Corporate Design and Brand Design

The script for Praxismodul 3 is intended exclusively for use in class at the University of Applied Arts and should serve as a reference work for all course participants. It may not be passed on to third parties.

Welcome to the practice module on corporate design!

Preface

The question of whether a company needs a corporate design has long been answered in the affirmative in our days. An unmistakable, original appearance is usually the most important vehicle for start-ups to step into the limelight. And no company can succeed in the long term in a relevant market without a distinctive image.

Wherever it is a question of distinguishing oneself from competitors, the difference must also be made visible in order to be able to take up a desired position, to gain a certain identity as a company.

We are not only talking about the company logo, business cards and stationery. All elements that can be consciously designed and acquire communicative significance are potentially accessible for design in the sense of a corporate design.

Corporate design shows what a company is and what it can do; it is the face of a company, its front, as it were.

And brand design, the visual appearance of a brand, is virtually taken as a synonym for the product in our consumer society. Strong branding – in the narrower sense the depiction of the logo and incessant claiming, i.e. occupying and asserting a position in marketing or advertising – represent the driving forces for the development and management of a brand.

Of course, we will not succeed in illuminating all aspects of corporate design or brand design and grasping their full significance in our six-hour Praxismodul. But we will deal with a few basic concepts of its development and application and discuss various contexts.

We will first look at the phenomena of corporate design and brand design per se, and then turn to the development of a minimal corporate design and its creation in the form of a style sheet.

Corporate Identity

Corporate design, henceforth also called CD, is such a natural part of a company that it is often confused with corporate identity, CI. Strictly speaking, however, corporate design is a component of corporate identity.

CI scheme

Corporate identity could be described as the personality of a company. The CI defines a company’s mission statement, values and goals. Corporate identity becomes tangible in three areas.

• In Corporate Behavior,
• in Corporate Communications and
• in Corporate Design.

Corporate Behavior

Corporate behavior contains regulations from general business conduct to the appearance of individual employees. It determines, for example, how customers and suppliers are treated, what culture is cultivated inside and outside the company, whether value is placed on sustainability or unbridled progress, and so on. In the broadest sense, therefore, the corporate behavior represents the company policy.

Corporate Communication

The guidelines for corporate communication regulate all statements made by the company. From self-presentation in a wide variety of channels, especially in the relevant advertising and communication channels, to the wording used by employees in the field or in traditional correspondence. Corporate communication defines what is communicated and how.

Corporate Design

Corporate design (CD) provides the image for behavior (CB) and expression (CC), it gives the company its appearance, it makes the identity (CI) visible.

All three areas together pay off to the corporate identity. None of the three areas can be neglected if a consistent appearance is to be achieved.

Brand Identity

With regard to the brand, we can cite a very similar scheme.

BI scheme

The brand identity, i.e., what constitutes the brand personality, is carried by …

• Brand Design, 
• Brand Communication and 
• Brand Policy.

Brand Policy

The core of the brand policy is usually on the side of production and distribution. Is the product produced in an environmentally friendly and fair way, which distribution channels are used, is the packaging sustainable etc.?

Brand Communication

Brand communication is in the hands of marketing and is an important instrument of brand management. How and in which channels is the brand communicated, which advertising measures are taken, how is active PR achieved, etc.?

Brand Design

Brand design is the face of the brand. The brand name, the logotype, the signet, i.e. the components of the logo, are at the center of the brand design and form the anchor for the brand appearance, all statements about the brand and all brand management measures.

We will see in a moment that the brand design can include other aspects beyond the logo.

Now, the similarity of the two schemes, corporate identity and brand identity, means that they are often taken synonymously. So it can happen that, for example, the marketing manager speaks of corporate design when she actually means brand design. But let’s not get confused by this.

In any case, I will try to use accurate diction in the workshop. However, it is also clear that what we learn here in a narrower sense about one, namely brand design, also applies to a large extent to the other, namely corporate design.

CD Manual and Brand Manual

The mission statement, the general rules and the specific regulations are laid down in a CI manual, if it is a company, or a brand manual, if it is a product. The content of such codes is binding and must be consulted and taken into account at every step, for every statement and, as a matter of principle, during the design process by the people involved.

Corporate design manuals or brand manuals can be extraordinarily comprehensive compendia or consist of just a few pages. But even a minimal version that focuses only on design covers the central categories: Logo, colors, fonts, application notes, contacts, and disclaimers.

The essential points of a design manual are roughly as follows:

• The logo presented in the form of its standard variant. Possibly information about the development or the derivation from the brand context. The logo’s components are named and its inviolability is pronounced.
• The color definitions of the different logo variants assigned to the different reproduction contexts. First and foremost, the 4c version, i.e. the variant that is always used when the logo is to be reproduced in four-color printing. Then there is the spot color version, which can only be used where spot color printing is possible, for example on business cards, letterhead, on any special applications such as company signs, pins, giveaways, etc. The monochrome version is always used when the logo can only be displayed in monochrome, but is also used, for example, as a template for blind embossing. The two screen versions are intended for use via display or beamer. Since vector data is not usually used for display output, the data is real image data in JPEG and PNG format.
• Concisely formulated instructions for logo use, consisting of guidelines and a few prohibitions.
• In addition to the presentation of the logo and the instructions for its correct use, the fonts to be used are of course also discussed. The so-called corporate typeface is determined, possibly a markup font or, if necessary, a substitute font for communication needs in the office field. We will also talk about this in more detail later. The fonts are presented in the form of pangrams. Dos&Don’ts usually follow.
• For queries and to identify the correct version of the manual, the contact person on the company side, usually the CD representative, and a version number or the issue date are given. Sometimes a download link is also provided here, which enables access to the current data. A short disclaimer text defines the rights of use and formulates binding release procedures.

The diverse and sometimes completely different designs of design manuals reflect the many different manifestations of company and brand designs. However, the design and scope of such manuals always contain the core elements mentioned above.

What is Corporate Design?

Before we turn to the development of our own CD manual in the form of a style sheet, let’s take a closer look at corporate design itself. So far, we have only tried to distinguish the basic terms. But what is a corporate design manual, what is it for, who needs it, and what is its purpose?

The corporate design guidelines apply to all visible and designable elements through which the corporate identity can be communicated. The use cases range from business cards and company signs to advertising materials and ad design. Corporate design should be taken into account wherever the design can be created in accordance with the desired appearance.

A complete design of the company’s appearance in the sense of the corporate design is, of course, a purely wishful scenario. In reality, the company’s CD representative and the external CD consultant evaluate all the possibilities and then limit implementation to those areas where the greatest effect can be achieved.

We are sometimes so familiar with the brand appearance, whether of a company or a product, that we forget that it could also look different. And that is exactly the point, a design must ultimately be so strongly associated with a company or a product that it becomes a matter of course. To achieve this, there is a long, arduous and costly road to travel. And at the beginning of this path is always the development of a corporate design.

Tasks of the Corporate Design

Let’s try to define in more detail the essential tasks of corporate design, some of which have already been mentioned.

Presence:

Corporate design ensures presence in the field of competitors by visually differentiating the company, i.e. making it distinguishable from others. Sustained presence produces distinctiveness and acts as a sign of life.

