What does a corporate brand identity system include?

Corporate Identity System Corporate Identity System CIS (Corporate Identity System,). CI means that an enterprise consciously and plannedly proactively displays and disseminates various characteristics of its enterprise to the public, so that the public can have a standardized and differentiated impression and understanding of a specific enterprise in the market environment, so as to better understand it. Identify well and leave a good impression.

According to the requirements of CI strategy theory and operational techniques, the successful implementation of CI strategy should follow the following principles:

(1) Adhere to strategic principles.

Since it is a modern corporate image strategy, it must have long-term, overall and strategic characteristics. CI strategy should be based on the present and take a long-term view. It is by no means a short-term plan for 1-2 years, 3-5 years, but the company's specific development steps and implementation strategies for the next 10, 20 years or even longer.

(2) Adhere to the principle of nationality.

“The more national it is, the more global it is.” CI strategy is to design and plan oneself from the direction of enterprise development and operation. The foundation of CI's creativity, planning and design work should be based on our nation's cultural tradition, consumer psychology, aesthetic habits, artistic taste, etc. Only then can it be possible for Public recognition leads to success.

(3) Adhere to the principle of personalization.

CI strategy is a differentiated strategy implemented by enterprises in the enterprise group in order to create a perfect overall image. The important point is that the enterprise image must have distinctive personality characteristics and unique characteristics, and cannot be "thousands of people". one side". IBM and Coca-Cola are examples of individual success.

(4) Adhere to the principle of integrity.

From the three aspects of CI, they are not disconnected from each other, but must be consistent and coordinated externally and internally. BI and VI serve MI, and they are beautiful on the outside and beautiful on the inside, which is worthy of praise.

It has always been difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of CI because it involves a wide range and its effectiveness is difficult to quantify. The Nikkei Research Institute of Japan has designed a CI effect survey index system, including three categories: market factors, appearance factors and modern factors. Different companies will pay attention to different factors when introducing CI. Japan's Nikkei Research Institute believes that a company's sales and advertising awareness are the decisive factors in evaluating the effectiveness of CI. Chinese scholars have also conducted in-depth research on this and proposed a more detailed and scientific quantitative evaluation system for the CI introduction effect, including MI, BI external activity identification part, BI internal activity identification part, VI application elements part, VI basic There are 30 indicators in 5 categories including the element part. This set of indicators reflects the content of CI in a more comprehensive and detailed manner, but the indicators are relatively abstract and there are certain problems in practical application.

It should be said that CI introduction is a process in which an enterprise pursues the harmonious unity of inner and outer beauty, and at the same time, the implementation of the enterprise's CI strategy is a systematic project that continues to move and develop. It requires enterprises to revise, supplement and innovate according to their own different situations in each period, so that enterprises can maintain and exert the powerful role and advantages of CI for a long time.

Composition

The CI system is composed of three aspects: Mind Identity (MI), Behavior Identity (BI) and Visual Identity (VI).

Ideology Identification (MI)

It is to establish the unique business philosophy of the enterprise. It is the business philosophy of design, scientific research, production, marketing, service, management and other aspects in the production and operation process of the enterprise. identification system. It is the overall plan and definition of the company's current and future business goals, business ideas, marketing methods and marketing forms. It mainly includes: corporate spirit, corporate values, corporate creed, business purpose, business policy, market positioning, and industry composition. , organizational structure, social responsibility and development planning, etc. Belongs to the ideological category of corporate culture.

Behavior Identification (BI)

It is a dynamic identification form formed by the company's actual business philosophy and the criteria for creating corporate culture, as well as the unified planning of the company's operating methods.

It is based on the business philosophy as the basic starting point. Internally, it is to establish a complete organizational system, management standards, staff education, behavioral norms and welfare systems; externally, it is to explore market surveys, conduct product development, and through social welfare cultural activities, public * ** relationships, marketing activities and other methods to convey corporate philosophy in order to obtain public recognition of the company.

