Corporate image : a study in establishing visual identity and the analysis of an existing trademark

CORPORATE IMAGfc :

STUDY IN ESiABUSHING VISUAL IDENTITY

AND THE ANALYSIS OF AH

EXISTING

t r a d e m a r k

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GRAPHIC DESIGN

AND INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS

OF BlLKt-NT UNIVERSITY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF FINE ARTS

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CORPORATE IMAGE;

A STUDY IN ESTABLISHING VISUAL ID EN TnY

AND THE ANALYSIS OF AN

EXISTING TRADEMARK

A THESIS

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

AND INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS OF BiUKENT UNIVEESITY

IN PARTIAL FULFEEXMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF FENE ARTS

B y

AUPER AYDINALP Fetiruary, 1993

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I certify that I have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quahly, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Fine Arts.

Assoc. Prof. Erdag Aksel (Principal Advisor)

I certify that I have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fuUy adequatej in scope and in quahty, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Pine Arts.

is. Prof. Witold JanowsM

1 certify that I have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quahty, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Fine Arts.

Doç. Dr. İhsan Derman

I certify that 1 have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quahty, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Pine Arts.

Doç. DrTTNmin Erdoğan

I certify that I have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fuhy adequate, in scope and in quahty, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Pine Arts.

Assoc. Prof. Emre Becer

Approved by the Institute of Pine Arts.

ABSTE^ACT

CORPORATE IMAGE:

A STUDY IN ESTABUSHING VISUAL IDENTITY

AND THE ANALYSIS OF AN EXISTING TRADEMARK

Alper Aychnalp M. F. A. in Graphic Design

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Erdag Aksel February, 1993

Organizations are most o f the time, distinguished by their identities and consumers decide on a product or a service according to an organizations identity and structure. A n organization m ay reflect its identity in m any ways but a trademark is the most economic and clearest w ay o f declaring w hat the organization stands for. It is a visual statement and may give a concise message about the organization. So trademarks have to be custom designed in order to give the correct m essage an d desired im age. H ere graphic design becomes essential. For visual definition o f an organization, a designer’s task is to organize the visual elements by utilizing some design issues. These design issues are utilized to reach unity in the visual forms. In terms o f corporate image, a unique trademark will contribute to con vey a u n iqu e corporate im age. U nity is essential fo r all "visual organizations". W hen we consider a tradem ark as a visual statement within "corporate design", its articulation becomes essential. The w rong usage o f a trademark m ay cause various damages on corporate image. By utilizing the design issues the tradem ark can be an alyzed both as a separate entity and also in terms o f corporate design. The analysis o f a trademark in corporate design will prove to be succesful in conveying the desired image and may contribute to maintain the conveyed image.

ÖZET

KURUMSAL GÖRÜNÜM:

GÖRSEL KİMLİĞİ OLUŞTURMAYA VE MEVCUT BÎR

AMBLEMİN ANALİZİNE YÖNELİK BÎR ÇALIŞMA

Alper Aydm alp Grafik Tasarım Bölümü

Yüksek Lisans

Tez Yöneticisi; Doç. Er dağ Aksel Şubat, 1993

Kurumlar çoğu zaman kimlikleri ile birbirlerinden ayrılırlar ve müşteriler bir ürün veya hizmet üzerindeki seçimlerini kurumlann kimliklerine ve bünyelerine göre yaparlar. Bir kurum kendi kimliğini birçok yollarla yansıtabilir; fakat amblem firma standartlarını belirtmenin en ekonornik ve net yoludur. Amblem görsel ifade biçimidir ve çoğu kurum hakkında açık ve kısa mesaj verir. Dolayısıyla amblemler doğru ve istenilen mesajı vermek üzere firmalar için özel tasarlanmahdrrlar. Burada amblemin grafik tasarımı önem kazanır. Bir kurumun görsel olarak tanımlanması için tasanmcınm görevi bazı tasarım kriterlerini kullanarak amblemin görsel elemanlarmı organize etmek ohnahdır. Bu tasarım kriterleri görsel formlarda bütünlük sağlamak için kullanılırlar. Kurum imajı olarak, tutarh bir amblem ve bilinçh kuUanım, iyi bir kurumsal imaj oluşturmaya katkıda bulunur. Görsel ifade biçimlerinin bir bütün olarak algılanabümeleri için görsel elemanların, bazı tasarım kiterleri gözönünde tutularak tasarlanması esastır. Kurum kiınliği tasarımı çerçevesinde amblemi görsel ifade biçimi olarak kabul ettiğimizde, amblemin kuUanınu bütünlük teşkil etmelidir. Amblemin yanlış kullanımı, kurum imajı üzerinde çeşith tehhkeler doğurabilir. Tasarım kriterlerini kullanarak amblem, hem ayn bir birim olarak tasarım açısmdan, hemde kurum kmiliği tasannu açısmdan bir bütün olarak algılanması incelenebilir. Kurum tasannu kapsanunda amblemin analizi arzulanan imajın ifade edümesinin başansmı inceler ve ifade edilen imajm muhafaza edilmesine katkıda bulunur.