Identification:

Distinctiveness is the prerequisite for identification. Identification is a very strong motivator. Consumers use brands to shape their self-image, their life style. Employees perform at their best because they identify with a coherent corporate identity.

Reminder:

In the broadest sense, the corporate design is the sum of all the hallmarks. Being remembered is the prerequisite for being recognized or found again.

Brand value:

The corporate design represents the brand and thus the brand value. The brand value is expressed in a wide variety of ways. It is formed from a monetary component, but also from an emotional component, the degree of familiarity, the brand associations, etc. Corporate design thus ultimately also functions as an anchor point and projection surface for a subjective brand knowledge of whatever kind.

Commitment:

Corporate design is an expression of commitment. As it were, it guarantees all positive corporate values as a seal. In one case, it indicates quality and safety, in another case, it indicates affordability and availability, etc.

What the points mentioned so far have in common is that they concern perception and evaluation, i.e. those two fundamental ways in which people deal with things in their environment. If we consider how difficult it is to revise a judgment, it immediately becomes clear how significant it is to convey the desired and coherent corporate image from the very beginning and how responsibly the development of a corporate design must be approached.

This also applies to its further development. You may have noticed that even large, traditional brands update their corporate design or brand design carefully every now and then. There are two main reasons for this: On the one hand, a successive, moderate change, for example of the logo, proves that the brand is alive.

On the other hand, by adapting the visual appearance, one reacts, for example, to changes in the company’s orientation or to the latest market developments. Ultimately, it is a matter of maintaining coherence, in other words, not allowing any cognitive dissonance to arise on the part of customers or partners.

Minor changes to the corporate design are referred to as a brush-up. Stronger interventions or a complete repositioning are referred to as a redesign.

In addition to these tasks of a corporate design, which concern the brand and the appearance, there are a few other good reasons to precisely define the visual appearance from the beginning.

Practice:

The CD manual functions not only as a rulebook, but it often includes instructions for further design.

A binding corporate design, formulated in an easily manageable manual, ultimately also serves to standardize and simplify the development and production of printed materials, advertising materials, packaging, etc. The short-term investment in a good corporate design thus contributes to cost reduction in the relevant areas in the medium and long term.

Corporate design requirements

The CD manual is not only a rule book for the graphic designer who develops printed matter, advertising material, advertisements, etc. on behalf of a company, but also for all those who represent the company and communicate on its behalf.

• This is, for example, the marketing manager who commissions and oversees the development of an advertising campaign.
• This is the office employee who communicates with suppliers or customers.
• This is the sales representative who has to make sure that the products are presented in the right light at the POS, etc.

For many people in the company and its environment, the corporate design manual is an important support for making design decisions. The CD manual is intended for many, but made by few.

Organizational chart of stakeholders

Ultimately, the impetus for developing a corporate design always comes from the entrepreneur herself. Corporate design is a matter for the boss, as the saying goes. It visualizes the corporate identity. Developing a corporate design requires fundamental decisions, which in many cases can only be made at the highest level.

Of course, in small companies it is the boss herself who makes these decisions. But in large companies, too, CD development is placed at the highest level. Where design decision-making power is not operationally in the hands of the CEO, it is delegated to a staff unit in the company that is located at the boss level.

Again, the CD manual is meant for many, but made by few.

The reason for this is very simple: Many cooks spoil the broth. Graphic tastes are varied, and people tend to think something is good and right that they like. Nothing could be more dangerous for the development of a corporate design than giving free rein to the creative desires of the entire staff. There must always be someone individual who initiates the corporate design process and who is vested with decision-making power.

If, for example, everyone’s opinions are always taken into account when developing a logo, the result will either be the lowest common denominator or the highest common multiple.

The person responsible for the CD on the company side and the external CD consultant brought in, in our case the graphic designer, must ensure that the corporate design process does not drift to one extreme or the other.

Let’s take a look at the prerequisites that must be met before the development of a corporate design can begin.

Need:

When a company is founded, the need for a corporate design is almost inevitable. The situation is different when an existing corporate design is to be modified or further developed.

Interventions should not be made lightly. A brush-up or even a redesign must be well-founded. The seasonal change of a fashion color cannot be a reason to revise a corporate design.

The first task of a CD consultant is to analyze the need for an intervention.

Corporate Identity:

Corporate design, as mentioned, always builds on the CI. First you have to know who you are or who you want to be. Then you take care of the appearance. Not the other way around!

The corporate identity is not only the decisive factor for positioning on the market, but also the driving force and the glue for implementing the corporate design within the company.

CD Responsibility

CD manager:

Before starting a corporate design process, a CD responsible person must be designated within the company. The CD representative must have the appropriate decision-making authority and the necessary time resources. She is the driving force on the company side; she is the one who pulls all the strings. She is also responsible for selecting the CD consultant.

CD consultant:

The CD consultant is commissioned by the CD manager to develop and implement the corporate design together with a graphic designer. It is not uncommon for the graphic designer to act as a CD consultant herself.

Relevant experience is necessary for this responsible job. Of course, you can only become a good CD consultant if you have been able to accompany one or the other corporate design process yourself, in whatever capacity.

The scenario in our workshop is idealized and deliberately chosen to be very simple. It is meant to encourage you to get started despite incomplete knowledge. In short, we position ourselves here as a graphic designer who is given the task of designing a logo for a small start-up company with clearly defined development prospects.
Scenarios like this, by the way, occur quite frequently in the universe of corporate design development.

To give you an idea of the qualities and expertise that may be required to create a large-scale corporate design, here’s a short list.

Expertise

CD consulting – potential expertise needed
Market researcher
Management consultant
Marketing consultant
Advertising consultant
PR consultant
Legal consultant

All those professional competencies that the CD consultant does not bring herself have to be bought in.

Budget:

Finally, of course, the necessary budget must be set aside in the company.

The development of a CD is time-consuming and costly. The person responsible for the CD must prepare an appropriate budget framework in good time and secure it internally.

The budget must not only cover the corporate design development, but must also ensure its implementation. Implementation costs and follow-up costs must therefore be included in the budget, or at least calculated. The implementation causes e.g. printing costs, IT costs, advertising costs, etc.

Incidentally, we assume in the workshop that the budget is not in dispute and that the offer from the CD consultant or graphic designer has already been accepted. If you would like to learn more about the preparation of an offer, you should visit Praxismodul 1. There you will learn about the central aspects of creating an offer in graphic design.

Briefing

Once these points have been clarified, the CD representative starts collecting all the information and materials and compiles a briefing.

The following briefing components are mandatory, i.e. if one of the elements listed here is missing, the CD consultant, i.e. the graphic designer, must request it.

Conceptions, expectations:

The client must clearly formulate and justify her ideas and expectations. I.e. it is not enough to express the desire for a corporate design. The CD consultant also needs background information. The briefing must already provide her with enough information to enable her to assess the requirements and scope, but also to recognize the sensitive points.

Key points and no-go’s:

If there are concrete ideas or any obligatory design aspects, the time has already come in the briefing to put them on the table. Leaving the CD consultant groping in the dark inevitably leads to frustration on all sides and can cost you dearly in the truest sense of the word.

