Welcome to GRPH 340: Corporate Identity

These pages are provided as an outline for GRPH:340 Corporate Identity. At right you will find links to the material covered each week throughout the course, as well as links to each weeks assignments, distributed via Adobe PDF files. Though this site is updated frequently, all materials and assignments are subject to change at Instructor’s (Todd Roeth’s) discretion.

Things to know, remember, and understand.

This material is a supplement to class and does not replace class attendance and participation. For more information regarding attendance policies, please refer to the Marietta Student Handbook.

Required Materials

Textbook:

Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands, by Alina Wheeler

Epson Ink Cartridges

Each Assignment will need to be submitted to professional standards. Proper printing, trimming, and folding (when appropriate) is required for sucessful outcomes. Class assignments submitted for grade can be outputed to the Epson 1280 Printers available in the Classroom.

Students will be responsible for buying their own ink. Ink needs to be brought to class when needed. Students are responsible for loading and unloading their own ink from the printers. It is recommended that students store and carry their ink cartridges in an index card box.

Other Places to Buy Epson 1280 Ink

Information about Epson 1280 Printers

Handout

Read: Epson Ink Cartridge Handling [.pdf]

Epson Paper

During this class we will investigate the paper market and some options availabe to designers. The Classroom printers need compatibale paper to reneder the best quality projects. Students can purchase these papers locally at Parkersburg Office Supply by calling 1-800-525-1951 24 hours in advance and ordering over the telephone. Orders are shipped to the store in a day.

The following paper sizes are needed for the various Class Assignments:

8.5” x 11” (Letter)

11” x 17” (Tabloid)

13” x 19” (Super B)

Hard Drives

In all digital design classes, students are responsible of storing, organizing, and archiving their own work. Each computer in the class room has designated storage (Student Files on HD), however, keeping your only copies of files on the School Computers is not reccomended. Depending on your academic needs and digital mediums which you work in (Photo, Video, Print, Web) the amount of disk storage will vary. For this class alone, students will need a minimum of 2Gb of storage. 40 Gb is recommended.

Suggested Hardware for Macintosh Users:

LaCieFirewire and USB 2.0 Mobile External Hard drive

See Sylabus for complete details.

What is a Corporate Identity?

A corporate identity is a “persona” that dictates a particular Branding to communicate it’s essense.

The Identity of a corporation is a set of rules, patterns, and characteristics designed to accord with a corporation’s business philosophy, and is usually visibly manifested by way of branding and the use of trademarks.

Corporate identity comes into being when there is a common ownership of an organisational philosophy which is manifest in a distinct corporate culture – the corporate personality. At its most profound, the public feel that they have ownership of the philosophy. (Balmer, 1995).

Corporate Identity is often viewed as being composed of three parts:
• Corporate Design (logos, uniforms, etc.)
• Corporate Communication (commercials, public relations, information, etc.)
• Corporate Behavior (internal values, norms, etc.)

What is a Brand?

A brand is a collection of images and ideas (not all are visual) which represent an economic producer – an organization, government, company or any idea that is represented within a culture. More specifically, a brand refers to the concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Again, not all manifestations of a brand are visual. Specific language or verbage, tone, sound, – any ethos of it’s econimic producer are also part of a brand.

Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. A brand is a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, product or service.

A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality.

A brand is the sum of many parts in many mediums, which all work consisentaly to associate, communicate, and reinforce an attitude and character .

Assignment: 340 Assignment #1

Trademark: Legal Registration & Protection

Officially, a trademark, distinguished by ™ or ®, is a distinctive sign of some kind which is used by an organization to uniquely identify itself, its products and/or services to consumers, and to distinguish the organization and its products or services from those of other organizations.

Conventionally, a trademark comprises a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements. There is also a range of non-conventional trademarks comprising marks (audio, motion, interactive) which do not fall into these standard categories.

Acquiring A trademark and its Benefits

U.S. law considers a trademark to be a form of property. Proprietary rights in relation to a trademark may be established in the U.S. in two ways:

• Actual use in the marketplace. By creating and using trademarkable material, it becomes your property, de facto. This DOES NOT mean that you don’t have to do your reseach! -Your name or logo may be in violation of someone else’s previously trademarked material. Before you commit to an officail trademark, do your research!

• Through registration of the mark with the trademarks office (or “trademarks registry”) of a particular jurisdiction – e.g. US Patent and Trademark Office.