Visual identity (VI)

It is a complete and systematic visual communication system with corporate logo, standard fonts and standard colors as the core. It is the integration of corporate philosophy, cultural characteristics and services. Abstract semantic concepts such as content and corporate specifications are converted into concrete symbolic concepts to create a unique corporate image. The visual recognition system is divided into two aspects: basic element system and application element system. The basic element system mainly includes: corporate name, corporate logo, standard characters, standard colors, symbolic patterns, promotional spoken language, marketing reports, etc. Application systems mainly include: office supplies, production equipment, architectural environment, product packaging, advertising media, transportation, clothing and uniforms, flags, signs, signs, windows, displays, etc. Visual identification (VI) has the most communicative power and appeal in the CI system, is the most easily accepted by the public, and occupies a dominant position.

The basic element system of design strictly stipulates logo graphics, Chinese and English font shapes, standard colors, corporate symbolic patterns and their combination forms, which fundamentally standardizes the basic visual elements of the enterprise. The basic element system is The core part of the corporate image is the system of basic corporate elements including: corporate name, corporate logo, corporate standard characters, standard colors, symbolic patterns, combination applications, corporate slogans, etc.

Company name

Company name is closely related to corporate image and is a prerequisite for CI design. It uses text to express identification elements. The determination of the company name must reflect the company's business philosophy and embody the corporate philosophy; it must be unique, have a loud pronunciation, and be easy to recognize and read. Pay attention to the meaning of homophonic sounds to avoid causing bad associations. The text of the name should be concise and clear, and at the same time pay attention to the international character and adapt to the pronunciation of foreigners to avoid wrong associations in foreign languages. The company name that expresses or implies the corporate image and products should be consistent with the trademark, especially the brand it represents. Products that are more well-known in the market can also be used as the company name. The determination of the company name must not only consider tradition, but also have the characteristics of the times.

Corporate logo

Corporate logo is the symbol and identification symbol of a specific enterprise. It is the core foundation of the CI design system. The corporate logo conveys the essence of the enterprise through concise shapes and vivid images. Concept, content, product features and other information. The design of the logo must not only have a strong visual impact, but also express a unique personality and a sense of the times. It must express a unique personality and a sense of the times, and must be widely adaptable to various media, various materials and various supplies. Production, its forms of expression can be divided into: 1. Graphic expression (including representational figures, symbolic figures, geometric figures); 2. Text expression (including the combination of Chinese and foreign characters and Arabic numerals); 3. Comprehensive expression (including the combination of graphics and text) Combined with application) three aspects. The corporate logo must be used in the CI design form as a fixed standard prototype. When creating, a standard proportion diagram must be drawn and precise values ??such as the outline, lines, and distance of the logo must be expressed. The drawing can use grid marking method, proportion marking and arc angle marking, so that the logo can be accurately depicted and copied accurately when enlarging or reducing.

The company's standard fonts

Include Chinese, English or other text fonts. The standard fonts are designed according to the company name, company brand name and company address. The selection of standard fonts must be clear and descriptive, directly convey the name of the company and brand, and strengthen the corporate image and brand appeal. It can be determined by the full name or abbreviation of the company according to the use. The design of the font requires that the font shape is correct, aesthetic and easy to read. The line thickness and stroke structure of the font should be as clear, simple and decorative as possible. . When designing, we must consider the coordination and unity of the fonts and the logo when combining them. The spacing and shape of the fonts must be carefully planned, and attention must be paid to the systematicness and ductility of the fonts to adapt to the production of various media and different materials. Application of various item sizes.

The strokes, structure and font design of the company's standard font can also reflect the corporate spirit, business philosophy and product characteristics. The standard drawing method is to arrange the standard words in an appropriate square or diagonal grid, and indicate the height of the font. , width size and angle and other positional relationships.

Standard Colors

The company's standard colors are the designated colors used to symbolize the company and used in all media in visual identity design. Through the perceptual stimulation and psychological reaction of color, it can express the characteristics of the company's business philosophy and product content, and reflect the company's attributes and emotions. Standard colors have a strong recognition effect in visual identification symbols. The determination of enterprise standard colors should be based on the attributes of the enterprise's industry, highlighting the differences between the enterprise and its peers, and creating distinctive color effects. The selection of standard colors is based on international standard colors. Enterprise standard colors should not be used excessively. Many, usually no more than three colors.