Corporate identity:

Not much more needs to be said about this. First I need to know who I am or who I want to be, only then can I decide what clothes to wear. Corporate identity information is key information for creating a corporate design.

Relevant information:

In addition to CI details, there is a lot of relevant information that can be used for orientation and to help set the right direction. For example, the CD consultant needs information on the market situation, marketing goals, sales targets, competitors, product categories, positioning and USP (unique selling proposition), company history and possible development scenarios, and much more.

All information provided to the CD consultant in the course of a corporate design process must be as complete as possible and as honest as possible. It goes without saying that the client can rely on confidentiality and care in handling the data on the part of the CD consultant.

Relevant material:

Extremely helpful and therefore indispensable is the provision of relevant data material and various application examples, if available. One does not always start from scratch. The current logo set, current printed matter, employee lists for the preparation of business cards, etc. These and similar things are to be submitted to the CD consultant, if possible in editable, but in any case in electronic form.

Time schedule:

Good things take time. A corporate design, even if we seem to give the lie to this statement in the Praxismodul, cannot be created overnight. Precise planning and the implementation of generous time buffers between the individual steps are essential. The prerequisite for this is the early definition of an approximate time frame.

If you would like to learn more about creating a schedule and the graphic design workflow as such, please refer again to Praxismodul 1.

Budget:

Concrete details about the budget are usually not given in the briefing. However, it is essential to outline an approximate budget for the preparation of the offer. The CD consultant must be able to estimate the scope and depth of the project.

The briefing itself is best done in a detailed meeting. The presence of the most important participants offers the advantage of being able to clear up initial ambiguities ad hoc and to outline possible development paths. Design aspects or even ideas are not discussed at this early stage.

Rebriefing and offer

The briefing is followed – as usual – by the rebriefing, with the necessary time gap used by the CD consultant to familiarize herself with the subject matter and conduct initial research. In the rebriefing meeting, any final ambiguities are cleared up. The key points of a possible development plan and the associated time schedule are announced. Perhaps the structure of the workflow is already defined, i.e. which steps are to be taken in which order by which participants.

The information obtained during the rebriefing meeting is used to prepare a binding offer. The offer contains not only the CD development costs in the narrower sense, i.e. everything that concerns research, consulting, creation and handling of the design process, but also the costs for all external services, e.g. market research and PR consulting, as well as the compensation for the rights of use.

It is common practice to include all costs for the detailed implementation, e.g. preparation and printing of the business cards, the company sign, design of the homepage, etc. in a separate, second offer.

Once the development offer and the implementation offer have been approved by the client, a binding schedule has been worked out for all parties involved, and the workflow structure has been defined, the starting signal is given for the corporate design project.

Only now does the creative phase begin, only now do the creative director, the art director and the graphic designer – in our case, all in one person – devote themselves to their actual tasks.

First steps

The research work is extended and deepened. A precise market and industry analysis provides initial indications of the company’s positioning in the competitive environment. The goal is to position the newly emerging company in such a way that its essential unique selling proposition comes to the fore or a difference to existing companies becomes clearly apparent.

We cannot go into the finer points of positioning work here in the workshop. However, this much should be mentioned very briefly: Positioning follows directly from the actual business idea and locates the company in the market environment according to aspects such as product category, price, value, target groups and competitors.

Let’s take a brief look at this using a straightforward example.

Simple Positioning scheme.

A lot of data is researched and evaluated for positioning. At a professional level, market research provides this data. But even with a few simple comparisons like this one, you can find out a lot about the market and the opportunities that can arise there for the company.

If this investigation is followed by a few more by also exploring other pairs of opposites, such as price-performance, traditional-innovative, etc., it is usually possible to create a reasonably valid positioning, which in turn becomes the starting point for the design development.

The desired position for the company of our client in this scheme results from the fact that the young company wants to produce children’s toys with a loving retro touch, which are of high quality, but still affordable.

The following direct consequences can be derived from the positioning for the development of our corporate design, for example:

• The graphic designer will go in search of old packaging and old promotional material for toys that can serve as inspiration.
• In the design, the aim is to achieve a technically and graphically high-quality design.
• However, this must not arouse premium associations under any circumstances.
• That is, the graphic designer will avoid all exaggerations in the design.

I think it has become reasonably clear how to make use of the research results in a simple way, and how a business idea can be interpreted for design purposes.

After completing the positioning work, which of course has to be agreed upon with the client in one or more intermediate steps, we finally turn to the graphic development.

The logo

As mentioned, the logo stands for the brand. This connection seems so natural and sometimes so inextricable that the two terms are used synonymously. However, strictly speaking, we are dealing with two different things here.

Logo vs. brand

• The logo is initially nothing more than the graphic formulation of the company name, whether as a lettering, a signet, or a combination of these two elements.
• The brand is the logo including all those values that are associated with the logo due to the efforts of marketing.

Furthermore, trademark, word mark, figurative mark and their connection to a word figurative mark are patent terms that become effective as soon as a logo is protected.

The design of the logo is the first step on the way to the development of a brand and it is at the beginning of the development of the corporate design.

Logo requirements
Distinctiveness
Recognizability
Positioning fidelity
Consistency
Positively chargeable
Certain degree of timelessness
Technical flexibility

The logo forms the hook of the corporate design, its center. The requirements that a logo must meet range from distinctiveness and recognizability to positioning fidelity and freedom from contradiction.
The logo must be positively chargeable, it must have a certain degree of timelessness and technical flexibility.

The logo has to fulfill all these requirements in a wide variety of contexts and applications. On business cards, in the letterhead, on car doors, as a company sign on the company building, in the context of advertisements, on advertising materials, on packaging or at the POS (point of sale).

We will take a closer look at the technical requirements in particular later. We are now leaving the ground of theory and plunging into the design task ourselves.

Research and analysis

It is clear that in the tight time frame of the workshop, we will hardly succeed in creating a substantial corporate design. But that is not the point. We simply want to tread the path whose terrain we have mapped out in the previous explanations, in order to get a feeling for the possibilities, but also for the difficulties, that are associated with this task.

Competitor logos

In design work, too, the first step is research. A good way to start is to look at the logo solutions of competitors on the market and analyze the industry peculiarities of a graphic and iconographic nature. Which signets, i.e. which image elements, are preferred, which colors are used, are certain typographic styles or any graphic tendencies discernible in the overview.

The selection shows brand examples for toy manufacturers on the German-speaking market (DACH). What conclusions can we draw for design work from this brief overview?

Iconography:

When signets are brought in, people apparently like to reach for characters to create a sympathetic identification possibility, not only for adults, but also for children.

Color scheme:

With the exception of a few counterpoints, strong colors dominate. There is no shying away from decided colorfulness.

Graphic style:

Apart from a few outliers, the focus is on a simple, large-scale, even clunky, graphic design. This, too, presumably takes the child’s psychology of perception into account.
The logo placement boxes, if any, are formed from simple geometric shapes such as circle, oval and rectangle (with rounded corners, of course, so that no child can bump into them:-).

Typography:

Fonts are usually bold, round and funny, sometimes even childish. Where this cliché needs to be broken, we resort to script fonts, i.e. handwritten font styles.

