A Solid Brand Identity Package - Worth It’s Weight
When it comes to your business, nothing does it better than having a great public image. Graphic Designers are experts in really getting to the heart and essence of what represents your business ‘face’ to the general public best.
They use their knowledge of ‘visual problem solving’ to help get your company image across with impact and strategy. It can be the ‘one stop shop’ in whether a potential customer or client is willing to do business with you or not. So getting your message down to the most simplified terms quickly and effectively is key to any business’ success.
If you look at timeless identities such as CBS and FedEx, the designers behind those classics really thought not only about the actual product or service itself, but developed a logo that symbolizes what makes the company’s unique vision and character - the people, the culture, the professionalism, and the attitude of how that product or service holds up through the test of time.
For example, when we see the identity for CBS {designed by Art Director William Golden and Artist Kurt Weiss in 1951}, we understand that the company is about ’seeing’ — about a vision for the general public, to bring people across the country the best possible media programming in North America - the eye to the world of Network Television. This symbol was derived in a way that captured the ‘essence’ of an eye in its simplest form - so that we can glance quickly at it, understand the basic form and simply ‘get’ it. Because of it’s acute simplicity, it also became not only recognizable, but easy to identify with on all sorts of mediums - as small as on a business card or the website, to as large as a billboard - the logo retains it’s solid, yet simply crafted appearance. It is not fussy - it is straight forward, to the point, and makes sense.
Now that we understand that a graphic designer has created a simple, easily recognizable symbol, he or she must also investigate further other mediums this identity will carry over onto. For example, if you were creating a logo for a steel manufacturing company, he or she would probably think about an identity that was solid in nature and that visually reflects the absolute strength and durability of the company’s product itself. But it does not just stop there. A graphic designer also takes into consideration other mediums with which this company will be using to generate awareness of and business to their product. For example, there is business cards, stationery packages, and promotional print material for use by the company owners and employees. The types of paper a graphic designer would consider for his client would likely take the same ‘essence’ of what he or she designed to capture the identity. This could include a heavier stock of paper that would reflect positively and strongly the seriousness and durability of that steel product. The use of a lighter, more delicate paper stock for example, would not reflect well and may not be the best solution in showcasing this type of product to potential buying customers.
All this said, the graphic designer’s main responsibility is to convey the vision of their clients company, product or service across ALL forms, in the most creative, unique and smartest way possible. This is achieved by taking the time and care to think, research, develop, and design appropriate ways to create your brand identity package. In return, you get the plus of standing firmly above the others out there who may not have taken the time or seen the worth in investing in an expert to create a solid identity package… and are now paying for it in more ways than one.
This article was provided by Paula Lukey from Fried Ink Design.