Symbolic patterns

Corporate symbolic patterns are designed to match the basic elements and are widely used in various media. In connotation, they should reflect the corporate spirit and set off and strengthen the corporate image. Through the rich shapes of symbolic patterns, the corporate image established by logo symbols is supplemented, making the meaning more complete, easier to identify, and more expressive and deep. The symbolic pattern adopts a simple and abstract form of expression, which contrasts with and maintains a harmonious relationship with the logo graphic. It can also be designed based on the logo or the modeling connotation that makes up the logo. When the basic elements are used in combination, there must be a rhythm of strong and weak changes and a clear primary and secondary relationship, and various application planning and combination designs should be made according to the needs of different media to ensure the unity and standardization of corporate identification and strengthen The visual impact of the entire system produces a visual induction effect.

The slogan proposed by the company

is a summary of the corporate philosophy and is a written promotional slogan developed by the company based on its own marketing activities or concepts. The determination of corporate slogans requires concise and catchy text. Accurate and loud corporate slogans can inspire employees to work hard for corporate goals internally, express corporate development goals and directions externally, and improve the company's impression on the public mind. Its main role is to improve the corporate image and corporate products. Supplement the image to enable the public to understand the company's thoughts in an instant audio-visual, and leave an unforgettable impression of the company or product.

Corporate mascots

Corporate mascots are cute characters or anthropomorphic images that arouse the attention and favor of the public.

Special fonts

Special fonts are the unified design of the main text, numbers, product names newly used by the enterprise, combined with external promotional text, etc. It mainly includes logos designed for corporate products and logos designed for corporate internal and external activities, as well as masthead and title fonts designed for newspaper advertisements, poster advertisements, film and television advertisements, etc.

Application Elements

Application element system design is to make specific and clear provisions on the application of basic element systems in various media. After the most basic elements of corporate visual identity, such as logos, standard words, and standard colors, are determined, it is necessary to engage in the refinement of these elements and develop various application projects. The combination system of each VI visual design element has different combination forms depending on the size of the enterprise and product content. The most basic thing is to combine the standard characters and logos of the company name into different units to match various application projects. When the combination relationship of various visual design elements in each application project is determined, it should be strictly fixed in order to achieve the effect of strengthening the visual appeal through uniformity and systematization. The application element system roughly has the following contents.

Office supplies

The design and production of office supplies should fully reflect strong unity and standardization, and reflect the spirit of the enterprise. The design plan should strictly stipulate the order of form arrangement of office supplies, based on the arrangement of logos and graphics, text format, color sets and all sizes, so as to form a serious, complete, precise and unified format of office supplies, giving people a brand new look. Feel and show the style of the company, while also showing the high concentration of modern offices and the penetration and spread of modern corporate culture into various fields. Including envelopes, stationery, notes, business cards, badges, work ID cards, invitations, folders, letters of introduction, accounts, memos, information bags, official documents and forms, etc.

Enterprise external architectural environment

Enterprise external architectural environment design is the visual representation of the corporate image in public places. It is an open and distinctive group design and symbol. Enterprise face characteristic system. In the design and design, we use the environment around the enterprise to highlight and emphasize the corporate identification mark, and implement it in the surrounding environment, fully reflecting the unified standardization, formalization and firmness of the corporate image, so as to make the viewer stand out in the dazzling city. Gain favor. Mainly include: architectural shapes, flags, facades, signs, public identification signs, road signs, advertising towers, etc.

The internal architectural environment of the enterprise

The internal architectural environment of the enterprise refers to the internal environment image of the enterprise's offices, sales rooms, conference rooms, lounges, and delivery rooms. The design is to implement the corporate identity mark into the corporate indoor environment, fundamentally shape, render and disseminate the corporate identity image, and fully reflect the unity of the corporate image. Mainly include: internal department signs, corporate image boards, hanging flags, hang tags, pop advertisements, shelf signs, etc.

Transportation

Transportation is a fluid and open way of corporate image communication. Its multiple flows give people instant memories, intentionally or unintentionally establishing the corporate image. image. Their movement and rapid flow characteristics should be specifically considered when designing, and standard words and standard colors should be used to unify the design effects of the appearance of various transportation vehicles. Corporate identity logos and fonts should be eye-catching and the colors strong to attract attention and maximize the visual impact of their mobile advertising. Mainly include cars, minibuses, buses, trucks, tool trucks, etc.