Requirements

Our task is to create a logo for the start-up of a toy manufacturer. We are to develop a logo for the company “Zauberwald”.

Here are the relevant aspects of the briefing that we need to interpret in the context of what we learned from the design research.

Briefing logo design
Expectations: A sympathetic logo solution is sought. Iconography, color scheme, graphic style and typography should be industry related but original.
Key points: The logo should be simple and have a high recognition value. From a technical point of view, it must be universally applicable.
Corporate Identity: The young start-up company Zauberwald is committed to the tradition of toy manufacturers in the region, is down-to-earth and takes the issue of sustainability seriously.
Relevant information: All products are robust and safe, cheerful and didactically valuable. High quality pairs with moderate pricing.

Let’s briefly break down the key terms of the briefing.

Expectations:

• Likeable: A high identification value is required. This can be achieved by using a signet. A pure typographic solution is thus rather to be rejected.
• Industry affinity: The logo should guarantee the allocation to the industry, i.e. one would like to be recognized immediately as a toy manufacturer.
• Genuine: Finding a completely independent solution should emphasize the uniqueness of the company.

Key points:

• High recognition value: the logo should carry the qualities of a real trademark. Again, this indicates that it is appropriate to build a word and figurative mark.
• Universally applicable: From a technical point of view, the logo must be suitable for a wide range of applications. You don’t just want to use it in the classic communication areas, but you also want to use it to identify the products themselves, for example. What are the consequences of this?

Corporate identity:

• The key words for determining the personality are: young, traditional, regional, down-to-earth, and environmentally conscious.

To better understand the personality, it can be helpful to actually visualize a person who embodies these characteristics. What does this person look like, what clothes does he wear, what life style does he maintain? Don’t shy away from the obvious.

Relevant information:

• Robust and safe: the corporate design must not leave any doubts about the core properties of children’s toys. This is what parents are interested in.
• Cheerful and didactically valuable: the desire to play should be encouraged, but there should also be a didactic benefit. This is where the intersection between the wishes of the children and the demands of the parents is formed.
• High quality at a moderate price: Here we have the actual unique selling proposition (USP); this is where you want to differentiate yourself from the competition. This positioning is based on a strict calculation and a sophisticated production concept. And the corporate design must support this positioning with all means. The aim is to achieve unrestricted credibility.

From the insights gained in this way, the design directives essential for creation can be derived. For the creative process, it is important to draw boundaries in addition to positive values. The best way to do this is to formulate the values found and their boundaries as pairs of opposites.

Design directives

• sympathetic, but not ingratiating
• industry-affiliated, but genuine
• highly recognizable, but universally applicable
• young, but not inexperienced
• traditional, but not stale
• down-to-earth, but not backward
• environmentally conscious, but not technophobic
• robust, but not clunky
• safe (serious), but not restrictive
• didactically valuable, but not without fun
• inexpensive, but high quality

These specific design directives will be used in all design steps. We will choose the figurative mark and illus style according to them, we will choose the logo font according to them, and we will match the color scheme to them.

I think it has become clear by now how important and indispensable the preliminary work done so far is for the development of a corporate design. The design always seeks and finds its foundation in extensive research and in-depth analysis. A design idea is worthless without this background, without this preliminary work.

There is one central point we have not yet explored. Let us now turn to the company name: “Zauberwald”.

The Zauberwald („magic forest“) is actually a forest region in Bavaria that probably gets its name from its haunted appearance. There are huge boulders scattered all over the forest, which seem to have arrived there as if by magic. The chosen company name is derived from its location, but it can do much more.

Brainstorming

The word Zauberwald is highly associative and multi-layered. We may succeed in gaining important insights for logo design, especially with regard to iconography, if we try to unearth the treasures of association that this word holds.

• Zauber: Magic, enchant, eerie, witch, fairy, three wishes, magic wand, fairy tale, etc.
• Wald: Forest, tree, leaf, green, dark, eerie, animals, nature, Hansel and Gretel, etc.

Free association and brainstorming are simple and often effective ways of generating ideas. However, there are a few rules to follow if the process is to be successful.

Brainstorming rules

1. Collect ideas: First of all, associations or ideas are collected in large quantities, without stopping at individual ideas or even making evaluations. This leads to a longlist.
2. Analyze ideas: Once a certain pool of ideas has been gathered, the next step is to analyze the individual ideas. One tries to deepen the associations, to visualize freely etc. Here, too, no final assessment is made. The goal is to find the potential of the ideas and to eliminate the duds. This leads to a shortlist.
3. Evaluate ideas: In the evaluation phase, one goes about matching the remaining ideas with the requirements of the briefing and with the research findings in detail. All those ideas that are not compatible to a high degree are eliminated. This leads to the favorites.
4. The favorites – no less than three, no more than five in number – are then actually worked out as logo signets.

At this point, it should be noted that there are many other creative techniques beyond free association and brainstorming that can be used to good effect. To discuss these in more detail would clearly go beyond the scope of the workshop. At least a few of them should be mentioned:

• the way over the opposite
• the exaggeration
• taking things literally
• the joke
• digging for emotion
• googling for suggestions
• not reinventing the wheel
• the brand-historical view
• and much more.

For this, let’s first get the exercise data from ownCloud and place it in a specific folder that we create inside the semester folder.

> Download exercise data from the base.

> Create student folder “last name-Praxismodul-3” inside the semester folder.

> Move the exercise data into the student folder.

All laptop users are free to choose the location for the exercise data on their device, of course.

Signet design

For the sake of brevity and simplicity, we assume in the Praxismodul that we have found the favorite in the form of a leaf. The leaf is able to stand as a sign for a whole forest, it is organic and therefore lively, it can be designed flat and massive and still conveys lightness.

Leaf variations

The leaf variants shown here are not a free or random research result on the iconography of the leaf, but already the concrete choice of a suitable illustration style based on the established design directives. Of course, the illu style has to be researched specifically. Since we unfortunately lack the time to do this, we gratefully accept the direction taken with these templates and are now trying to create the logo’s signet in Adobe Illustrator.

Which of these subjects do we want to use as a template for our logo signet? We ask ourselves questions in advance, such as …

• Which shape can be recognized most quickly as a leaf?
• Which leaf is most likely to be found in a southern German forest?
• Which illustration is technically flexible, i.e. can also work in crude reproduction processes?
• Can it make sense to include more than one leaf in the logo composite?

Since we can’t get bogged down in choosing a suitable subject, and since we all want to march in the same direction in the design development here in the workshop, I’ve already made a decision for us.
To create the illu, we use the file “Blattvarianten-2.jpg” found in the input data as an illustration template.

Let’s first create a new Illustrator file in DIN A4 landscape format.

> Start Adobe Illustrator; New File…

> Format DIN A4 landscape; Create.

Now we place the illustration template in our file.

> File / Place via cmd-shift+P.

> Navigate to “Blattvarianten-2.jpg”; Uncheck link checkbox; Place.

> Center on artboard.

> Rename layer 1 to “Template”.

> Duplicate template layer and label it “GFX”.

> Lock and hide template layer; enable GFX layer.