In many jurisdictions, trademark rights can be established through either or both means. As the the global market place becomes bigger, and the internet allows for exposure – if not business – in other countires, it is often recccomended to officilay file for Trademark in all jurisdictions.

Not all countries have the same laws regarding tradmarks. Certain jurisdictions generally do not recognise trademarks rights arising simply through use of the name and/or logo in public (e.g. China). If trademark owners do not hold registrations for their marks in such jurisdictions, the extent to which they will be able to enforce their rights through trademark infringement proceedings will therefore be limited.

Trademark Offices & Resources

United States Patent and Trademark Office:

• Where to Start

• Trademark Electronic Search System

• Design Code Search Manual

• United States Patent and Trademark Office: FAQ’s (Costs. Processes, etc.)

• General Guidelines for Coding Design Marks

The American Trademark Company – Classification System:
• International Trademark Classification Guide

The process aquiring a trademark for a company name, and doing so within the appropriate category can be confusing and time consuming (Read: U.S. Trademark Law ) If a company can afford help, there are legal firms that can do the research and have the expierence and knowledge to do the leg work to get a proper trademark and legal protection.

Thomson CompuMark is a global trademark research firm, and maintains the world’s largest collection of international trademark information.

Website: Thomson CompuMark

In Class

Search for Trademarks: An early step step in planning and designing for a Corporate Identiy is to search the United States Patent and Trademark Office database. You need to determine whether anyone is already claiming trademark rights in a particular mark.You may conduct a search online for free via the TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System ) database. If your mark includes a design element, you will need to search it by using a design code. To locate the proper design code(s), please consult the Design Search Code Manual , then use that design code into TESS.

Class Reading: Part I: Perception. Pages 1-34

Successful logo design creates a persona for a company; a personification of the ideals, character and philisophy of an organization. Like people, they become unto their own, and as the the corporation which they represent grows, so too do their logos.

The Target Corporation

Target Corporation was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1902. The history of the business, like the logo has chagned throughout the years. The logos below represent only the last 45 years of the company’s 105 year history. Logos – like the comapany and the people they represent – evolve and change throughout time, and serve as a visual reflection and representation of the attitude and ideals of the company.

Target’s original bullseye logo from 1962 until 1968

Target logo used from 1968 until 2004

The Target logo, initiated in 2004.

SuperTarget logo, initiated in 2006

Target Logo in Austrialia.

Thoughts on Corporate Logo Design

Listen: Michael Bierut on the UPS Logo

Watch: Paula Scher on her creative process

Read: Denis Radenkovic’s Logo Blog

There is no prescribed process to design a logo. There is, however evidence of how people see them. When designing a logo it is important to have both a strong concept as well as execution of the concept.

Ingredients for a Strong Logo

Regarding execution of a concept, it is important that the logo be rendered in a way that the Shape, Color, & Content all have memorable attributes. When isolated, these three elements should stand on their own, and serve as strong assests that are revisited and incorporated into the broader Identity system.

[e.g. the McDonald’s ‘M’ logo, red and yellow colors, and logotype create a strong logo together, and when sparated, are used in other mediums to distingush the brand independent of each other. (monotone burger wrappers- logo only, bathroom soap dispensers logotype only, t.v. ads and restaruaunt interiors: colors only)]

The Perception of a Logo

A sucessful logo needs to be a representation of a larger experience. A logo doesn’t need to define a company’s products and does not need to illustrate all of it’s products or services.

Logos are simple representations of bigger virtues and characteristics that, when used within a meaningful and successful Corporate Identiy system, communcate a specific perception – and establish an expectation – of an experience.

Class Reading: Pages 34 – 69

Assignments: 340 Assignment #2

Making Custom Color Palettes

Establishing custom color pallates to use for your projects is crucial. Being able to use those colors in different applications (sharing colors between Photoshop & Illustrator) is also important. In order to reinforce a companies Identity, consistent and repeated use of a color palette will reinforce the companies brand, and build valuable visual equity for the company.

Using Photoshop to create color palettes

You can use Photoshop’s Save For Web feature to extract usable colors and create color pallates from photographs.

• 1) With an image open in Photoshop, File > Save For Web

• 2) Photoshop will open the Save or Web Palette (ImageReady). Choose Gif from the format drop down box. Experiment with Perceptual, Selective, and Adaptive color methods.

• 3) Choose the amount of colors you want indexed from this image by specifying number in the Colors Drop Down

• 4) From the Fly Away menu in the top right, Select Save Color Table… and save this .act file into your folder along with your other files. This is a portable color table you can load into Photoshop on any computer to use.

