What a corporate design is
Corporate design is a company’s visible identity: everything people recognise it by before they’ve read a word. It makes sure your website, business card, Instagram profile and company van all look like they come from the same sender.
The difference from a logo is simple: the logo is one building block. The corporate design is the set of instructions that turns many building blocks into a whole.
The building blocks
- Logo – with variants for different formats and backgrounds.
- Colours – a main colour, an accent and neutral tones, each with exact values for print and screen.
- Typefaces – one for headings, one for body text. Often a single type family in two weights is enough.
- Imagery – which photos suit you: light or dark, people or details, calm or lively.
- Design elements – shapes, lines, patterns or symbols that keep reappearing.
- Tone of voice – how you write: formal or informal, concise or detailed, matter-of-fact or warm.
What small businesses really need
Not every company needs a thick brand manual. For most businesses, a compact guide of a few pages is enough: logo variants, colour values, typefaces and a few examples of how it all looks together.
What matters is that everyone understands it – your team, the printer and whoever looks after your website next year. A guide nobody opens helps nobody.
Add ready-made templates for what you need often: business card, letterhead, social media posts, perhaps a price list. They save the most time day to day.
How to recognise a good corporate design
- Recognisable without the logo. Would people recognise your Instagram post even without the logo? Then the system works.
- It works everywhere. From the tiny profile picture to the large banner, on paper and on a smartphone.
- It leaves room. Strict enough to be recognisable, open enough that not every flyer looks the same.
- It suits your customers. Not just your own taste, but the people you want to buy from you.
How it’s created
- Analysis. Who are you, whom do you want to reach, how do your competitors present themselves?
- Direction. First designs in a few clearly distinct directions.
- Refinement. Logo, colours, typefaces and the most important applications.
- Guide and templates. So the identity works in everyday use – even without us.
Read more about the first building block in the article Having a logo designed.
What it costs
Our logos start at €590 (net). The “Start” package at €1,290 brings logo, colour palette and typography together with a one-page website. For more extensive identities with a guide and many templates, you’ll receive a personal quote after the intro call. More under Logo & branding and Packages and prices.