Sounds grand doesn’t it? Corporate ID, surely that’s for big companies?

Yes, but it’s for small companies too, and any size in between. All it means is ‘Corporate’ or company, ‘ID’ or identity. Put simply it’s how your business is portrayed through printed and online material. It’s about setting standards and adhering to them. If your logo is red, always print it in red, always use original artwork when it is reproduced, always supply original artwork to sign writers, printers and magazines etc. Specify the typefaces to use and their sizes, always see proofs before anything is printed and ensure it matches your standards.

The easiest way to gain consistency is to appoint a member of staff who is responsible for your print and web requirements. Make sure that person gets some training in the basics. This person then becomes the point of contact for all media and they should set about finding professional designers and printers who they can get to know and work with.

If all that sounds too big and corporate for your company then think about finding a designer who can deal with all this for you. It needn’t be complicated it’s just about consistency.