Anahtar Kelimeler: kurumsal imaj, kurum kimhği, amblem, tasanm kriterleri.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank the following people for their valuable contributions.

To m y p iin ciple advisor Assoc. Prof. Erdag AKSEL, for gu idin g me th rou gh all the steps o f this research, w ith his constant help and constructive criticism.

To Instructor Güven INCIRLIOGLU, for his great contribution to make this research possible w ith his precious critique, time, support and patience.

I am also grateful to Instructor H üseyin B . ALPTEKİN buğ. Instructor M iehaelD. MOEBIS for their contributions.

M ost o f aU, to D r.N urhan AYD IN ALP, M rs.N uran A YD IN ALP,

M r.M üşfik YAM AN TÜ RK, M rs.Y on ca YAM AN TÜ RK, M iss.P ird YAMANTURK, for their special encouragement, enormous patience, and support.

To my friends; Especially for her “g r e a t ” support an d patience to

M issA ygün KULAKSIZ, and finally to m y best friends M iss.E Iif ÜNSAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2. ESTABLISHING A POSITIVE CORPORATE IMAGE 2.1. The Concise Methodology for Corporate Image

5

11

3. KINDS OF CORPORATE IDENTITIES 14

4. DIFFERENT APPROACHES OF REFLECTING

A N ORGANIZATION 27

5. THE ANALYSIS OF TRADEMARK AS A N ESSENTIAL GRAPHIC DEVICE FOR CORPORATIONS

5.1. Analysis o f Trademark as a Separate Entity 5.2. Analysis o f Trademark as a Visual Statement

30 39 44

6. CONCLUSION 52

APPENDIX

A: Historical ioformation of Guri§ Constniction

And Engineering Co.,Inc.

55

B: Organizational chart of Guri§ Construction

And Engineering Co.,Inc. 57

C: List of jobs completed by Guri§ Construction And Engineering Co.,Inc.

