Designs of the times!

So clearly great design can and does put money in the bank. But what constitutes a great emblem or logo? Jeremy Smith talks to Swindon-based designer Ian Ralph about the corporate branding of local companies and the consequences of a misplaced dot over an 'i'.

What's in a logo and does it matter? According to Ian Ralph, design associate and founder of The Rialto Consultancy in Purton, it can make or break a business.

A member of the Chartered Society of Designers, as well as having worked for the BBC, Intel and Esso, Ian is adamant that a well-designed visual identity, consistently implemented across all of a company's operations, can have a fundamental effect on its success.

"Good visual identities make good companies stand out from the competition," he said.

"Great visual identities make a few companies part of everyday culture. And for any business in a competitive environment, it is essential to create high levels of awareness, project product and service positioning, as well as broadcasting the company's core values.

"Good visual identity design can help achieve all of these."

Clearly then, if anyone inside a company thinks that money spent on logos and overall corporate identities is a waste of money, they are missing the point.

And one need only mention the great gods of design, Nike and IBM, to further humiliate and humble these doubters and sceptics.

As Ian points out: "Visual identities represent extremely valuable, long-term assets that should be treated like any other investment."

And as history bears out, once created and protected, these designs can pay out astonishing dividends.

Conversely however, if mistreated, they can destroy a company. But just how can you mistreat a company identity?

"By not being consistent with the application of the elements," said Ian. "Allowing third parties to reproduce parts of the identity out of context, in the wrong colours, at the wrong size or at the wrong angle.

"Which is why large corporations have very strict control over the use of all parts of their identity programmes, insisting on consistency in every area of use."

Imagine all the variations on McDonalds famed golden arches one might see if its franchisees were allowed a certain freedom of expression to depict the company's core values?

Yet like all company assets, there are times when logos need to be reviewed and perhaps changed. And whether a company is small or large, this can be a major undertaking.

For start-up companies, the exercise of creating their first company identity can be a veritable leap in the dark. But as Ian suggests, start first with what you know.

"If you are planning to revise your company's identity, then look at what you have with a fresh pair of eyes," he said.

"Try seeing your existing identity as others would. Compare it to the competition. And if you can't see it in a fresh way, get another pair of eyes to do it for you."

How then do you go about creating a revised or even a totally new logo and corporate identity for your company?

The first step says Ian, is to seek professional advice. "Design is a complex task," he explained. "The visual elements that result from the exercise of design are simply the end of what can be a very long process. "The review of a business, its products and services and its people are just some of the elements in that process.

"A designer needs to understand how a company works, where it has been, where it wants to go, and what position it wants in its market before he or she can even start carrying out any creative work."

Like any other project a company undertakes, it has to have a clear idea of exactly what it wants a designer to achieve on its behalf.

"Write it down as a written brief and stick to it," said Ian.

"Then invite a small selection of designers to discuss the brief with you.

"Do not ask designers to pitch creative ideas at you but instead invite them to a 'credentials pitch' where they can show you the type of work they have done for other companies.

"From this, you will soon be able to decide which of those companies fits with your ideas."

Of course, good design, be it for corporate identity or any other aspect of your business, is not cheap.

And neither, says Ian, should it be. But obviously it helps to know just what the exercise is going to cost your company.

Fortunately, creative costs in the Swindon area are considerably lower than those in most design agencies in London or other large metropolitan areas.

The average daily rate in this region is between £500 and £600 a day.

This is all well and good, but in brass tacks terms, how much should the exercise of creating a new corporate identity for a company actually cost?

"It's impossible to say," says Ian, "since so much depends on the size of an organisation, the breadth of services or products it deals with, the amount of research involved before any creative work can be undertaken and timescales involved in the process of design."

But before commissioning a designer to undertake any work, it might be wise to ensure that both they and you are in full agreement on the task involved, its complexity and precisely what you expect to get at the end of the process.

Also remember that once you have your new identity, it isn't much good to you without implementation.

It will need to be applied to any number of items within your company products, stationery, vehicles, signs, marketing materials and advertising.

And that all costs money too so don't forget stock control, planning and budgeting for replacing these items.

It is only when you and your chosen designer know how much work is involved that a price be agreed.

As Ian said: "Good design positively defines your company, but poor design reflects on all aspects of your business."

And if a lesson needs be learned, consider Tommy Hilfiger.

Everything about the Hilfiger logo was bold, brash and positively bursting with 100 per cent US-ville.

But in 1999, the company made the mistake of removing the logo from a wide range of their products because they believed the customer didn't want it anymore.

However, as marketing consultant Matt Haig writes in his book 'Brand Failures': "The logo is what made Tommy Hilfiger the brand it is today. In fact, the Tommy Hilfiger brand is pure logo.

"When the logo disappeared or was toned down, the brand ran into trouble."

And that's putting it mildly.