In many cases, we would now reach for the pen tool and simply trace the selected leaf shapes manually.
However, since the pixel image of the template has the highest contrast – the targeted leaves appear black on white – we can try converting the pixel shapes to vector shapes using the Image Tracer.

> Activate the image with the Selection Tool.

> Object / Image Trace: Make and Expand.

> Switch to the path view via cmd+Y.

Switching to the Outline view shows that the conversion was successful.

We ungroup the elements with the familiar shortcut cmd-shift+G and, starting with the outer rectangular frame, delete all the elements that are not needed.

> Ungroup via cmd-shift+G.

> Delete all unneeded elements.

> Return to the preview view via cmd+Y.

> Save file: “Signet design”.

Font search

Now let’s start searching for a suitable font. It is also important not to lose sight of the design directives when designing the logo typeface. 

Which font best represents the requirements set out in the brief, which font is compatible with the interpretations of our research results, which font fits the CI persona?

Especially the design of a logo typeface requires intensive research and meticulous examination of fonts. In conventional typesetting, we encounter the typeface rather than the font as such. In a logo, on the other hand, the eye is directly confronted with the font and its qualities.
The use of the font in the logo does not forgive any uncertainties in the choice of typeface, oddities in the graphic shape of a letter, kerning errors, positioning errors, etc.

We have already briefly covered the topic of font search in Praxismodul 2 (Graphic Design II). If we are content in Praxismodul 3 to draw from the pool of fonts already preinstalled on the workstations, this should by no means tempt us to make things so easy for ourselves later on in real graphic design life.

In any case, the font research culminates in a font sheet that shows an overview of between ten and twenty possible fonts.

Font selection

The results of the research should fit comfortably on an A4 sheet of paper in a clear font size. Anything beyond that is too much.

Before we decide on a font, please let me briefly explain the font selection I made here.

Please remember the two predominant font styles in competitors’ logos. We had there, on the one hand, robust, bold, childlike styles, and on the other, counterpoint, as it were, handwriting-like styles. That’s the range that my selection here covers.

If we now use our design directives for comparison, the longlist can be reduced to a shortlist.

Fonts shortlist

• We eliminate Stencil, as it hardly comes across as likeable and is also a bit stale.
• We eliminate Marker Felt because it’s more childish than childlike.
• Retro handwriting style or not, we eliminate the Trattatello because it is poorly legible and not universally applicable due to its complex shape.
• Despite its medieval and therefore naturally magical touch, the Luminari is eliminated because its fine strokes and serifs lack the required robustness.
• The beautiful classicist Script Snell Roundhand is too thin, too beautiful, and too grown-up.

So we apply our successive elimination method to the typeface selection as well.

When we have distilled three to five real favorites in this way, we bring them together with the tentatively worked out signets.

In any case, in the workshop we opt for Formata Bold, i.e. a sans serif linear antiqua with a humanist touch. Formata has a high presence, is clear but not cool. It has the mightiness of a display font and the x-height is relatively large, in a word – a wonderful logo font.

In case the font is not installed on your workstation, you can find the formata in the FONTS folder of the Eingangsdaten.

If the PC users among you cannot install the Formata, please use a non-serif substitute font, e.g. Arial or Verdana in a bold font style.

> Activate Type Tool and enter “Formata” in the font input field to search.

> If the font does not appear in the font menu, start Fontbook.

> Right-click All Fonts button and select Add Fonts to All Fonts.

> Locate the FONTS folder in the local Eingangsdaten and activate the entire Formata Bold folder.

Logo design

Now let’s bring the signet designs and our logo font together and play with them a bit. Let’s take the first steps together.

Let’s start with the design of the lettering.

> File / New File… in DIN A4 landscape format.

> Rename layer 1 to “lettering”.

> Text input: “Zauberwald”, Formata Bold 75pt, Black. 

> Option bar: Open Align palette and center the text on the artboard

.

For the import of the illu we create a new layer.

> Create new layer and rename it to “signet”.

> Paste leaf illus via copy/paste into signet layer.

> Select all elements via cmd+A and copy them to the clipboard.

> Lock and hide lettering and signet layers.

In the two import layers, we want to preserve the signets and the typeface in their raw state. Therefore, we now lock them both and hide them. In the future, we can then access this raw data again if needed.

We create a new layer called Layout 1 and paste the elements from the clipboard into it via cmd+V.

> Create a new layer; name it “LY1”.

> Paste elements in place via cmd-shift+V.

And now it’s time to arrange the elements in a coherent way. We experiment with the proportions of the elements and try different positions for the signets in the space around the lettering.

> Single sheet: W 38 mm, Angle 2.5°, docked to the upper length of the small d.

> Double sheet: W 39 mm, Angle 0°, dock at the small r and correct slightly.

Here’s a hint: In the design phase, we should not spend too much time on fine-tuning the parts. The fine-tuning comes at the very end. Now the only thing that matters is to get a quick look at something.

In the workshop, we settle for the first draft. In real graphic life, of course, we experiment with several font and leaf variations and try out various positional options.

Once we have created at least three acceptable designs, we save the file under the title “Logo Design”.

> File / Save: “Logo design.ai”.

At this point we would print out the three designs in real life to be able to judge them on paper. We will refrain from doing that here in the workshop.

Finetuning

After the first evaluation of the drafts, it’s time for the fine-tuning. We take care of the kerning of the lettering and fine-tune it.

I set the kerning of the lettering, i.e. the specific distance between the individual letters, to optical balance. In this way, I achieve a calm and harmonious overall impression.

I increase the character spacing of the lettering to 50/1000 of an em quad, or em for short. This gives the logo a certain lightness for all its strength.

> Open Character Panel, select font.

> Set kerning to optical compensation (optical).

> Set tracking to 50/1000.

> Center the lettering on the artboard again.

Now we correct, where necessary, the paths of the signets and adjust the positions and proportions of all parts so that we get a harmonious overall structure.

> Repositioning and fine-tuning of the two signets in the logo composite.

As soon as we are done with the fine-tuning, we can duplicate the LY1 layer and rename it to final layout, resp. RLY1.

> Duplicate LY1, rename to RLY1.

> Lock and hide LY1.

Since we want to keep the completely freely editable LY1 in the backhand, we lock the layer and hide it. We activate the font of the RLY layer and convert it to paths.

> Activate font; convert to paths via Type / Create Outlines or cmd-shift+O.

We convert the font to paths, because the logo should not contain a font as such in use. This gives you more flexibility in use, you don’t always have to make sure that the font is activated, and you can easily pass the logo on without fear of unwanted changes.

With the conversion to paths, we virtually freeze the typeface.

A close look at the result. If necessary, a few minor path corrections.

> Zoom in; switch to outline view, cmd+Y;

> Possibly correct the leaf base at the small r; cmd+Y return to preview view.

The logotype is finished.

We didn’t do the logo development in black color by accident. Before thinking about color assignment, the logo must first prove itself in its pure form. However, now the time has come when we have to deal with colors.

Logo colors

When choosing logo colors, we will also be guided by the established design directives. To find out if there are any industry-typical color codes, let’s take another look at competitor logos.

Competitor logos

What information can we glean from this overview?
Red, blue and multicolored are predominant. Brands such as Knorr, Sterntaler and tausendkind deliberately want to set themselves apart from the mainstream and therefore resort to alternative colors.

