
Digital corporate design. For a sustainable brand identity.
A consistent corporate design for print and digital offers solutions that go far beyond the uniform presentation of logos, colors, and fonts. The design must work in all shapes, channels, and applications. Everything is relational. It has to be able to be printed, presented, played, surfed, and applied. At the same time, it should be so simple, standardized, and user-friendly that it works while being instantly recognized in the analog and digital worlds on all development platforms and at third-party providers (e.g., in social media channels). This requires a deep understanding of the brand and corporate design. All this is what we offer in the B2B branding agency under one roof.
Basics for digital corporate design
Does a defined corporate design already exist? Then what can be used, further developed, and reinterpreted for digital applications must be evaluated. Rigid requirements must be relaxed, because digital is flexible, smart, interdisciplinary, and scalable. In the branding agency we understand corporate design as a process, not as a rigid, limiting, or restrictive standard.
If brand and brand identity are to be completely redeveloped, this happens immediately with parameters that relate to each other. Principles such as the golden section or the task of organizing design remain unchanged. It is important that the brand, its brand values, and brand promises are expressed in an orderly design and image. It is also important that this touches people — as employees, customers, partners, stakeholders, or in any other role.
Good digital corporate design is aesthetic and harmonious for us in the branding agency — just like classic corporate design. It feels human and honest and looks unobtrusive. Nevertheless, longevity plays an important role in design development. The same goes for the consistency of the design down to the last detail. After all, brand personality, especially in B2B communication, is not subject to trends.
Digital corporate design is appropriate to the media
Different screen sizes. Different screen resolutions. Operation with a mouse or intuitively with a finger. Photos, photo galleries, or video channels. Representation of your own brand in the various channels…. The design and representability of the brand must enable a variety of representations. Because one thing is clear: The various media do not adapt to a single brand, but rather, the individual brand must optimally design its space in the various channels and formats.
That is why it is important for us as a branding agency to realize the basic layout principles such as the predictability of the design and the control of the viewer in a media-appropriate manner, even in digital space. It is necessary so that people can quickly and easily absorb the essential brand messages — and experience the same brand experiences at the different contact points. Only repetition creates recollection and, as a result, attachment.
Form follows function
Digital design is responsive. The number of different output media alone requires it. The aspect of performance is also important — for example, small image sizes are a must for optimized loading times. And then it must be easily accessible to all target groups. This includes aspects such as perceptibility, operability, comprehensibility, and compatibility, which are regularly discussed and postulated in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Digital design is also international. No matter whether a brand addresses B2C or B2B markets, the World Wide Web is almost limitless. The brand comes into contact with people all over the world. Multilingualism therefore plays an important role. At least English should be offered as a language of communication, so that the brand is understood even during a fleeting encounter and thus opens up the possibility of becoming known to new target groups and in new markets. Because with all the talk about B2B brands and digital brand management, in the end it is all about finding customers, retaining customers, and doing business.
Style guide for digital corporate design
Developing the digital brand presence in its entirety is one thing. The other is to make this knowledge available to all those who are entrusted with the company’s digital communication. There is a style guide for this, the extension of the classic corporate design guide.
The digital style guide of course describes the basic constants; that is, logo applications, colors, fonts, principles of the relational basic design grid, recurring design constants, design and visual language, and tonality and wording. This is of course done with the necessary freedom so that the digital brand can be well interpreted in numerous applications. The digital style guide also reflects the visual brand perception and desired brand experiences across the various customer touchpoints. This is an approach that illustrates in a different form the value of continuous digital brand management.
In the B2B branding agency, we create the basis for digital brand management with our understanding of design in combination with deep knowledge of the technology and the implementation possibilities behind it. We have the UX and UI designers on our team, usability specialists and developers alike, and experts for multimedia animations, moving images, and sound. Digital includes more than web and screen applications. This includes video branding, audio branding, 3D branding, and design ideas for augmented and virtual reality.
For us, design and technology go hand in hand, always with this understanding: Design supports function, form follows function.