So, you're in need of a business card, perhaps some letterhead, and a fancy envelope to put them in. These elements are referred to as your corporate identity. Your corporate identity should be the first place you see your logo in print, and must be given the attention that it deserves.
But printing is complicated. Oh, your printer will tell you "no sweat, give me a digital file with your logo, and I'll lay out the information for you, free of charge." Don't do this. Please don't do this. I beg you.
Never Let Your Printer Design Your Corporate Identity
Your printer is just that; a printer. They are not designers. They'll tell you that they have designers on staff, but these people are really technical production people who have a serviceable knowledge of Illustrator, perhaps Photoshop, and maybe even Quark. Who knows, they may even know CorelDraw (does anyone outside of Ottawa and the Ontario Education system know CorelDraw?), but I'll guarantee you this: they don't know design, even if design walked up and punched them in the face. They are employed by the printer to set up digital artwork, so that it can go to print. Allowing them to "design" your corporate identity is like letting the guy on the line at BMW design your car. No offence to BMW lineworkers (they are an integral part of the production process), but I wouldn't expect them to know a thing about car design.
Layout is NOT the Same Thing as Design
You need a design company to create your corporate identity. Why? Because design companies are strategic in the way they approach your corporate identity, and will create you an identity that distinguishes you from your competition. If your competition walked into the printer ahead of you and ordered business cards, do you think your "free" layout will be any different than theirs? Doubtful. The printer is looking to set your corporate identity pieces up quickly, run them 4 over 0, on paper-thin stock, and get them out the door to you so that you can look the same as everyone else. Oh, you'll pay a ridiculously low price for them, but you do get what you pay for.
Your Corporate Identity Deserves to be Different
Your corporate identity is often the first place that people see your brand...shouldn't it be memorable? Don't you want your business card to stand out from everyone else's? If not, why bother. When I get your card, I won't distinguish it from the last 5 I got, and it will go in the same pile as all of the pens I lost in school (did you ever wonder where they all went?). You should be proud of the business you've worked so hard at; give it a fighting chance. Invest in a corporate identity that you can feel good about handing out. You will notice immediately that people will comment on how nice it is, or how professional it looks. Congratulations, you just earned their respect, their trust, and the right to charge them more money for your service, because they see you as THE company to do business with in your field. Position yourself as the best at what you do, and you'll find that people will buy into that and want to associate themselves with your brand.
All that from your corporate identity...who knew a business card could be so powerful?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
But Mr. Brand-Aid, can't my 12 year old niece design my corporate identity. She knows how to use Paint! You should see her use the program, it's so cute. She'll do it for free and then the printer will just their color copier to make it happen.
So I guess you're saying this isn't a good idea???
Paint is a make-work project for the Microsoft developers that aren't good enough to work on the OS. Never design with this.
Shame on you for putting your twelve-year-old neice to work...we have laws in this country protecting children from this type of abuse.
Lastly, copiers are called copiers for a reason. If you want to "copy" someone else's identity and look the same as them, go ahead, but to be distinct you need to step it up.
Post a Comment