Should our logo colors be industry-typical or industry-atypical? This is the first decision we have to make. Let’s consult the design directives again.

Design directives:

• sympathetic, but not ingratiating
• industry-affiliated, but genuine
• highly recognizable, but universally applicable
• young, but not inexperienced
• traditional, but not stale
• down-to-earth, but not backward
• environmentally conscious, but not technophobic
• robust, but not clunky
• safe (serious), but not restrictive
• didactically valuable, but not without fun
• inexpensive, but high quality

We think about whether we want the logo to be one color, two colors, or three colors. We could define a single hue as the logo color, or we could assign a separate hue to each of the lettering and the signet.

Since we want to get the color selection right, we will not do it using the swatches on the display. What tools does the graphic designer use to define her colors?

For example, with the PANTONE+ Color Bridge fan.

PANTONE+ Color Bridge Coated

For consistency, we will run the logo here in the workshop with the following color definitions in two colors: PANTONE 445 and PANTONE 382.

Color definition – especially for corporate design – cannot be done in two minutes. Color definition requires dedication and trial and error. Many factors are involved, some of which are not easy to grasp.
Once the decision has been made in favor of a particular color, first the color definition is made and then the color is assigned to the corresponding logo components.

> Logo design.ai: Duplicate layer RLY1; rename to “Zawa-Logo_PMS”; Hide RLY1.

> Swatches palette / Palette menu: open Color Libraries.

> Open Color Books.

We notice that the mentioned Color Guide PANTONE Color Bridge Coated is missing in the list of Color Books. The reason for this is that the monopolist PANTONE has provided a subscription model for the use of its color guides in the Adobe programs. Access to all PANTONE Color Guides is now only possible with the help of the paid extension PANTONE Connect.

In addition to PANTONE Color Bridge Coated, the counterpart Color Bridge Uncoated and the two solid color guides PANTONE Formula Guide Coated and Uncoated are of course also missing.

For graphic designers and image editors this is in any case bad news. Because there’s no way around using PANTONE colors for true color printing.

PANTONE Hack:

Fortunately, there are a few easy-to-use hacks that work well to solve this problem. I would like to introduce one of them to you now.

A spot color is a color that really exists as such. In this tautological statement lies the key to the hack. In fact, I can turn any color into a PANTONE color by giving it the name of the PANTONE color I want and defining it as a spot color. So I don’t have to use a PANTONE color mark to define a PANTONE color for printing.

What may sound a bit cryptic at first becomes immediately clear when we apply the hack.

Let’s take a closer look at the PANTONE Color Bridge Coated fan. Below the two color marks are the corresponding color values. Here we find the name of the spot color PANTONE 382 C, the name of the process color PANTONE 382 CP. In addition, the CMYK value, the RGB value and the hex code are given.

The CMYK value defines a color for four-color printing, the RGB value defines a color for reproduction on a display, and the hex code, which is nothing more than an encoded formulation of the RGB value, is used for color definition in web design.

Of the three last-mentioned color spaces, the RGB color space is the one with the largest scope. So the chances of finding an RGB color that looks like the desired PANTONE color are good. And we don’t have to search for long. We simply use the RGB values that are thankfully listed on the PANTONE Color Bridge Coated fan.

To create a PANTONE color in Adobe Illustrator, we first create an RGB color swatch in the Swatches palette and then convert it to the desired spot color with the correct name.

> Press the New Swatch button at the bottom of the Swatches palette.

> Swatch Name: “PANTONE 445 C”, Color Type: Spot Color, Color Mode: RGB.

> Enter RGB values 80-87-89 and OK.

> Activate lettering “Zauberwald”, assign color PANTONE 445 C.

> Press New Swatch button at the bottom of the Swatches palette.

> Swatch Name: “PANTONE 382 C”, Color Type: Spot Color, Color Mode: RGB.

> Enter RGB values 196-214-0 and OK.

> Activate leaves, assign color PANTONE 382 C.

Everything clear?

Incidentally, I expect we won’t have to deal with this little inconvenience of specifying a PANTONE color for too long. Adobe will come to an agreement with PANTONE Inc. and free access to all PANTONE color marks will be restored.

> Leaves may be pushed to the background: Object / Arrange / Send to Back via cmd-alt-shift+5.

Now we clean up the swatches palette. This is a pure hygiene measure.

> Palette menu Select all Unused; Delete via palette trash bin.

We make sure that we have actually defined spot colors. You can see this by the small dot in the Spot Color symbol.

Logo versions

Let’s immediately start working on the color versions of the logo that are needed in addition. Corporate design colors are usually defined as spot colors. The reason for this is the high color fidelity in various reproduction processes. PANTONE 445 is PANTONE 445 – always and everywhere.

The use of spot colors is, of course, not always and everywhere possible.
For example, to reproduce the logo in four-color printing, a four-color version of the logo is needed. In this case, the desired colors are constructed from cyan, magenta, yellow and black components.

Sometimes, however, a color reproduction of the logo is not possible at all. For monochrome applications or for blind embossing, a monochrome, i.e. black or white, version of the logo is used accordingly.

All additional color versions of the logo are created starting from the spot color logo.

For the 4c version – i.e. the four-color logo – the aim is to find CMYK values that correspond as closely as possible to the spot color. There are three ways to achieve this:

• You convert the PANTONE color mark to a CMYK color mark and rely on Illustrator to convert the color values correctly. However, this procedure is not recommended because the Illustrator reference values for the conversion do not result in Euroscale CMYK. This produces strange and sometimes significantly different results.
• Take the PANTONE+ Color Bridge Coated color fan again and read out the corresponding CMYK values in the right-hand column. The CMYK color mark shows the color tone that can actually be achieved in four-color printing. The values listed here are therefore realistic: PMS 445 > 52-23-30-74 and PMS 382 > 28-0-100-0.

DCS Book CMYK

• If the difference between the PANTONE color mark and the CMYK color mark appears to be too great, one goes in search of a better conversion in the DCS Book. The DCS Book (Digital Color Scale) is a CMYK color atlas that is sorted by yellow and shows thousands of printed CMYK color marks in gradations of 10 or 5 percent. I found a CMYK value there (60-20-30-70) that is somewhat closer to our anthracite shade PANTONE 445 than the information found on the PANTONE+ fan.

> Logo design.ai: duplicate Zawa-Logo_PMS layer; rename to “Zawa-Logo_4c”; hide Zawa-Logo_PMS.

> Select “Zauberwald” lettering; assign Black (since CMYK color mark) and duplicate color mark in palette; assign DCS Book CMYK values 60-20-30-70.

Our green tone, unlike the anthracite tone, can be reconstructed quite well with the values that can be read from the PANTONE color guide. So we have no reason to look for a better match in the DCS Book.

> Select the two leafs; assign Black and duplicate the color mark in the palette; assign CMYK values of the PANTONE fan 28-0-100-0.

Now we have to create the monochrome logo variant.

> Logo design.ai: duplicate layer Zawa-Logo_4c; rename to “Zawa-Logo_1c”; hide Zawa-Logo_4c.

> Select all logo parts; assign black.

