Custom graphic design for your business can help build your company’s voice, services and brand in a compelling way that makes you stand out from your competition. It can allow your brand to grow through physical and digital marketing materials that work together and convey a sentimental, corporate image as a whole.
A corporate image is a visual solution that uses elements like branding, visual identity and logos to give a company an emotional connection to its audience.
BRANDING
There have been hundreds of publications made that describe the notion of branding.
In its simplest form, branding is a combination of key elements that describe a service, product or organization with a personality. The target audience is what really shapes this through their interpretation.
The best way to establish great branding is to:
- Figure out how you would like to be perceived.
- Make sure your business commits to that promise.
- Broadcast that commitment
- Follow through
While custom graphic design cannot actually create the perception of the brand, it can create the foundation.
In order to interact with the audience, the company first has to establish its visual identity.
VISUAL IDENTITY
Most of the time, a visual identity is made up of marketing devices that a company uses to communicate with their audience. Using a style guide as a reference, each piece is part of a greater whole that lives under the same visual umbrella.
The style guide is used as an artifact that helps the business ensure It’s being visually consistent when applying the identity to any type of medium.
Some of these style guides could include:
1. Fonts or Typefaces
2. Layout Strategies
3. Measurements & Color Pallets.
When the style guide is followed perfectly, everything that’s released looks like it belongs to the company. This allows any pieces of visual identity to be understood and recognized.
Some examples of Visual Identity:
- Paperwork like letterheads, business cards, envelopes, etc.
- Flyers, brochures books, social media posts, websites etc.
- Products and the packaging they’re sold in.
- Items of clothing worn by employees.
- Interior and exterior signage
- Anything the company has chosen to represent itself (ie. corporate sponsorship)
All of these examples help curate a corporate identity that can be an opportunity for good branding. By utilizing both of these strategies at the same time you can then create a logo that becomes the face of the organization.
LOGO
A logo identifies a company, product or service, by using a visual signature that is unique to the action or entity its representing.
Logos don’t necessarily describe or sell the business, but instead draws power from the emotional character of what it symbolizes. It makes it possible to identify something based on what it means, rather than what the mark represents visually.
5 things that make a logo great:
- It must be simple
- Scalability
- Memorable / Impactful
- Versatile
- Relevant
A good logo can represent a product, service or business in the most straightforward way.
CONCLUSION
Disney is a great example of a successful brand — The company attracts people of all ages by capturing attention and imaginations all around the world.
Their marketing pulls at the heartstrings of their customers through storytelling. They know their audience and know how to please them. Disney designs every part of their experience, from movies to theme parks.
In Rochester, NY, SiteHub helps small to medium-sized companies without a Disney budget accomplish this on a smaller scale. Let us know how we can help you!
