Corporate visual identity is one of the most important components of communication with your audience.
It defines the whole set of rules, language postures and visual approaches, as well as all the elements that make customers recognize your brand.
And that goes far beyond the creation of the logo , it includes colors, typography, textures, shapes, styles of illustrations and images and many other items.
Who doesn’t recognize the orange tone of Itaú’s images ? And, just to be very objective, there is even a shade of red that was named after a brand: the red Ferrari .
And to close the examples: what is the mark of the 3 parallel stripes? Adidas , of course! The 3 stripes are part of your corporate visual identity , even without the name or logo next to it.
With these examples, you can see the importance of this set of elements to form the image of your company ‘s brand .
Incidentally, Adidas was one of the brands that radically changed its visual identity and logo (kept the 3 stripes, but changed the whole concept).
We will understand, then, why a brand must change its visual identity. Check out.
Corporate visual identity: nothing is forever
We are not implying that all brands must change their visual identity from time to time. Some never do that, at least not in a very noticeable or radical way.
You need to adapt to the time and your audience. People’s way of thinking changes, so do their needs, and with that, the way they see their brand also changes.
And if your company wants to meet the needs of the consumer , it needs to be understood correctly by him.
A brand that has changed very little, perhaps nothing, since its creation was the iconic Playboy bunny . But what else can we point out that has followed the same path and never changed its corporate visual identity? Few.
What we can say is that the main reason for a brand to change its identity is to adjust its positioning before the public .
For example: with the changing age composition of the Brazilian population (with fewer and fewer children), McDonald’s practically abandoned its clown Ronald and has opted for communication focused on young adults.
But how do you know if it’s time to change the corporate visual identity, create a new logo or at least renew your brand?
10 reasons to THINK about redesigning your visual identity
- Change in company positioning
- Development of new product lines
- Acquisition of new business units
- Have been acquired by another company
- Expansion of the geographical area of operation
- Changing audience behavior
- Changing the age pyramid of the country in which it operates
- Use of new technologies
- Adoption of new production processes
- IPO
These are some reasons to investigate the possibility and relevance of changing a company’s corporate visual identity. This will not always be mandatory, but it should be studied.
2 Examples of changing company logos
We just commented on the case of Deferred .
I don’t know if everyone remembers, but the company logo resembled the format of 3 small leaflets joined together, with organic curves composing a balanced and homologous set in relation to the central axis. Something very neutral.
Today the brand has abandoned any reference to curved lines, opting for right and aggressive angles , in addition to a sequence of bars that grow more and more, indicating boldness and impetuosity, something more to do with today’s sportiness.
Another interesting case is that of British Petroleum . It kept the green and yellow characteristic of its corporate visual identity, but completely abandoned the monotonous logo with a shield and its initials – which looked more like the badge on the chest of a superhero – for a graphics full of transparencies and different shades of green and yellow.
The brand has totally modernized, reinvigorating its image in a spectacular way.
The reason for this was the expansion and new understanding of the company’s core business . It is no longer an oil company, but an energy company , be it solar, wind or whatever.
Therefore, the symbol now resembles a flower, a sun, a star and even a subtle atom.
And how well the chosen green and yellow tones fell!
As you can see, changing a company’s visual identity requires a lot of care and professionalism. Look for a designer to help you on this mission!