> Open Pathfinder; select Shape Mode: Unite.

Uniting all parts using Pathfinder removes all overlaps. We are now dealing with only one joined vector object for the single-color logo – which makes perfect sense with regard to various use cases.

This concludes the logo development for us for the time being.

However, we still need to get the client’s approval for our design. Before we can do that another important part of the corporate design needs to be determined: the definition of a corporate typeface.

Corporate Typeface

A consistent appearance includes the uniform and consistent use of one typeface. Alongside the logo, the corporate typeface is one of the essential cornerstones of any corporate design.

The choice of corporate typeface also follows the design guidelines we have established. We will not go into this in detail now, as we have already learned the procedure for finding the font for the logo lettering. However, we have to deal with a few basic aspects, since the requirements for the corporate typeface and its derivatives differ significantly from the requirements for a logotype.

Requirements

Corporate typeface requirements
Compliance with design guidelines
Compliance with typesetting requirements
Compliance with technical requirements
Universality
Timelessness

The corporate typeface of a corporate design determines the typeface of the entire appearance. It is used in all printed matter and advertising materials.
This means that it should not only comply with our design guidelines, but also meet all the technical and typesetting requirements that come with a wide variety of applications.
It requires universality and it must have a certain timelessness.

Typesetting requirements:

An important characteristic of the corporate typeface is its suitability for typesetting, since it is primarily used as a copy typeface.
It must look good in the preferred typesetting (flush left, justified, etc), with the desired line spacing, in the desired tracking  and kerning, and in the permitted font weights (normal, bold, italic, etc).
Some fonts are equally suitable for use as copy font and as headline or markup font. In such cases, it is usually sufficient to specify a single font as the corporate typeface. 

Technical requirements:

The technical requirements for a typeface are determined by the three main application contexts.

• Use by a graphic designer in a professional workflow: the typeface must function in a wide variety of reproduction contexts – in offset printing as well as in digital printing, on a screen as well as on a low-cost office printer, etc.
• The application as a correspondence font in the office field of the company: Since work in the office field is mostly done on PCs, a corporate typeface must be found that also exists on the Windows platform.
  Since font procurement can become a not insignificant cost factor for a company, the tendency is to specify a substitute font from the pool of Windows system fonts for the office field instead of the corporate typeface, which is then used for correspondence.
• Screen application: A substitute font is also often used for screen applications.
  Technically, it is possible to specify any font for use on the homepage, for example. However, if you want to ensure that the typeface is consistent in all expected browser environments, you should use a similarly Google font instead of the corporate typeface.

Universality:

When choosing a font, it is important to consider whether the chosen type is also made for other languages and language areas. For example, is there a Cyrillic variant, a Serbo-Croatian, a Czech, a Romanian, an Arabic or a Chinese variant. The universality of a typeface is thus required by the internationality of the company.

Timelessness:

The use of the corporate typeface is linked to the lifespan of the corporate design. It should therefore have a certain timelessness. The fashionable typeface of the moment is not at all suitable for this. This does not mean that corporate typefaces must necessarily be timeless. The responsible graphic designer will use fonts that are typical of their time, but only those that promise to last.

Corporate typeface short list

Which of the fonts shown here will we choose? Which one should be the Zauberwald corporate typeface?

• Formata: The logo typeface is rarely used as a corporate typeface. In our case, it is too bold, too cool, not suitable for use as a copy font.
• Garamond: Good copy font, timeless, quite usable, but as Renaissance-Antiqua very classic and hardly suitable as headline font.
• Myriad Pro: Since the end of the 90s, a very popular non-serif, yet not fashionable, very flexible and universal, also a good copy typeface due to its humanistic touch.
• Futura: 60s, 70s, very geometric, good headline and display typeface, poor copy typeface.
• Chalkduster: Completely unsuitable, pure display typeface.

We decide on Myriad Pro. Myriad Pro meets all our requirements.

• It has a certain timelessness, although it can be considered typical for the last two decades. 
• It works as a copy font, but also as a markup font. 
• It is technically flexible, existing for both Mac and PC. 
• It is universally developed as OpenType with 46 font weights, i.e. it is available in numerous language variants. 
• Arial, for example, can be used as a substitute font for office use. 
• For use on the screen, Myriad Web, but also, for example, the Google fonts Open Sans and Roboto are quite suitable.

Why don’t we choose a more extravagant font as corporate typeface, a font with higher recognition value, with higher originality? 

Because the two parameters that primarily characterize a good corporate typeface are functionality and timelessness. The corporate typeface secures the corporate design, it forms the visual bracket for all designs that are made on the basis of the corporate design. Its importance should not be underestimated. The corporate typeface must work, otherwise nothing works.

Approval and brand protection

The logo is developed, the corporate typeface determined.
If the client agrees with our design, all parts are finalized and worked out.

Two important measures then remain to be taken …

First, for sensitive cases, you should apply for trademark protection. An old German term for logo is “Schutzmarke”. The logo stands for a company, for a brand, for a product, for a process etc.. In addition, it also guarantees originality, quality, reliability and much more.
The logo can legally fulfill these tasks only if it is protected as a word and figurative mark, i.e. if it is registered as an unmistakable, original trademark at the patent office.

Trademark protection can apply to certain regions of the world, to certain industries, to certain product categories and should be chosen carefully. All necessary information can be found on the websites of regional and national patent offices. In Austria, of course, at www.patentamt.at.

Stylesheet

The last important step to be taken before implementing a corporate design is the creation of a binding design manual, i.e. a rulebook for the application of the corporate design.

In the Praxismodul we will realize the minimal variant of a manual, namely a stylesheet.

It is not always necessary to create a richly equipped CD manual. In many cases, it is sufficient to summarize the essential information and rules on an easily manageable, concisely formulated guideline sheet.
The disadvantages are obvious, there is a lack of breadth and depth, but so are the advantages: the stylesheet is a quick and uncomplicated solution. It is therefore inexpensive and still shows at a glance what is going on.

Content stylesheet – CD core elements
Logo
Colors
Fonts
Application notes
Contact person and disclaimer

Although the stylesheet is less than the size of a CD manual, it covers the same topics. Only the execution takes place in a condensed form, and only the positive values are shown, the Don’ts are not listed.

Let’s first output the main logo versions. We need a color version and the monochrome version.

> Open logo design.ai: show Zawa-Logo_PMS, activate, copy via cmd+C.

> New document via cmd+N: DIN A4 landscape; Color Mode CMYK; Raster Effects: High 300ppi.

> Paste Zawa-Logo_PMS via cmd+V.

> Swatches palette menu: Select All Unused, delete.

> File / Save: “Zawa-Logo_PMS.eps”.

> Repeat process with Zawa-Logo_4c.

> Repeat process with Zawa-Logo_1c.

What we haven’t thought about yet are the web and display versions of the logo. Since we want a more accurate result than Illustrator’s export function allows, we do a little workaround to create the RGB versions of the logo.

> Open Logoentwurf.ai: show Zawa-Logo_PMS, activate, cmd+C.

> New document in Photoshop, format: Web Most Common. 

> Uncheck Artboards; Color Mode: RGB; Color Profile: Don’t Color Manage.