REFERENCES

58

59

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

Figure 2.1. The historical development o f AEG’s tradem ark... 6

Figure 3.1. Different trademarks o f airways... 16

Figure 3.2. The historical development o f KUVFs trademark...16

Figure 3.3. Mitsubishi’s trademark... ... 17

Figure 3.4. Individual trademarks o f GM^s products... ...19

Figure 3.5. SABANCI Corporation and its ‘Endorsed” divisions...19

Figure 3.6. Modifications on “Coca Cola” trademark... 24

Figure 4.1. The use o f “O ljm pic Games” and “Kodak” trademark... 27

Figtrre 4.2. Sticker of Michael Jacson concert... 28

Figure 5.1. A typographic trademark... 32

Figure 5.2. Abstract trademarks... 32

Figure 5.3. Trademark o f “Ziraat Bankası”... 34

Figure 5.4. The division o f GÜEİŞ trademark... 40

Figure 5.5. The elements of the symbol... 40

Figure 5.6. The felt Axes o f the symbol... 41

Figure 5.7. The division o f trademark along the vertical axis... 42

Figure 5.8. The enlargement o f the negative space o f the s3rmbol... 44

Figure 5.9. The alignment o f the typographic elements... 46

1 INTRODUCTION

Today's competition and information age has produced great change in th e g lob a l econom ic, p olitica l, social and m ark et en v iron m en ts. Organizations explore new markets and new com m unication objectives related to the influences o f new trends. In this effort they tend to m odify th eir strategies, m arketing policies and as a result, th eir corporate im ages. Companies that are competing in the m arket are evaluated b y th eir sales and profit. W ith the m aturing age o f com p etition and in form ation people have grown accustom ed to rely on in form ation to m ake im portant decisions in their hves. The reliability and the quality o f goods are the m ain data and pm chases are based on inform ation. A consum er m ay also decide on a product or a service according to his or h er experiences or the reputation o f the m anufacturer in term s o f com p an y im age. So the success or failu re o f an orga n iza tion is determ in ed b y the conveyed positive or negative com pany im age. Corporate im age is im portant for organizations in order to sell their products and to keep and improve their m arket share. So the problems such as the kind o f im age that matches the organization, and how an organization can estabhsh and m aintain a desired com pany im age are extrem ely im portant. There are m any different ways to establish a desired im age. B ut the im portant issue is to convey a unique and consistent com pany image. Like individuals, all organizations have identities, and additional m ulti-faceted structures. Com pany identities and structures m ay change according to the operational field, product, m anagem en t and m arketing policy. So, com plex corporate id en tity

program s are developed for different structtired companies. D uring the p o st w ar yea rs, corp orate id en tity program s w ere in te n d e d to differen tiate the organizations am ong the com petitors to reach a com m ercial success. B ut it was realized that the projection o f the com p a n y ’s id e n tity and a w ell esta b lish ed stru ctu re is also a prom otional tool to have a good reputation am ong the consum ers, by u tilizin g concise visual statem ents in term s o f graphic design. The utihzation o f visual statements is seen when companies try to m atch th eir products and services to their identities. So graph ic design becom es essential for comparues that are trying to convey a positive corporate im age. For companies, a tradem ark is the m ost econom ical and the clearest w ay o f declaring what the company standards are, and w hat they offer to consumers. A tradem ark is the m ost visible device o f an organization and is also a visual statem ent w hich gives a concise m essage. A tradem ark m ay also tie together the company's divisions, d iffe re n t p rod u cts an d services. The con sciou s r e p e titio n o f a tradem ark w ill convey a unique and consistent com pany im age. There are m any techniques to create a tradem ark as a visual statem ent. B ut the first im portant issue is to create a visually organized and unique tradem ark. A tradem ark w hich is not visu ally w ell organ ized m ay con vey different im ages in stead o f desired im age. There are some design principles that can be utihzed when analyzing a tradem ark to prove its visual success, such as projecting a unique com pany im age. Some companies pay little attention to their im ages. E ven a positive com pany im age m ay he obsolete b y the fast developing social, culture and m arket environments. This research intends to search through the basic criteria o f conveying a corporate im age and to analyze an existing tradem ark in term s o f graphic design prin ciples. The effects o f a positive im age requires a long period, and in case o f a negative im age.

the correction o f it w ill also need a substantial tim e and budget. So a company has to pay attention to certain criteria when trying to convey a positive im age. The topics o f this research were com piled according to some criteria o f establishing a positive corporate image.

F or this aim the second section o f this research w ill define the term s "corporate identity", "corporate im age" and the term "tradem ark" by locating them in, im age conveying process. There will be also a concise m ethodology for the im age creation process.

In the th ird section, different kinds o f com pany id en tities nam ely M on olith ic, E n d orsed and B randed w ill be discu ssed. C orporate id entities m ay vary according to a com pany's' structure, m arketing policy and philosophy. Although there can be no definite border betw een identities, the m ajor ones will be discussed separately.

The fourth section will provide inform ation about different approaches o f reflecting the identity. These approaches m ay change according to desired com pany im age, in term s o f com pany im age some exam ples will be stated.

F ifth section is the analysis phase o f an existing tradem ark. In this section, three m ajor kinds o f trademarks and design issues o f analysis phase w ill be examined. By utilizing some design issues the tradem ark w ill be analyzed as a separate entity. Furthermore, the tradem ark will also be analyzed b y utilizing some o f the sim ilar design issues as an elem en t w ith in the concept o f "corporate design". The criteria m entioned in this research intends to contribute and convey a desired p ositiv e organ ization al im age. The analysis phase o f an existin g

tra d em a rk b y K u w ayam a’s corporate design criteria as w ell as u tilizin g some design issues will help to understand the corporate im age and clarify how the company im age is perceived b y the public and the viewers .

2 ESTABLISHING A POSITIVE CORPORATE IMAGE

"The term design has been used to designate items that w ould previously have been classified as "art and craft". These items now form part o f the large area covered by the term, "Design". This refers to industrially produced objects for w h ich the m a k e r h as on ly crea ted in stru ctio n s co n ce rn in g th e appearance, the actual production being turned over to others in a factory. Thus factory production could be said to have fathered what we now call the designer" (Hefting, 1989).

