Creating a corporate identity: the process and features

Corporate identity for the company is the strongest instrument of promotion on the market. It must correspond to the social and psychological needs of consumers, their perceptions and expectations. Creating a corporate identity of the company is quite a complicated process. It involves solving a variety of creative and organizational issues. Let's consider further how the creation of elements of corporate identity takes place .

Relevance of the issue

Today, many leaders of both large and small organizations come to the conclusion that the creation of a brand and corporate identity is one of the key directions in the work to promote the market. However, one must understand that it is not every organization that can implement the necessary measures at the beginning of its activities. The problem is not the availability of sufficient funds. The main difficulty lies in understanding your image, the idea of which lies at the heart of the corporate style. If the organization starts working without its own symbolism, then this can negatively affect its image. Creating a corporate identity and logo will stand out from the mass of competitors. If the organization's capabilities are limited, it is necessary to use at least a minimal set of components. Among them, for example, there can be a slogan, a trademark, made in a certain color range.

Design

The development (creation) of the corporate style is carried out in several stages:

1. Carrying out of marketing researches.
2. Formulating a key idea that will be expressed in style. It will reflect the image that should be formed in the minds of consumers.
3. Designing the basic elements.
4. Legal protection.

Research

In the course of them, the organization's activities, products, market and target audience are studied . Creating a corporate identity is accompanied by an analysis of the means of individualization of competitors, their individual components. This is necessary to exclude the repetition of other people's ideas, even in some details. At the stage of marketing research, it is also advisable to perform an analysis of registered means of individualization.

Form

At the end of the first stage, the main idea is formulated. It, as was said above, must correspond to the image of the organization. The creation of the corporate style is aimed at the formation of a certain image. Thinking over the idea, it is necessary to determine what organization will look for consumers: conservative or modern, creative or solid, fun or serious, and so on. The idea must correspond to the image. Approaches to its formulation can be used completely different, but the style will be considered successful if it conveys the essence of the company, its philosophy, character, values, mission, reflects the principles of work, status and priorities. Along with this, all components that characterize the organization should be extremely clear to the consumer.

An Important Moment

The creation of a corporate identity does not imply an explanation in the trademark of the whole ideology of the organization. The task of the means of individualization is to reinforce the statements of the economic entity made on other telecommunication channels. Speech, in particular, about advertising on radio, television, in the press. At present, in the domestic practice, the creation of a corporate style of an enterprise is often reduced to the usual playing around the name. Of course, many designers get memorable and original solutions. However, in most cases they do not allow you to convey this or that information, do not cause the necessary associations.

The target audience

Creating a corporate identity involves the formulation of an idea that not only reflects the image of the organization, but also meets the needs of society. In this case, it is advisable to focus on the average consumer level. When developing a style, you should avoid using difficult-to-pronounce, unfamiliar words and complex elements. The solution must correspond to the socio-psychological needs of people. This will help to quickly promote the product or service.

Key requirements

The creation of a corporate style involves the observance of certain rules:

1. Laconism and simplicity. The logo should not have complicated compositions, poorly readable components, a large number of details. It must be perceived accurately and quickly. In this regard, the company name should consist of 4-7 letters.
2. Uniqueness. The logo should stand out and be original. Today there are stamps in many styles. As a result, many images merge with each other. The uniqueness of the logo can be expressed in the choice of the original font. In it, you can add components that indicate the purpose of the product, the features of the organization, its status.
3. Associativity. The logo should not only be eye-catching and original. A trademark must form certain associations. Together with this you can not make it completely identical to the products. It should be remembered that the trademark is primarily a symbol, an image. There must be a certain intrigue in it, a mystery that engenders faithful associations with the consumer.

Aesthetics

When creating a style, you should exclude any likelihood of ambiguous perception. In addition, the trademark should only cause positive emotions. To increase the attractiveness of the logo can be concluded in a geometric figure. If a square or circle is used, the components that are located in them must be bright and original.

Versatility

It should be remembered that the logo will be used for various purposes. In particular, for printing business cards, booklets, posters, banners. All these advertising tools have a different scale. Accordingly, the logo should be in a format that can be adapted to a particular size. The trademark should be made in such a way that it can be read from different media. Particular attention should be given to the contrast and colors. All elements of the logo should be clearly seen and in black and white.

Passport of standards

It contains instructions on the proper use of the logo on various media. Passport of standards is indispensable in the process of manufacturing promotional products, as it facilitates the introduction of symbolism without distortion. The contents of the instructions will depend on the task of the PR campaign, the kind of activity of the organization itself. As a rule, the passport specifies:

1. Branded colors (RGB, CMYK, Pantone).
2. The proportions of the logo. As a rule, it is placed within a scale-coordinate grid with parameters.
3. Fonts.
4. Standards and specifics of official forms, souvenirs, interior design, packaging, etc.

It is advisable to describe the features of using the logo. For example, it is worth pointing out that it is inadmissible to place it on a heterogeneous background, use its individual components or add additional details. In the passport, you can set a ban on the inversion of the trademark. To the project of a logo it is expedient to enclose also the description of symbolics, designations, desirable associations.