Clothing

The unified design of neat and elegant clothing can improve employees’ sense of belonging, honor and ownership of the company, change their mental outlook, and promote work efficiency To improve employees' discipline and their sense of responsibility to the enterprise, the design should strictly distinguish the scope, nature and characteristics of the work, and match the attire of different positions. Mainly include manager uniforms, management uniforms, employee uniforms, ceremonial uniforms, cultural shirts, ties, work uniforms, badges, etc.

Advertising media

Enterprises choose a variety of different media advertising forms for external publicity. It is a long-term, holistic, and highly publicized communication method that can be used as quickly as possible in the short term. The speed to convey corporate information to the widest range is the main means for modern enterprises to convey information. Mainly include TV advertisements, newspaper advertisements, magazine advertisements, street sign advertisements, poster advertisements, etc.

Corporate gifts are also an effective form of advertising

Product packaging

Products are the economic source of enterprises, and product packaging plays the role of protection, sales , The role of spreading corporate and product image is a corporate image that is symbolic, informatized, and commercialized. It therefore represents the image of the product manufacturer and symbolizes the quality of the product and the price. Therefore, systematic packaging design has a strong sales promotion effect. Successful packaging is the best and most convenient way to promote, introduce a company and establish a good corporate image. Product packaging mainly includes carton packaging, paper bag packaging, wooden box packaging, glass packaging, plastic packaging, metal packaging, ceramic packaging, wrapping paper, etc.

Gift giving

Corporate gifts are mainly used to connect emotions, communicate and coordinate relationships for the sake of corporate image or corporate spirit, visualization and human touch. They are used as corporate logos. For the purpose of guiding and spreading the corporate image, the corporate image is combined and displayed on daily necessities. Corporate gifts are also an effective form of advertising, mainly including T-shirts, ties, tie clips, lighters, key tags, umbrellas, commemorative medals, gift bags, etc.

Display

Display is the use of advertising media in corporate marketing activities to highlight the corporate image and communicate the company's products or sales methods. When designing, the overall activity of the display should be highlighted. When designing, the overall sense, sequence and novelty of the display should be highlighted to show the spirit of the enterprise. Mainly include window display, exhibition display, shelf product display, display product display, etc.

Printed publications

The company's printed publications represent the company's image and directly meet the company's stakeholders and the public.

The design is to achieve good visual effects, fully reflect strong unity and standardization, show the spirit of the enterprise, the layout should be consistent, the printing fonts and layout formats should be fixed, and the corporate logo and standard words should be uniformly placed in a specific The layout style creates a unified visual image to strengthen the public impression. It mainly includes company profile, product manual, product introduction, company briefing, annual calendar, etc.

Design Planning

CI design planning and implementation introduction is a step-by-step planned operation. The entire plan is promoted and integrated with the experience of domestic and foreign enterprises in introducing CI. The operation process can be roughly divided into the following five stages:

1. The enterprise reality investigation stage grasps the company's current situation, external perception and design status, and confirms the actual image perception of the company. Know the situation.

2. Image concept establishment stage

Based on the survey results, analyze the problems within the company, external perception, market environment and various design systems to formulate the company's positioning and There should be a basic concept of image as the principle basis for CI design planning.

3. Design work development stage

According to the basic image concept of the enterprise, it is transformed into specific visible information. And after careful work and testing and investigation, we determined that the identification system is complete and consistent with the enterprise.

4. Completed in the introduction stage

The focus is on prioritizing the introduction and implementation of projects, planning corporate advertising activities and organizing CI.

Brand Identity System

Brand Identity System (BIS) For each brand, the designer will list a number of consumer symbols and then select the appropriate one from each group. List those with similar meanings together, then select one from each group that best represents the meaning of the group, and then start classifying. *What do customers think of when they see your visual identity? For example, you design packaging in a color that people often choose to use, or like American Express Centurion, you choose an image design that best reflects your personal style.

Introduction

For each brand, the designer will list many consumer symbols, then select the appropriate ones from each group and list them together with similar meanings, and then Choose one from each group that best represents the meaning of the group, and then start categorizing.

