subject: Successful Corporate Design: From Clark Kent To Superman [print this page] Clark Kent is the classic non-entity grey, boring and nice. Of course, its a disguise, but all too many companies are the same. A boring business is doomed to failure. Whats needed is a recognisable image that people can latch on to, like Superman has. He is the same man as Kent, but hes the same man with branding. He has a flashy colour scheme, a recognisable outfit and a logo. While few people would recognise Clark Kent from his picture, people all over the world know who Superman is. A successful corporate design can do the same for your business, making it more memorable and attractive to consumers.
Creating a successful brand
A key principle in the creation of a brand is that it needs to be immediately recognisable. If customers recognise your brand, they are more likely to buy your products or services. Why would people go for an unknown competitor when they can get the product from a name they trust? For branding to be successful, you need a corporate design that is uniform across all your marketing materials and communications: websites, print media, emails and exhibition stands should all tie together to give the same message about the company. Logos and colour schemes must match and customers should see the name of your company as often as possible.
While getting a website created by a specialist designer might seem like a brilliant idea, it may not be if the same company cant design your advertising to match. Hiring a marketing and design agency that can do it all is often a better approach. Having different designs on different materials will only confuse your customers and dilute your image.
You will have seen this in action on a daily basis. All major brands have a unified marketing strategy, from government departments to soft drinks. Smaller companies often make the mistake of thinking that they needn t do the same, but branding is what allowed the big guys to grow in the first place. Small business owners may not know where to start, but there are agencies out there who can give advice. As well as doing all the design work, they will work with you to develop a strategy which allows your company to grow.
Branding is more than design
Although corporate design is fundamental to creating a strong brand, it is not the be all and end all. A brand is like a reputation in that it takes a long time to build, but only moments to destroy. Selling poor quality products, having poor service or getting negative reviews can all harm your business. People will still remember you; it will just be for the wrong reasons. While Supermans outfit helps him stand out, his actions and morale fortitude are what make people love him, not the fact he wears his pants on the outside. If he wasnt the man of steel, hed look like a crazy person.
On the other hand, Clark Kent is the very model of a perfect citizen, and yet eminently forgettable. A successful brand has to have quality products, high levels of customer service and well designed marketing materials. For that, you need a marketing agency.