The term “design” came to be used as m any commercial organizations and companies begin to restructure their organizations during the post­ w ar economic boom. Advertising agencies were called to convey an image o f a new company structure. The designers participated w ith corporate boards to produce a well-defined identity for the companies. The term "designing a corporate identity" was originally used to express visual aspects o f the restructuring o f commercial organizations. It stayed in the field o f graphic design as a professional term . One o f the earliest examples o f an established corporate identity is AEG. At the beginning o f the century the first steps o f the company’s image was developed. (Fig.

2

.

1

.)

Peter Behrens, 1907 Peter Behrens, 1908 Peter Behrens, 1908

A E G A E G

Recent tradem ark examples of AEG .

Fig. 2.1. The historical development o f AEG’s trademark

"In 1907 they asked Peter Behrens to develop a w ell-designed corporate identity for them that w ould be recognized in their buildings, products and advertising. W hat is extraordinary is that this was not im m ediately taken up by other firm s; presum ably its significance was not yet appreciated. Although the logo o f AEG has been adjusted over the years, this S3mibol is still vahd" (Hefting, 1989).

A lth ou gh the term "corporate" refers to com m ercial organ izations, designers later used the same term when designing an im age for non­ com m ercia l organ ization s, such as u n iversities, g ov ern m en t-ru n organizations, foundations and non-profit organizations. One o f the earliest exam ples o f designing a government-rrm organization is the "Dutch Post Office (PTT)". The PTT incorporated design and art in 1920, w ith the efforts o f Jean Francois V an R oyen who was the general secretary o f the board o f directors.

'V a n Royen believed that a better environment could change people for better. During his career he commissioned designers and architects to design, stamps and new Post Office buildings for the "PTT". Aesthetics are im portant to the "PTT" - in one case, the company commissioned a sculptiare to adorn the back o f one o f its buildings it backed on to a train station. It is a good advertisement - the sculpture is now seen hy thousands o f people a day. This is ju st a s3miptom o f the remarkable freedom o f movement that the "PTT" seems to allow its art and design branch" (Williams, 1990).

Organizations, like individuals, have identities and images. These im ages m ost o f the time reflect the organizations’ identity. The term "corporate im age" was also articulated and sometimes used interchangeably w ith the term "corporate identity". It is the way in which an organization or a com pany is perceived b y the pubhc, consumers, competitors, supphers an d the governm ent. C orporate im age is developed th rou g h the relation sh ip betw een the public and the organization. As V eron ica Ñapóles (who is the owner and chief graphic designer o f Communications P lan n in g consultancy that specialized on corporate id en tity design) m entioned that:

"How is the company currently being perceived ? How does the company think it is being perceived ? These impressions can be obtained trough the company's products, buildings, advertising and business dealings (even down to a minute details such as the w ay in w h ich a phone is an sw ered). A ll o f these im pressions are collected in the m ind o f employees, bankers, consum ers, the press, governm ent officers, presen t an d potential stockholders, and organized into a picture o f what the firm is like" (Ñapóles, 1988).

O f course identity and organizational identity is a complex matter.

compile^ o f m any factors such as the philosophy o f the organization, the futurp directions o f organization's growth, the organization's policy, the historical heritage, and the intentions and objectives o f the organization. The concept o f image can be as complex as the identity. It m ay include, the identity in terms o f purpose and intentions as mentioned above, and it m ay also include the image o f headquarters bihldings, their interiors, th e products and services it offers to the pu blic. The con cep t o f organizational image m ay stretch from the letterheads and signage o f the organization; to the em ployees uniform s, and attitudes. Im age and identity do not necessarily match. As mentioned above after the W orld W ar II, large commercial organizations made a specific effort to m atch th eir im ages to their identities. Graphic products played an im portant role in conveying inform ation about an organizations image. Lever was one o f these com panies who realized that graphic design has an im portant role in conveying a positive company im age. Lever started to produce soaps in 1885 with the clever slogans, such as "Self W asher", and w ell designed packaging. H ere the packaging and the advertisin g cam paign was intended to appeal to the working-class. So the com pany sold soap in one pound tablets, ready- wrapped in im itation parchm ent (with the brand name printed on it), in order to distinguish it from the other soaps and to draw attention to the brand. A s F orty states. Lever succeeded in its effort o f advertising b y using clever slogans, displaying advertisem ents on railway stations and roadside hoarding, and taking space in newspapers:

"Lever's business quickly becam e a phenom enal success: annual production increased from 3,000 tons in 1886 to 18,000 tons in 1890, the year after the move to his new factory at Port Sunlight, and to around 52,000 tons in 1900" (Forty, 1986).