What will customers think of when they see your visual identity? For example, you design packaging in a color that people often choose to use, or like American Express Centurion, you choose an image design that best reflects your personal style. Which designs require a lot of investment in order to be deeply rooted in people's hearts? For example, advertising slogans are usually an expensive expense and require constant repetition to penetrate into consumers' minds. Of the total advertising time, only 5% or a little more of it may attract consumers' attention. It often forces companies to abandon building other consumer symbols. Which consumer symbols fall within the scope of strategy? For example, is it necessary to establish the essence of the brand or to maintain the consistency of the brand's visual image? Which consumer symbols are tactical or transitional? For example, it only targets temporary competition in a certain local market without permanently linking it with the brand.

Before brand designers establish the role of each consumer symbol, they should carefully consider the following details:

How do we use various designs in the brand practice process? What role will a certain design play in consumers' recognition, purchase and love of the brand? Below are preliminary answers to these questions.

Arouse brand memories

Product packaging and design are the primary carriers of a brand, but they are often ignored. We see that an era of mass communication is coming to an end. In this era, some advertising companies have a special preference for creative publicity methods, especially the use of television for advertising. However, they have ignored the design and development of brand identity systems. Uniformity among other forms of propaganda.

Clearly, when the results of a promotional strategy often depend on an assessment of the superficial effectiveness of the ad or familiarity with the advertised brand name, brand recall matters more than any brand designer realizes. Reflect the power of the brand in many places. These assessments are made by market researchers, and the measurement of their work often focuses on "accuracy," that is, the amount of data collected and the standard protocols used to analyze the data.

Since brands increasingly include multiple products, familiarity with the brand name will have a new and subtle role in the minds of customers. Just asking consumers some basic market research questions is enough. There is no way to measure this effect, but these basic questions are: When we think of a certain product, which brand do you immediately think of? Or in a directory of brand names, which brand are you familiar with?

An effective way to create brand recall is to associate the brand with the situations in which people use the product in their daily lives. For example, in Malaysia we can see the simple sentence "bath time is Lux time", which links the Lux brand with daily bathing. In such a humid country, people will naturally think of the core of Lux: cleansing and beautifying the skin. Lux's brand manager succeeded in making people automatically think of Lux when they take a bath every day, instead of having a market researcher suddenly appear in front of customers to make general inquiries.

Take full advantage of new global styles

Modern communication media can only provide people with a glimpse of a brand. Whether it is sponsor billboards erected around the football field, product logos printed on players' jerseys, or advertisements appearing in the background of exclusive interviews, these brands that are widely spread through modern communications are only hurriedly scanned by consumers. Take a few glances. Some concise identification designs, such as capital M for McDonald's and Coke for Coca-Cola, can produce the best effect in front of the world audience. Other well-known brand names, such as the four-letter Mars, Sony and the three-letter Lux, can also achieve the same effect. One consequence of the unique visibility of short brand names is that it will be difficult to find an unregistered brand name that is easy to pronounce in various languages ??and is not easily misunderstood.

In the following example, we can see how a properly designed international brand can stand out from the rest.

Different from local brands, world-class designs must appear in world-class occasions, such as advertising fences around the Olympic venues, etc., in order to receive strong effects. Placing your billboard near a top-notch brand will implicitly share people's favorable impression of the brand, which is something that local brands will never do. In people's subconscious minds, brands that have appeared in major events in the world will be completely different from those brands that have not or rarely appeared.

When the tuxedo suits of the superstars of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy started fiercely, the competition for the billboards around the stadium was also extremely fierce. The designs of some brands are obviously poorly prepared and do not take into account the background of the competition. Either the names are too long or the brand logos are too complicated, leaving the audience with no time or opportunity to see and understand them clearly. Instead, a four-letter brand name captures every angle of the camera and appears on the screen in all directions: Mars, and its brand identity colors - gold rims and dazzling red against a black background. . This is the style of design that this food company can boast to the world. In this fierce advertising battle, Mars won the crown.

In today's highly developed communication society, it is not just those advertisements that appear on global occasions that exist. Think of people commuting to and from work or shoppers pushing trolleys in supermarkets, and how many ads fly past them.