The
BIG PAGE
of Branding & Corporate Identity Resources
Design magnate Steven Gilliatt said “[A logo] should look just as good in 15-foot letters on top of company headquarters as it does one sixteenth of an inch tall on company stationery.”
Considering everywhere a logo goes, its design and use can be some of the most important decisions a company makes.
And the logo isn’t just about what’s on the paper, it’s part of the deep impressions a company makes on a person, the kind that become part of pop culture: "I’m a Mac person."
This kind of brand identity doesn’t come easily. You have to have a clear plan for your company. You have to be consistent in your policies and actions. You have to have a vision for the idea you want in the customer’s mind.
On this page you’ll find some resources to help you create that vision for your company.
updated Aug 23 2006
Corporate Identity Manuals & Guides
updated Aug 23 2006
Branding & Design Firms
updated Aug 23 2006
Essential Reading
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Wally Olins on Brand by Wally Olins
Wally Olins describes the ground rules for branding success in the 21st century, explaining why understanding the links between business, brand and consumer is vital for commercial success. |
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Trademark : Legal Care for your business & product name By Stephen Elias
Names, logos, and other unique corporate identifying marks are the true calling cards of any business, and the third edition of Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name, by attorneys Kate McGrath and Stephen Elias, explains in an easy-to-understand fashion how to choose perly and then protect them diligently. |
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A New Brand World: Eight Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the 21st Century by Scott Bedbury
Read it for the case studies: Harley-Davidson, Microsoft, Nike and Starbucks among others. |
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
1. Expansion
The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope
2. Contraction
A brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus
3. Publicity
The birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising
4. Advertising
Once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy
5.The Word
A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer
6.Credentials
The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity
7. Quality
Quality is important, but brands are not built on quality alone
8. The Category
A leading brand should promote the cateogry, not the brand
9. The Name
In the long run a brand is nothing more htan a name.
10. Extensions
The easiest way to destroy a brand is to put its name on everything
11. Fellowship
In order to build the category, a brand should welcome other brands
12. The Generic
One of the fastest routes to failure is giving a brand a generic name
13. The Company
Brands are brands. Companies are companies. There is a difference
14. Subbrands
What branding builds, subbranding can destroy
15. Siblings
There is a time and a place to launch a second brand
16. Shape
A brand's logotype should be designed to fit the eyes. Both eyes.
17. Color
A brand should use a color that is the opposite of its major competitor's
18. Borders
There are no barriers to global branding. A brand should know no borders.
19. Consistency
A brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades, not years.
20. Change
Brands can be changed, but only infrequently and only very carefully
21. Mortality
No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution
22. Singularity
The most important aspect of a brand is its single-mindedness