• 5)Load this color table into Photoshop, Window> Swatches and select the Fly Away Menu and Load Swatches. Select your custom color Pallate. These colors can now be used in Photoshop.

Exporting a color palates from PhotoShop to share between programs

To share custom color swatches between Illustrator CS2, Photoshop CS2, and Adobe InDesign CS2, choose Save Swatches For Exchange from the Swatches palette menu to save your set of swatches in the Adode Swatch Exchange file format, ’.ase’.

Then, import this file by choosing Load Swatches from the Swatches palette menu in Illustrator (or InDesign). Swatch files in the Adobe Swatch Exchange file format can be read by CS3 versions of Adobe Golive, Illustrator, InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop.

For More Info, Read: Illustrator Tips: Color Swatches

Class Reading: Pages 110 – 113

A major part of print design is choosing the right paper. Letterhead, Business Cards, Envelopes and any other printed collateral is all hand held, and the paper wight, finsh, and brightness all imact the message being portrayed by the graphic design, and ulitmailty, communicates the brand of the company.

Paper Basics

For a glossary of paper terms, visit: Neenah Paper’s Resource Center

Weight

Basic weight: The weight of paper is determined by the weight of a ream of paper in the basic size for that grade (e.g. 500 sheets of ‘80 lb.’ book paper in its basis size, 25” x 38”, would weigh 80 bs.) Because the starting base size is not the same between paper types, the basis weights do not correspond directly (80 Text is much lighter than 80 Cover).

Read: Fox Paper, Basic Weights

Paper Types

Writing Paper

Writing papers are generally used for letterhead and communication systems, and are usually regarded as the lightest, most delicate sheets available. They are usually offered in a wide range of white, but not in different colors.

Writing paper weight is determined by weighing 500 – 17” x 22” sheets of writing grade paper. A 24 lb. writing therefore weighs 24 lbs. when 500 sheets are cut into 17” x 22” sheets and weighed. All weights of writing paper are based on the “basis size” of 17” x 22”.Writing papers come in several weights. Most popular are 20 lb., 24 lb. and 28 lb.

Text Paper

Text Paper are weights used for announcements, booklets, annual reports, and other jobs where different surface textures, colors, and finishes are required

Text paper weight is determined by weighing 500 – 25” x 38” sheets of text grade paper. A 70 lb. text therefore weighs 70 lbs. when 500 sheets are cut into 25” x 38” sheets and weighed. All weights of text paper are based on the “basis size” of 25” x 38”.

Cover Paper

Cover papers are heavier than text sheets and are generally used for the covers of brochures, annual reports and folders where extra bulk and protection are needed. Other cover uses include calendars, menus, invitations and announcements. Except for their basis weight, text and cover papers are manufactured identically.

Cover paper weight is determined by weighing 500 – 20” x 26” sheets of cover grade paper. An 80 lb. cover therefore weighs 80 lbs. when 500 sheets are cut into 20” x 26” sheets and weighed. All weights of cover paper are based on the “basis size” of 20” x 26”.

Read: Fox Paper, Paper Types

Brightness

Brightness is a measurement of a paper’s light-reflective qualities that affect contrast and even color of the paper and art printed on it. The brighter and whiter the paper, the brighter and lighter the images.

The brightness of a piece of paper is typically expressed on a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being the brightest. The multipurpose bond paper used in copy machines and desktop printers generally has a paper brightness in the 80s.

Very bright paper (paper with a brightness in the 90’s) will appear blue, because brighter light is bluer light. (*Photographers: think daylight color balance)

Finish

The finish of a paper refers to the special characteristics of a paper’s surface, which differ from grade to grade. High, low, and textured finishes, for example, exhibit varying degrees of smoothness, ink receptivity, and printabilit.

Coated Paper
Coated Papers are papers with substances applied to the surface to achieve higher opacity, brightness and special sheet properties for printing . They different grades of coated papers are generally referred to as gloss, dull, matte, or silk finish.

Uncoated Paper
Uncoated paers are papers on which the printing surface consists of the paper stock itself. This category of paper is more natural in feel, and often has a “toothy” feel refering to texture of the paper. Uncoated papers have the widest variety of colors and finshes, from cotton based papers, to recycled and organic material used to create different colors and finishes.

These papers tend to absorb more ink than coated papers, and can sometimes display artwork duller than coated paper.