Positive commercial results were observed as these new corporate im ages w ere conveyed by using custom designed graphics to id en tify the products. Y et it was also observed that the use o f these graphic devices m ean t m ore than ju s t attractive letterheads or packaging; it w as observed that a new graphic image sometimes changed the attitude o f employees or even the interior o f offices.

"The m ost famous electric typewriter, the IBM Executive, with its fixed pattern, had the least resem blance to the m achine, while its two-tone finish and rounded form, the result o f E liot N oyes's consultancy to IBM, make it more closer to table-top art. F or firms to continue to attract data processing staff, in spite o f the unpopularity o f the work, they had offer the incentive o f an atmosphere o f non-industrial respectability in the com puter office. A ttractive entrances, carpeted floors, tasteful colors and finely designed eqmpment all contributed to make the work seem "clean". As in all offices the introduction o f soft lightning, color, va ried finishes and designs th at suggested fun rather than brutal in dustrial efficiency all helped to persuade people o f importance placed upon personal relations" (Forty, 1986).

As a restdt, m any other non-commercial and comm ercial organizations also attem pted to create new organizational im ages. This som etim es resulted in a re-structuring o f the organization. So along w ith the term, "corporate im age design", organizations and designers had developed com p lex "id en tity program s" w ith structured strategies. Id en tity programs are custom made and usually consist o f both "corporate design" and the "m anagem ent planning" o f a company. The term "corporate design" covers the design process o f all visual and graphical elements such as the dresses o f employees, color codes, sign systems, packaging and trademark. For purposes o f clarification the m eaning o f trademark.

as there are confusing number o f terms in general use w hich are often used synQnymous such as "Logo", "Amblem", "Symbol", we have to take some definitions into consideration.

Apcording to "Longman Active Study Dictionary o f English" (1987) the word "trade" was defined as: 1 The business o f buying and selling goods.j. 2 a particular business or industry... And also at the same dictionary the w ord "mark" was defined as: ... 2 an object or a sign serving as a guide, giving information, or showing quahty.

G arland (1989) defines the tradem ark in his "G raphic D esign and Printing Terms" dictionary as; trademark: word, words or graphic device intended to denote the relationship between goods or services to w hich it is applied and proprietor o f mark...

W ildbur (1966) in his book "Trademarks A H andbook o f International Designs" states that he was used one name in his book "trademark" to include any m ark sponsored by an individual, a com m ercial or public company, a governm ent body or a non trading organization. H e also states that the word "trademark" will include those designs consisting purely o f letter forms and which are more properly called m onograms or logotypes....

F inally Sidney A. Diamond in his book nam ely "Tradem ark Problem s and H ow to Avoid Them" defines the trademark, under the title o f "What Is a Trademark?" as:

"A tradem ark is a word or design used on an article o f m erchandise to id en tify it as the produ ct o f a particu lar m anufacturer. Legally speaking, a "brand name" is ju st one

variety o f trademark... A trademark m ay be a coined word with no m eaning at all (Kodak, Dacron, Exxon), an ordinary w ord that has no meaning in connection with the product on w hich t is used (Camel, Arrow, Dial).... It m ay be the nam e o f the owner or the founder o f the company (Ford, Singer, Gillette), the name o f some famous person selected arbitrarily (Lincoln, Cadillac, Yale).... It m ay be ju st initials (E.CA, IBM, BVD).... It m ay be a pictorial mark, w ith or without explanatory words ...." (Diamond, 1981).

In this research for the purpose o f clarification the m eaning; the term "tradem ark" w ill include any graphic m ark that intends to project an organization, company, product or service.

2.1. The Concise M ethodology for Corporate Im age

The term "corporate design" is related to a methodology. And according to Ñapóles, in planning a program, four basic steps can be taken in order to achieve an effective design solution. The foirr phases o f m ethodology in identity programs are

-PHASE 1: ANALYSIS

-PHASE 2: DESIGN EXPLORATION -PHASE 3: DESIGN REFINEMENT -PHASE 4: IMPLEMENTATION

The an alysis phase o f an id en tity program is aim ed at g ettin g inform ation w ith a series o f investigations about the company's problems, goals and future opportunities. In this phase the company structure, its intentions and objectives is defined.