> Paste as Shape via cmd+V; Scale via cmd+T; Duplicate Shape 1.

> Rename shape 1 to “Signet”; rename shape 1 copy to “Lettering”.

> Remove leafs from “Lettering”; remove lettering from “Signet”.

> Color Picker: 80r-87g-89b (#505759); assign lettering color via alt+backspace;

> Color Picker: 196r-214g-0b (#c4d600); Assign signet color via alt+backspace.

> Crop to logo dimensions.

> File / Save: “Zawa-Logo_RGB.psd”.

From this PSD master we create all RGB versions of the Zauberwald logo. For example, also the PNG version, which we want to create here as a representative for all others.

> Hide background layer; export as PNG via cmd-alt-shift+W.

> Check Transparency, uncheck Convert to sRGB.

> Name: “Zawa-Logo.png” and OK.

So all in all we create at least four logo versions, each with its own intended use.

Logo file formats
Adobe Illustrator (.ai) = Master
PMS or HKS, 4c, 1c vector EPS (.eps)
Illustrator 3 vector EPS (.eps)
Adobe Photoshop (psd) = Master
RGB JPEG (.jpg)
RGB PNG (.png)
RGB GIF (.gif)
Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg)

• We could also create a JPEG variant or …
• different size variants of the RGB logo, e.g. a very small version that can serve as a logo in the e-mail signature.
• Special IBM PC versions of the logo are often needed for industrial production.
• SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) data guarantees free scalability on the web.

All required logo versions are then delivered to the customer together with the stylesheet.

Stylesheet design

We create the stylesheet as a DIN A4 sheet in Adobe InDesign.

> Open InDesign; New document via cmd+N, DIN A4 portrait.

> Uncheck Facing Pages; Margins top, left, right: 20 mm, Margin bottom: 12 mm.

> Create rectangular frame in type area width (= 170 mm), h = 32 mm.

> Load Zawa-Logo_4c.eps via cmd+D; adjust content proportionally.

> Align to top edge of type area.

> Set vertical guide line center of page; set logo with right edge “e” center of page.

Because we want to save ourselves the trouble of formulating and typing the stylesheet text, we now access the text file provided in the Base and copy the text it contains to InDesign.

> Open the file “Stylesheet-Text.rtf”.

> Select the entire text and copy it via cmd+C.

> Create a large text frame on the right pasteboard area.

> Paste stylesheet text into the text frame via cmd+V.

We select the text section where the colors are discussed and copy it to the clipboard.

We create a new text frame in the right column and insert the logo color texts in it.

> Select logo color texts and copy them via cmd+C.

> Draw a new text frame from the center of the page to the right edge of the type area; positioning x = 105 / y = 58 mm; paste logo color texts via cmd+V.

Now we take care of the text formatting. First we determine the font, the font size, the line spacing and the alignment to the baseline grid.

> Select the whole text and assign Adobe Garamond Pro 12pt, Line spacing 12pt.

> Expand Paragraph palette: Activate Align to baseline grid button.

If you don’t find Adobe Garamond Pro installed in your font menu, feel free to use any other serif font with good reading quality.

We want to emphasize the individual color titles by using a different font. For the markup, we will use our headline or markup font Myriad Pro and apply it in the Semibold font style.

If you don’t find Myriad Pro Semibold installed in your font menu, you are welcome to use another semibold non-serif with good reading quality.

> Select the first color title “Echtfarbe:”; assign Myriad Pro Semibold.

Since we want to speed up the formatting of text parts in the sequence, we set a new character style with these parameters.

> Open Character Styles palette and define new style; name with „mark up”.

> Select remaining color titles individually and assign the defined style.

We reduce the font size of the application notes to 10pt and add a few blank lines.

> Select the application notes (“Die einfärbige Logovariante …” etc) and reduce to 10pt.

> Add 7 blank lines until “Sekundärfarbe: …”.

Now we place the single color Zauberwald logo in the appropriate place.

> Create a wide rectangular frame, [h = 19 mm] Load Zawa-Logo_1c.eps via cmd+D.

> Fit content proportionally; Fit frame to content.

> Baseline alignment to line “Sekundärvariante …”

Let’s draw a few more lines.

> Set vertical guide line 102,4 mm.

> Draw lines using the Pen tool while holding down the Shift key, 0.5pt; rings at the end.

> File / Save: “Zauberwald-Stylesheet.indd”.

In the next section we will discuss the use of fonts. Here we also have to do some text formatting.

> Create new text frame from the type area edge left to the vertical guide line 102.4 mm; 

> Position text frame (b = 82.4 mm): y = 160 mm; copy/paste font application texts.

> Select entire text and align to baseline grid (Paragraph palette).

> All text Adobe Garamond Pro Regular, 10pt, line spacing 12pt; right-aligned.

> Line break after headlines (“Copyschrift:”), increase headline font size to 12pt.

> Insert a blank line between each font block.

In the right column we add the corresponding pangrams.

> Create a new text frame from the center of the page to the right type area edge.

> Position text frame (b = 85 mm): y = 160 mm; copy/paste pangrams.

> Select entire text and align to baseline grid (Paragraph palette).

> Line break after headlines (“Myriad Pro Regular”).

> Entire text Myriad Pro Regular. Pangrams 12pt. Increase headline font size to 14pt.

> Insert a blank line between each font block.

> Assign the mentioned fonts to the individual blocks (Roboto may remain Myriad Pro Regular).

And last but not least, a few application notes and the disclaimer.

> Draw a new text frame over the entire type area width; copy/paste disclaimer etc.

> Adobe Garamond Pro Regular 10pt; line spacing 12pt; Align to baseline Grid.

> Versions: Italic; Move the baseline close to the bottom edge of the type area.

> Improve line breaks.

> Save file.

The client receives the finished stylesheet in the form of a PDF, which we will not create here in the workshop.

Stylesheet

In the stylesheet, we could add a few more corporate design elements. We could name a preferred type of typesetting, e.g. flush left, we could go into more detail about the types of markup, i.e. we could describe how highlighting in body text is to be designed or how titles and subtitles differ from each other.

We could also develop a special short form of the logo – a so-called icon – and explain its use. The chart shows such an icon, by the way, so that it is clear what I am talking about.

The stylesheet could also do with a few visual touch-ups. However, one should not forget that it is first and foremost an information tool that must be quickly at hand in daily use. Readability and high functionality are priorities here.

What follows now is the implementation of the corporate design. The implementation is done in the company itself. The CD consultant or graphic designer supports the implementation process to the best of her ability, but the driving force must be the company’s CD representative.

Implementation of the Corporate Design

We cannot discuss in detail here the procedure for implementing a corporate design and the difficulties that are almost inevitably associated with it. However, this much can be revealed – the implementation of a corporate design is a huge piece of work.

There are two goals to strive for:

• The corporate design must be installed, i.e., applied, in all relevant areas, with no exceptions.
• The employees themselves must make it their business to preserve and guard the corporate design.

Both goals are not always easy to achieve.

Conclusion

Developing a corporate design is one of the most interesting tasks a graphic designer has to master. Even though the effort is sometimes enormous, developing a corporate design is one of the most fulfilling tasks a graphic designer can be involved with.

End.