01. December 2006
Design Beyond Design: Creating new value, meaning and relevance for corporate design
Corporate design has an identity problem of its own.
Corporate design endeavours to generate value and meaning for corporations and organizations in the market and in society. Yet, we can observe that the discipline has arrived at a conceptional crisis. Despite the high estimation accorded to corporate identity and corporate design by both business and the public, the very profession behind the development of visual identity seems to suffer from an identity problem. The discipline struggles to gain legitimacy and genuine recognition.
By Evert Ypma
One of the specific aims of corporate design is the visual differentiation from other corporate designs. When we look at contemporary corporate design, however, we notice an undeniable and worrying overall visual similarity. This lack of differentiation affects colour usage, composition, logos and their usage as well as the way in which the image is integrated into the designs. While differentiation ought to be a central factor also on the level of content, the majority of current corporate design does not seem to achieve differentiation because the ‘worlds’ they convey are remarkably similar.
What’s more, repetition can be noticed in the very methodologies design agencies employ in developing corporate design for their clients. Unfortunately, the uncritical and indiscriminate application of ‘models’ such as mission statements, visions, core values, and similar moulds from the canon of corporate identity has turned identity into an inflationary concept. One can only conclude that the profession concerned with differentiation seems to operate and evolve in a rather undifferentiated manner! It would appear that, today, corporate design advances in cruise control mode. ... Read further
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Published in Corporate Design 2006, Varus Verlag, Bonn
Corporate Design 2006, Varus Verlag Bonn
Logomania. Image: Evert Ypma, 2006
Lahore petrol station. Photo: Evert Ypma, 2006
IKEA bus Düsseldorf. Photo: Evert Ypma, 2006