Creating the Wave The Art Director Speaks Memo From Management

Slide 2

I'll start with some definitions.
What is a corporate symbol? It is a very specific part of a corporation's image.

The corporate image consists of all planned and unplanned verbal and visual elements that originate from or because of the corporation and leave impressions. This can include annual reports, magazine and newspaper feature articles, news releases, employee contacts, printed communications materials, broadcast information, buildings, signs, message points, community events--even rumors. All these affect how the public views the company. I chose the visual metaphor of a building to represent the idea of Image.

Corporate identity is one of the major elements of and influences on the corporate image. It is all planned and visual. It is a visual statement of who and what the company is, and/or how the company views itself, and can affect the way in which the public views the company. The identity is the entrance to the image, in a manner of speaking, the way the corporation would like its publics to get figurative access to who they are and what they do.

The major element of the corporate identity is the corporate symbol. It serves as the focal point for building a corporate identity. It contributes to and reflects, but does not encompass the corporate image. It serves as a keystone, a signpost, a banner, for the corporation's identity.