Places to Find Paper

There are many paper mills and manufactures that offer hunders of finishes, colors and brightness of papers. Because choosing a paper for your design projects is so crucial and can only be made with samples in hand to see and feel, nearly all paper companies offer swatchbooks and samples that can be sent to designers to try.

Most Swatch Books from the companies below are avalaible in the Deisgn Lab. When samples, be sure to know the name of the paper, color, and finish you want. Some paper companies require you to pay for shipping.

Paper Companies that offer Samples

Neenah Paper
http://www.neenahpaper.com/ResourceCenter/index.asp?ft=Home

Fox River (now owned by Neenah)
http://www.foxriverpaper.com/

French Paper
http://www.mrfrench.com

Mowhawk Paper
http://www.mohawkpaper.com

In many cases, business cards and stationary are a person’s first impression of a company, organization, and even an individual. Before even the first word is read on these documents, the feel, tone, and appearance will be an immediate impact on the reader.

Business Card Design

Standard Size: 2” by 3.5” (Vertical or Horizontal Orientation)

Stationary & Letterhead Design

Standard Size: 8.5” by 11” (Vertical Orientation. A4 paper size for European audiences. For more in European paper standards, read: International Standard Paper Sizes )

InDesign vs. Illustrator

An educated designer will unerstand their tools and have a clear perspective on the roles each have and know when, and why each are used.

Adobe InDesign

InDesign is a Desktop Publishing Application best suited for multi-page publication design. Indesign’s feature set accomodates Master Page Layouts, Bleeds, Columns, and Style Sheets for Typographic consistency and control.

For more, read: Adobe’s Product Overview of InDesign

Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator is a Vector Based Drawing Application best used for single page illustrations and layouts. Illustrator’s feature set is geared for artist’s working on a single ‘Artboard’ and offers complex drawing and shape tools, typogrpahic manipulation, and tracing tools.

For more, read: Adobe’s Product Overview of Illustrator

To add mulit-page layout ability in Illustrator, see: Hot Door MulitPage Plugin

Class Reading: Pages 128 – 131 & 114-115

Suggested Reading: Business Cards 2, More Ways of Saying Hello.

Suggested Reading: Letterhead & Logo Design, #9

Double Sided Printing Tips

There are two printers to use the School Design Lab, both can print 2 sided. The Epson inkjet printers can print a variety of sizes and a wide variety of paper types. The HP ColorJet 3700 is a LaserJet Printer, and can print Letter size sheets (8.5” x 11”). The HP ColorJet is a networked printer and can accessed from any machine in the Design Lab. The Epson Printers can only be used from the computer they are attached to.

General Guidelines

Printing 2 sided is error prone.

• Be sure to try a practice print before you run your specialty paper into the Printers. (Print via Tray 1 when using the HP to use your own paper)

• Lay your practice print on the light table to view both sides of the sheet. Adjust your layout accordingly, before printing on your specialty paper.

• Allow for a forgiving design and Bleeds. Designs that do not have type close to the edges of your card will reduce errors and the need for pica-perfect layouts when printing. Design with a wide enough bleed to compensate for any shifting in print position.

• When Cutting, do not cut all the way past your trim marks. This will not allow you to use the corresponding mark on the other edge of the card.

Double Sided Printing with the HP ColorJet 3700

The HP Printer in the Lab prints 2 sided with one pass through the printer.

1: File > Print

2: Choose: Printer > HP ColorJet 3700

• Verify Number of Copies (1), and Page Range (1-2)

3: Select ‘Setup’ from the Menu at Left

• Verify Page Size (Letter)

• Verify Page Orientation (Landscape for Sample Template)

• Verify Scale (%100)

4: Choose: ‘Printer…’

• From the New Dialog Box, select “Layout’

• Verify Pages Per Sheet (1)

• Border: None

• Two Sided: Choose Short Sided Binding to keep front and back page orientation the same.,

(Long sided binding will print the second page upside down)

• Select Print from Pop Up Dialog Box to Apply 2 sided Printing.

• Select Print from Print Box to Print Pages 2 sided the the HP ColorJet 3700

Double Sided Printing with the Epson Printers

To print on both sides of a sheet with Epson Printers, You will need to set up file to be printed twice. When laying out your file to print, use a similar layout as supplied in the Sample File above.

Be sure to maximize the number of cards you can print on each sheet, whether it be Letter or Tabloid size. Be sure to include crop marks for each card to assist you in trimming.

