned to overhaul the visual identity and
communications of the German electrical firm AEG, which is
widely regarded as being the first major corporate
identity commission.
The last section of the book explores the creative potential of
the application of an identity. This features a further thirty
identity designs. Here, I explore subjects such as choice of
paper and the variety of stocks available, as well as taking a
look at the myriad of printing techniques available to
designers today, including de-bossing, foil blocking, the use
of letterpress and rubber stamps.
Grouped thematically, the first part of the book offers
practical advice for both designers and potential clients on
commissioning, briefing, researching, designing and
producing the material parts of a basic identity system.
Anatomy of Identity explores various aspects of corporate
identities, looking at what a corporate identity is, who needs
one and why. With reference to major developments in the
history of identity design, it distinguishes the difference
between an identity and a brand, as well as taking a look at
successful and not so successful designs.
The twentieth century saw many other companies in different
industries adopting similar professionally designed identity
programmes. Paul Rand and architect Eliot Noyes
collaborated on the IBM identity in the 1950s, William Golden
designed the CBS eye and by 1970, when AT&T began to
apply Saul Bass’s telephone symbol to its communications,
extensive accompanying identity manuals had become part
of the whole identity design programme.
A Guide to Process offers practical advice on planning and
designing a client’s logo and applying it to the required print
matter. Although there are no set rules for identity design as
such, there are certain elements and processes that are useful
in all projects and these are outlined in this chapter. It provides
useful guidelines on approaching a brief, developing ideas
and maintaining client relationships.
However, it is not only the major multi-nationals that
require corporate identities. At the most basic level – a logo,
stationery and possibly a website – an identity is needed by
almost all organisations, from small businesses to charities
and educational institutions.
A collection of thirty contemporary identity designs from
around the world illustrate the variety of approaches to this
process. A case study detailing the client’s brief and
designers’ solution accompanies each project featured.
Imagery looks at identity systems that make use of imagery
or illustration. Logotypes and Symbols explores the design of
text-based logos, while Typography focuses more on
Essentially, before you is a showcase of some of the latest
examples from around the world. The contemporary visual
identities in this book focus on the smaller, emerging
companies and their new identities (over the past five years)
Anatomy of Identity
08>15>>
10>>
Anatomy of Identity
11>>
Corporate Identity –
Its Function and Role>>
Left>>
Compliment slip designed
by Twelve:ten design for marketing
solutions company Renamo, UK.
Right>>
Letterhead and compliment
slip for Elenberg Fraser Architects,
Australia, designed by Ongarato
Design.
As mentioned earlier, the idea of corporate identity came
about during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century,
really matured in the 1950s and has since become
an enormously lucrative market for designers. The debate
about exactly what defines a corporate identity is ongoing,
with other terms like corporate image or corporate
communication confusing the issue further.
For larger companies or organisations, corporate identity is the
base element of their corporate culture, developing – with time
and marketing – into a brand. The 1997 re-design of British
Airways’ identity was based on four years’ research and two
years’ collaboration between BA’s design team and London-
based designers Interbrand. The designers’ task was to
position BA as a world brand and it did so through a series of
‘World Images’ rather than a single logo.
In short, a corporate identity is the visual statement of a
company’s role and function and is used to convey a sense
of purpose and a set of values. Any company that has a
name has to state that name in visual form at some stage.
This is more or less unavoidable. The form this statement
takes requires decision-making, a decision which is already
part of the bigger process called corporate identity. From
here a logo, together with the name and guidelines on how
these elements should be applied to all material from
stationery to products and livery, work together to become
a corporate identity.
However, for smaller companies, particularly those featured
on the following pages, such world branding is not required.
What is required, however, is a visual language to represent
their operation. This can be achieved through a series of
photographs applied to a business card, a logotype or a
combination of colours. This gives a company or organisation
a strong and coherent visual identity that acts as
an expression of its personality. It also creates uniformity
within a company and sets a standard which all
communications must adhere to.
Writing in ‘Corporate Identity, Making business strategy
visible through design’, Wally Ollins said, “The identity of
the corporation must be so clear that it becomes the
yardstick against which its products, behaviour and actions
are measured.”
So although both large and small companies require an
identity, the designer must be aware that smaller, local
companies conduct business on vastly different levels
to larger, international companies. The requirements of those
clients and the approach to their individual identities will
therefore also differ.
The term ‘corporate identity’ is more commonly associated
with larger ‘corporate’ companies. This is mainly
because only larger companies can afford to fund the
process and pay for the amount of work involved in the
development of an identity. In addition to this, it is commonly
deemed unnecessary for a smaller company to have such
complicated and strict systems of identity, style
and application.
As Ollins later points out: “In small companies and in young
companies, the management of identity is intuitive. It is a
direct reflection of the founder’s obsessions and interests.
The company is what he or she makes it.”
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Rotovision - Identify 001-031, Branding

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