Identity is at the heart of everything we do.

It sounds simple. But organisations are complex creatures. Markets change. Laws change. Low cost production gives way to niche marketing; organic growth to merger mania. Creating an identity that helps an organisation to realise its ambitions is both an art and a science.

Why identity matters

Most people recognise, if only intuitively, that every organisation is unique. But what is an organisation? It isn’t an office, a factory or a range of products. It is more than a logo or livery.

It might be a group of people yet the individuals could change and the organisation remain.

An organisation’s uniqueness (and potentially the source of it’s greatest competitive advantage) lies in its approach, what it believes, how it conducts its business and how it is perceived.

This uniqueness, or identity is expressed in everything the organisation does, its products and services, its communications, its buildings, its dealings with the outside world.

An effective identity depends on two things: credibility and consistency. It cannot be artificial or cosmetic, it must spring from the organisations own roots, its values and behaviour, its strengths and its weaknesses. And it must be carefully and consistently expressed.That is why our work rests on a thorough understanding of an organisation and obsessive attention to every detail of its presentation. This depends on close collaboration with our clients.

Reviewing your identity

Our clients come in all shapes and sizes. But they have one thing in common. They suspect a mismatch between how they are, and how they would like to be perceived. Their identity is either working against them or just not working for them — This is where we can help.

Such mismatches typically result from change. The world is constantly changing. You face new legislation. Or deregulation. International competition. New technology. You must ensure that there is always a place for your organisation within the new order.

Maybe you have seen not revolution but evolution. Social values have changed. Your customers have changed. You must reassert your position. Your identity needs maintenance, like any other asset.

Perhaps your organisation has changed. You are pursuing new goals. You have restructured. You are doing new things in new ways. If you are to succeed you must bring your many audiences with you: Staff, Customers, Investors, Suppliers, Legislators. You must project the new reality. We help you to to define who you are and who you want to be, what to change and what to keep, We help to define the core components of your strategy. Then we make that strategy visible.

You want to change.

You want to launch a new business. It needs a name, a look, an identity for impact and recognition.

You want to move into new markets or sectors, without damaging side effects for your core business or reputation. You want your various activities to operate in harmony, as part of a well articulated structure.

Perhaps you need to prepare for a major change such as privatisation or deregulation. You must develop new organisational skills and beliefs, a new culture. Perceptions change slowly. An effective design solution can greatly accelerate this process.

What we do

Together with yourself, we develop an ideal vision of your organisation, from this emerges a clear sense of purpose, the essence of an identity brief.

A Graphic Design Council identity project starts not at the drawing board, but with a long hard look at the client organisation and its competitive environment.

Graphic Design Council consultants and designers investigate the organisation’s current identity, how it is perceived by its many audiences (internal and external); how it projects itself visually; how it communicates; how the people who work in it behave to each other and outsiders. We research markets, products and competitors. We look at how the parts of the organisation relate to each other, and to the whole. And we talk to senior executives about their vision and goals for the future.

We then form a view of how the organisation is, and should be, perceived and develop ideas for closing the gap.

Our recommendations may affect the strategy of the organisation, they will certainly address its mission, its positioning and it’s perceived structure and personality.

We bring a distinctive approach to this process. We reflect our findings back to to our clients simply and directly. We avoid platitudes, strategic jargon and received wisdom. We try to get under the skin of an organisation and to offer new insights and radical, yet relevant, solutions.

Developing the identity

Having established your identity requirements, we set about meeting them, It requires a curious mix of rigor and flexibility, science and art.

We may be asked to create a new name for the organisation; perhaps for its component parts or products. Many names will be generated and discussed, and a shortlist scrutinised for legal problems and connotations in other languages.

We will develop, or refine, the symbol or logotype, again checking for clashes or potential problems. Alternative designs are tested in action; something that works on a letterhead may fail dismally as a neon sign. Through a process of exploration and elimination a superior solution emerges.

Some organisations require an elaborate identity structure, so that the relationships between the parts and each other, or the whole, are expressed visually. This can powerfully convey new allegiances and strategies.

We explore the implications of a new identity for the business units and brands, adjusting the scheme for maximum benefit. Many permutations are discussed in the search for the right solution. Names, styles and design all create expectations of how the organisation will behave. We can help you develop training and communication programmes to ensure that staff performance meets those expectations.

You may want to modify or redesign your offices and showrooms, or your factories in order to create appropriate working environments. We can help you do this. If you need to introduce corporate literature, an annual report, group brochures or a literature system, our specialists in this field can work with you.

Putting the identity into place

The new identity is then introduced to the organisation and communicated to its various audiences. This implementation phase is critical. Poorly implemented, an otherwise impeccable identity will be severely ineffective.

Implementation is both a practical process — the application of the identity to a multitude of objects, from hard hats to hot air balloons — and a transfer of knowledge. When we withdraw, our clients have the people, systems and and skills to manage the identity themselves.

Graphic Design Council offers sophisticated planning and project management. We document the details of the new identity with manuals and style guides, sample material and models. We train your staff to apply and monitor the new identity. We even hold conferences and seminars to explain the changes, answer the questions and win commitment and enthusiasm.

Often a new identity is part of a wider change programme. We may coordinate or work alongside other specialists from advertising agencies to technical consultants. The process is collaborative throughout, tailored to clients needs and under their control. Clients may want a major launch with events, visuals and print. We can assist with a dynamic introduction.

Or clients may opt for a steady replacement programme. We ensure that the identity is consistently and credibly applied with minimum disruption. However the identity is introduced it must be fine tuned as time passes for, in truth, the implementation process never ends. We can provide ongoing support, or return several years later to audit and adjust, if need be.

Implementation is a massive task. Experience proves that it is well worth the effort.

What you get

What you get is an amalgam of self knowledge and strategy, skills and systems, and of course, design, that adds up to a well-managed identity. But this isn’t an end in itself. The identity is only a means to an end. It is there to help the organisation achieve its goals.

Paradoxically, the specific benefits of a well managed identity are self evident yet difficult to quantify. Sometimes there are hard, financial savings. Greater consistency often cuts design and production costs significantly.

Market research techniques can reveal growing public recognition and awareness. The marketing budget goes further. With a strong, positive identity each manifestation of the organisation builds on the last. Advertising and publicity campaigns have a greater impact amid the din of competing claims on everyone’s time.

Many softer benefits are frequently reported. The process of developing the identity, and the identity itself, has a profound effect on the organisation’s most important audience, its staff. They then project their shared understanding of the organisation and its aims to the outside world.

Many of our clients report internal benefits. Better co-operation and liaison between departments. Improved morale. Greater commitment and trust. Willingness to accept change. They find it easier to attract and keep good people. Their strategy cascades more easily down the organisation.

External perceptions begin to fuse with reality. Investors perceive a renewed sense of purpose. Suddenly they see the organisation everywhere. It appears larger, stronger, better managed. Confidence grows accordingly. Suppliers and customers find the organisation easier to deal with and have more realistic expectations, consumers warm to the new personality which now stands out from the crowd.

An appreciating asset

Corporate identity is a complex and time-consuming business. It’s therefore important that it should last a long time.

However, from time to time, because of radical change in corporate direction, a takeover or a merger, its life may come to an abrupt end.

It’s also true that in some businesses, fashion dictates that a corporate identity programme will have a relatively short life cycle. Normally though it’s possible to create a corporate identity programme which can work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for year after year and appreciate in value as it does so.

Corporate identity is an appreciating asset. This is why it is worth taking the time and trouble to get it right in the first place.