"A shareholder, for instance, is likely to have a very different

luiderstanding o f the company than an employee would. This an alysis produ ces in sigh ts in to problem s an d p ossib le solutions" (Ñapóles, 1988).

The analysis can be conducted by interviews. B ut when the budget and the tim e constraints do not permit, the questionnaire m ethod is more useful. The second part o f the m ethodology is the design exploration phase. This phase is the investigation o f useful references in the design p r o c e ss . T h e ch arts o f com p a n y d iv is io n s, its s u b d iv is io n s , produ cts/services, and some existing advertisem ent m aterials m ay contribute to understanding the company.

"The copies o f current print ads, promotional m aterial or any recen t ad vertisin g m aterial w ill also help th e d esig n er u n d ersta n d the com pany's fu tu re plans for p rom otin g" (Ñapóles, 1988).

A t the design refinem ent phase, the design process begins. D uring this process, the board o f directors (or, an authorized person) an d the designers m ay come together for several times. D uring these m eetings, the board o f directors will be informed about the new identity and their critiques will contribute to fix the design criteria.

"Letterhead, envelopes and business cards are usually the first elements completed in the process o f creating a new identity. A system atic use o f the identity can be easily conveyed to the chent with these items" (Ñapóles, 1988).

Finally, the im plem entation phase is the application o f the graphical elements and estabhshing the standard usage o f them. These standards w ill be com piled according to certain aesthetic and visual criteria. A ll

possible usage o f visual elements, such as trademark corporate typeface and color codes m ust be defined in the com pany's design m anual. A com pany has to follow the directions about the usage o f graphical elem ents in th e m anual. A com p an y m ay have m an y d ifferen t advertisement campaigns. Some campaigns m ay intend to sell a product, w hile others intend to prom ote the com pany itself. So a com pany or a designer m ay refer to design m anual at each facility to convey a positive and constant company image. Design manuals consist o f all the graphic and visual elements that are applicable in m any fields with instructions to avoid wrong, inconsistent usage.

"These instructions provide for the application, and control o f th e p rin cip le elem en ts o f th e corp ora te id en tity. T he instructions contained on the follow in g pages describe the correct use and consistent application o f the elements o f the Em lak Bankası Corporate identity. The guidelines should be referred to whenever the organization is identified in visual terms. It is essential that the elements o f corporate identity system are used in a controlled m anner w hich reflects the desired group image" (Corporate Identity m anual o f Em lak Bankası).

3. KINDS OF CORPORATE IDENTITIES

There are m any different structures o f companies. A com pany m ay possess lots o f divisions and subsidiaries, or it m ay produce a single product or brand w ith no divisions. I f an im aginary com pany has five divisions and it uses one name, a set o f colors, one symbol and type style in all o f them, it m ay convey a simple, centralized company im age. But w h en the same com pany gives each division a separate color, it m ay project a more decentralized identity. I f it uses different names, symbols and logotypes for each division, it m ay give an even m ore disparate im pression . A ccordin g to Olins there are three kinds o f id en tity structures, bu t in reality there are m any perm utations w ithin each category. A lthou gh the divisions o f identity structures seem clear, sometimes it is difficult to define where one identity structure starts, and w here the other one ends. Gradually these m ajor identity structures cordd be identified in three headings: Monolithic, Endorsed, Branded.

The m ost im portant characteristic o f a "Monohthic Identity" structure is its long life. It m ay seem hke an advantage, but these kinds o f identities tend to be regularly modified during the developm ent o f the com pany w ith the relationship o f the marketing policies. Although it is difficxilt to define the borders o f identity structures, companies that use one nam e and visual style, tend to adopt monoHthic identity structmres. Broadly speaking M onolithic identity structures are associated w ith businesses such as banking, airhnes and oil companies. The organizations such as banks, insruance and financial services have a classic pattern w ith the

im age that they want to project. These kinds o f organizations try to have one simple name and visual image wherever they operate.

"In principle and in practice, centralized development o f core propositions and core executions should be the standard way o f working, wherever that is feasible" (BP British Petroleum Oil Advertising and Sales Promotion manual).

