Imagine a company without a name and without anything that makes it identifiable. It’s impossible, right? That’s because if we can’t identify something nor associate it with a distinct characteristic, we’ll simply forget it in a blink of an eye.
Every company you can think of has a name, a personality, and something that makes it unique. In the marketing and branding world, we call this “corporate identity.”
Corporate identity is the way that a company presents itself to the world. It’s how it creates a recognizable personality that differentiates it from its competitors. And every company needs an identity that will make it memorable.
This article will explain everything you need to know about corporate identity and how to design one.
Why is Having a Corporate Identity Important?
The purpose of corporate identity is simple: to create a unique personality for a company that makes it stand out from its competitors. Your corporate identity represents your business, conveys your values, and helps you become distinguishable.
A solid corporate identity helps you create a positive first impression with potential customers. It gives them insight into who you are and what you stand for, which can help you build customer loyalty and trust over time. It’s all about creating a memorable and consistent customer experience.
Truly, the importance of having a strong corporate identity can’t be understated, as it can help you:
● Differentiate yourself from other companies in your industry
● Become recognizable and memorable in your target audience’s minds
● Build a positive reputation for quality and gain people’s trust
● Communicate your values to the world
Corporate Identity vs. Brand Identity
Many people use the terms “corporate identity” and “brand identity” interchangeably, believing they are the same. However, this is not the case.
While these two concepts may overlap, there’s a considerable difference between them. A corporate identity is the personality of the corporation as a whole, while brand identity is the personality of a specific product or service.
For example, Unilever, which is possibly the biggest consumer goods manufacturer in the world, is a corporation that owns several world-renowned brands, such as Lipton, Dove, Ben & Jerry’s, and Axe.
So, Unilever has a specific corporate identity, while each of the brands it owns has a separate brand identity.
Elements of Corporate Identity
Corporate identity encompasses both the visual and non-visual aspects of a company, and it can be divided into three main elements:
● Design
● Communication
● Behaviour
Let’s explain what each of these elements means.
The Role of Design in Corporate Identity
Generally, the first thing that comes to mind when we think about a specific company is its visual representation. We picture its logo, its primary colours, or something visually characteristic about it.
Without a doubt, design plays a crucial role in developing and maintaining a strong corporate identity. It is through design that a company’s values, personality, and mission are visually communicated to the public.
A corporate identity includes visual elements, such as:
● Logo
● Colour palette
● Typography
● Visual style
Having a strong visual representation helps the company maintain a consistent and coherent image across all marketing touchpoints and become easily distinguishable from its competitors.
The Role of Communication in Corporate Identity
Words are a powerful tool that helps us express ourselves and understand each other. The same goes for corporations.
Defining a unique communication style is part of any company’s corporate identity. Through communication, a company conveys its values and personality to its target audience.
By crafting a distinctive and memorable brand voice that fully reflects its personality, the company can effectively communicate its message and resonate with its audience, increasing brand loyalty and trust.
The Role of Behaviour in Corporate Identity
Behaviour plays a critical role in developing a corporate identity. Company behaviour encompasses everything the company does, from how it treats its employees and customers to how it gives back to the community.
Positive behaviour – one that reflects the values of the company – can help you create a strong reputation and gain people’s trust. On the other hand, negative behaviour – one that indicates the company doesn’t care about its employees or customers – can damage its reputation beyond repair.
How to Design Your Corporate Identity
Creating the perfect corporate identity design involves several stages, which are critical to ensure that all of its aspects are taken care of.
Here are briefly explained three main steps of the corporate identity design process.
Stage 1: Analysis
Before you can start developing your corporate identity, you need to define how you want to present yourself to the world and what is your company’s purpose. You also need to clearly identify your target audience and how you can differentiate yourself from competitors.
Stage 2: Brand strategy
The next stage of crafting a corporate identity is developing a branding strategy, which includes defining the brand’s core values, personality, and messaging.
Stage 3: Brand identity design
The last stage in the process is designing the visual brand identity, such as the logo design, colour palette, and other graphic elements, such as a business card, social media posts, product design, photography, etc. The design should be aligned with the brand strategy and the overall personality that the company wants to adopt.
Once your visual identity design process is finished, it’s time to implement it across all your communication channels and see how your potential customers respond. Based on their response, you might then adjust as needed.
Overall, creating the perfect corporate identity design that fully reflects your company’s personality is a long and exhaustive process. A good graphic design agency or branding agency will be able to help you create the right corporate identity design for your business.
Create Your Corporate Identity with Creato
No company can exist with a corporate identity. Corporate identity is the visual and non-visual expression of a company’s personality, which contains everything that represents the company, from its logo to its actions.
If you’re looking for expert corporate identity design services in Sydney, look no further than Creato. Our creative team of experienced graphic designers can help you with anything, from crafting your perfect corporate branding to designing your marketing collateral.
Get in touch with us to discuss your new brand identity.