Differences between concepts
Within the world of marketing and advertising there are terms that often lead to confusion and so we have to distinguish these differences. One of them is that of branding and corporate identity, sometimes used as synonyms and actually aren’t.
When talking about branding we referred to the complete definition of a firm. I mean, who she is, what she represents and who she’s headed to. That’s the emotional relationship that’s established between the firm and its target public.
If, for example, we think about a firm known as Apple, we have a leading Iphone, Mac, Ipod, design and so on and we know that it’s a company that sells technology. Nevertheless, with this definition we are only about what we do.
To know who Apple is means to know what she does, how she does, under what concepts, with what purposes, with what path, what her goals and values are. To define a firm means to get to know them beyond what they do and this is what branding does, generating a firma-consumer connection, thanks to the values of the firm. One of the elements that make up the branding of a firm is the corporate identity that reflects all that visual element with what the company shows to the public, but it’s just one more element of everything that makes up the branding.
The Corporate Identity is built with a combination of the tangible elements used to identify it visually (logo, graphic line, corporate colors, typography…). These rules will be applied in all variants (product design, packaging, advertising, institutional stationery, promotional elements, digital graphic pieces…), as always as established by the Style Manual, that should be followed at the foot of the letter.
Carlos Hernando
Dissenyador Gràfic