Globally operating companies have employees from different nations with different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds in all o f its divisions. These companies usually want to project the fact that they can offer the same quality o f product and service in all geographic locations that they operate. B ut the attitudes and ethics o f employees m ay change according to th eir religion and culture. So the em ployee com m itm ent tends to em erge through appearance and attitude. In such cases, the com pany m ay stress the criteria that was mentioned at the design im plem entation phase. Employees that are part o f this global company need to w ork in the same manner, with directions and standards w hich the com pany wants to maintain; established in the corporate identity manual. In the corporate identity m anual o f the BP Oil U K L im ited, the case was stressed as:

"BP's custom er service will be the m ost polite, efficient and reliable in the industry" (BP Oil A dvertisin g and Sales Promotion Manual).

All m ajor airlines, such as Trans W orld Airways TWA, British Airlines and K oninkhjke Luchtvaart M aatschappij KLM (Fig.3.1.) are using approximately the same kind o f aircraft, fly to same major places.

B

r itish

A

irways

K L M

Royal Dutch Airlines

TWA

Fig. 3.1. Different trademarks o f airways

charge the same price and offer more or less identical services. As Olins writes, they can only he distinguished from each other by m inutiae that is expanded in the public mind b y rumor and first-hand-experience, and o f course by advertising. The chairman o f KLM's corporate design group, Jan F.A. de Soet defines the difference o f the organization as:

"In every price category, passengers expect from all airlines safety, punctuality and reliability. That has to be realized, come what may, but in the end, it is the attention to detail, the profession alism , care and friendliness o f the people who provide the service to our customers that can, and must, make the difference" (Soet, 1982).

Fig. 3.2. The historical development o f KLM’s trademark

A s the borders o f identities are not clear, the m on olith ic id en tity structured companies m ay also operate in different fields. In such cases, companies intend to carry their reputation from one field to another. For instance Yamaha, one o f Japans largest corporations, built both m usical instruments and motorcycles. Yamaha has transferred its reputation and its positive im age in one field, to another, and believed that using one name on all products will contribute to the companies overall reputation.

A nother exam ple is M itsubishi; they m anufacture cars and aircraft. A lthough the com pany seems concentrated on m anufacturing, it also

operates as a service company.

"It owns a bank called Mitsubishi. It also operates in consumer goods field; you w ill find M itsubishi tinned salmon, crab and tuna in your main street store" (Ohns, 1989).

In all id en tity structures the m ost im portant concept is to convey a constant corporate image. (Fig.3.3)

"M itsubishi, the nam e and the visu al identity, the sign, represents a series o f qualities to Japanese custom ers, and in creasin gly to customers around the world, w hich rem ain constant, regardless o f the field o f activity in w h ich the company operates" (Ohns, 1989).

Conceptually, the monohthic identity was an advantage for M itsubishi and it is the clearest and most economical w ay o f declaring w hat the com pany standards are, what they offer to consum ers, suppliers and staff, and in return what they expect from them. It also underlines the point that one simple message can be clearer than four or five different message.

Fig.3.3. Mitsubishi's trademark

As com panies/organizations that project one simple name and im age prefers the m onolithic identity structures; yet there are also different structured com panies w hich tend to reflect, different m essages and im ages for its different divisions, subsidiaries, products and services. The corporate identities and the programs o f such companies are generally classified as "Endorsed Identity". The endorsed identity structures are u su ally chosen b y organizations w hich have a group o f activities, or companies that largely grew by acquisition and then endorsed w ith the group name and identity. Companies grown b y acquisition, usually start out as local and m ay becom e national, and eventually global. These companies are usually the producers o f the same products w ith different brands. They often have a competitive range o f products and services in the same m arket which are endorsed with the group name. Contrary to this case, it m ay brin g a confusion to the customers. The m ost early exam ple is General M otors. It is one o f the first enterprises th at successfully applied the endorsed identity structure, between the years o f 1920 and 1970. Sloan defines G.M.'s product pohcy as such:

"The product policy we proposed is the one for w hich General M otors has now long been known. The core o f product policy lies in its concept o f mass-producing a full line o f cars graded upward in quahty and price" (Sloan, 1986).

D uring several years. General M otors m anufactured different cars for people with different income. The cars shared a common style, each one had its own individuality and elaborate individual graphic sym bols. Although General Motors has its individual logo, it used different ones to differentiate its brands. (Pig.3.4.)

Fig. 3.4. Individual trademarks o f G.M.’ s products

This kind o f m arket policy may be seen when companies try to raise their m arket share. A nother exam ple o f usage o f E n d orsed id e n tity is "SABANCI" corporation in Turkey. The organization operates in different industries, such as automobile, textiles, tires and drinking water. The divisions o f SABANCI corporation are nam ed as TOYOTASA, BOSSA, PILSA, PLASSA (Fig.3.5.).