Envelopes

Envelopes serve two distinct purposes:

1: Envelopes must protect and package your documents while in transit, while abiding by United States Postal Requiements, International guidelines, or any thridy party shipper.

2: The envleope is truley the first impression of your Identity to most people. First impressions have a lasting effect and important opportunities to introduce your company and it visual style.

Envelopes serve both a very practical and also a very important creative role in your business’s Identity System. Practicality and creativity are not exclusive concepts. They are the same concept.

Envelope Sizes and Styles

There are as many Envelopes are there are docuements – and objects – to send. Each size has been standardized for the most efficient, cheapest, and reliable mailing.

Research: A Complete Guide of Standard Envelope Styles & Sizes : Designers Toolbox

For class you will be designing two Envelope Options: Business Envelopes and a larger format of your choosing.

Business Envelopes (#10)

Standard business enelopes are 4 1/8” x 9 1/2” inches. They are designed to fit standard Letterhead (8 1/2” x 11”) when folded into thirds.

Examples of Standard Business Envelopes:

Mailing Labels

In additon to designing standard #10 Envelopes, you will also need to design and print mailng labels for larger envelopes and packages. These lablels will typically serve as a return address label and way to brand your package. (Example )

You may use any type mailable envelope you create or buy from a third party supplier, So long as it is appropritae in design and purpose for the types of needs your company has.

Postal Regulations & Standards

In order for the United States Postal Service to use it’s automated machinery to process and sort the mass quantities of mail if handles daily, there are guidlines specifying how and where artwork can be placed, as not to interfere with automation.

Post Office Guidelines & Basic Standards
• Postal Addressing & Return Addressing Standards

• Elements on the Face of a Mailpiece

• Envelope Layout Guide (Wausau Papers)

USPS Provided Help

Mailpiece design analysts (MDAs) are postal employees specially trained to answer your questions about mailpiece design. These employees provide advice and issue rulings regarding acceptability for automated rates. MDAs provide technical assistance on mailpiece design to envelope manufacturers, printers, advertising agencies, and graphic designers.

For more, read: USPS Resources

Want to learn more, or make your own?

There are many other options for creatve (though not all practical) ways to make, fold and design your own envelopes and corresponding stationary. For (much) more informartion and illustrated examples visit: Envelope and Letter Folding

In addition to core promotional material, the bulk of any organizations day to day operations are made possible by a vairiety of business forms. These documents vary widely depending on the business and it’s needs, but all serve to organize and improve the companies workflow and continue to extend the identity system, image, and attitutude of the company.

Fax Sheet

A fax cover sheet is used to identify the sender and recipient of any documents that are faxed. The layout should be simple and the function straight forward. The standared, preprinted information included in the fax sheet are:
• Company Name
• Logo and tagline (when appropriate)
• Company address
• Telephone and fax number
• Website

Additionally, the fax sheet needs to have an empty form to be filled out by the user at the time of the fax transmission. The required content is:

Sender Information
• an area to indicate who is sending the fax
• contact information for the sender
• the date
• a space indicating the number of pages being transferred to insure that the recipient is aware of what they should have received

Receiver Information
• an area to indicate who the recipient is
• recipient contact information (position, phone #, email are optional)
• an area for any comments or insturctions

Invoices & Sales Reciepts

Every company sells either goods or services. Every company also buys goods or services. When money is exchanged, there needs to be documentation of the transfer of money, usaully both from the buyer and the seller.

Invoices (the request for payment) and Sales Receipts (proof of payment, or partial payment from cusotmer or supplier) should clearly itemize and display all goods and/or services and the total amount of money being charged.

In additon to including an appropriate varation of corporate identity, an efficeint and clear layout for following must be displayed:

Company Information for Invoices
• an area to indicate who has prepared the invoice
• contact information who prepared the invoice
• contact information for sending payment
• the date the invocie was created
• a space indicating the number of pages being transferred to insure that the recipient is aware of what they should have received

Itemization List for Invocies
• a table to clearly list the items and short description
• cost of each item (for goods or standard services)
• quantity of each item (if selling goods)
• if service is charged hourly, list hours worked and hourly rate
• line item areas for additional costs- Tax, Shipping, Incidentals
• clearly state total costs on bottom line
• instructions and deadline for payment

Sales Receipt Information/b>
Similar in format to an Invoice, a sales receipt is given by the seller after payment is received. It should also display an itemized list of goods and services and their costs as listed above, and clearly show the amount paid against the amount charged in the invoice and display any outstanding debt owed by the customer.