HACI ÖMER’

[

s

:

at

=

z

3

s

· !

HOLDINGA.Ş.

Fig.3.5. SABANCI Corporation and its “Endorsed” divisions

The m ain id ea th at lies behind endorsing these division s, is the application o f the suffix “SA”. These letters were used phonetically to consciously link the divisions to the family name. Here the first letters o f

division's name stand for the product definition, such as the letters "P-L- A-S" are the first three letter o f "Plastic". The letters o f "S" and "A" which w ere placed after the product definition is the first letters o f the fam ily name "SABANCI". So when the name o f a division spells, "PLASSA" it w ill sound both product and family name. The letters have also a visual organization. "S and A" were placed in a circle w hich m ay refer to a copyright concept.

M ostly the endorsed identity structures are preferred by organizations th at are operating comm ercially. Yet there are also non-com m ercial companies that possess the endorsed identity. Such as m ilitary services, academies and universities. They have lots o f divisions and departments. As an example, m ilitary services has lots o f divisions. A lthough each division has its own hierarchical structure, they try to dem onstrate exactly who and what each part is in relation to other parts and to the organization as a whole. Generally the group o f activities are separated from each other with buttons, hats and insignia. Additionally the colors that they have are m ajor distinguishing marks o f their divisions: the navy owns white, the air force owns blue and the army has green. These colors m ay change according to the region and culture. O n the other hand, as Olins defined, universities also m ay possess an endorsed identity structures.

"The two ancient universities o f Oxford and Cambridge use an endorsed identity structure. There has grown up over himdreds o f years a collection o f separate colleges, each o f w h ich com petes again st the others in sp ortin g and sch ola rly attainments. Each o f the colleges has its own heraldry, coats o f arms and college colors" (OLINS, 1989).

As in example o f General Motors; companies reflect their identities w ith m any brands that have their own individual logo/logotype in the market. The idea that is behind branding is to take a product and offer it to consumers as i f it is an individual brand, w ith its own special graphic design in packaging, logo/logotype and advertising. These companies are generally defined as Branded identity structured companies. "LEVER" is one o f the companies that operates w ith a branded identity structure. The company is the producer o f various kinds o f detergents, soaps and cleaning powders. These brands are nam ely "Lux, Sunlight, Lifebuoy" soaps, and "Sun, Persil, S u r f cleaning powders. Although these brands belong to the "LEVER" company, they m ay compete in the m arket w ith their individual characteristics. In branded identity the brands m ay seem unrelated either to each other or to the company. Here the graphic design becom es essential, because it contributes by conve5dng an individual bran d id en tity and also serves to differentiate the bran d am ong its competitors. Alfhough these kinds o f identities m ay seem to prom ote the brand itself, different brands will also promote the com pany w ith their sim ilar and common out-look o f packaging. There are also different kinds o f benefits o f branded identities. People with different levels o f incom e usually purchase the products according to their visual-style and product appeal. The produ ct appeal starts w ith m atch ing the style o f the individual to the product and turns to a long time relationship. So w hen an individual adopts a brand, he may continue to use up the same brand for several years. As all the programs are custom made and related to the structure o f the organization, they have to com ply to the fu tu re m anagem ent plans, target profits, social attitude and the ethics. These criteria play an im portant role when an organization tries to establish a positive image.

In considerin g these criteria m entioned above, we recogn ize th a t corporate identity programs have a large scope. W hen plann ing the corporate identity program , one o f the m ost im portant factors is to consider the organization's growth pattern. E ven small organizations th a t operate reg ion a lly m ay enlarge to n a tion a l, an d th a n to international fields. As organizations grow b y acquisition, they have to pay a special attention to their acquisition poHcy.

"A company's grow th through acquisition generally tells its m any pubhcs that the firm is growing. But hostile takeovers, green m ail and sim ilar activities can ad versely affect a company's image. The ability to assim ilate new acquisitions into existing corporate structures is also im portant" (Marken,

1990).

D in in g acquisitional growth the organization m ay come face to face w ith im age deformation. The existing image m ay not m atch the organization's identity or m ay not reflect the organizations desired image. D uring its grow th an organization has to maintain an existing "image" in order to keep its positive "corporate im age". So for organizations w h ich are grow ing b y acquisition, the long planning o f corporate identity program becom es essential. As M arken defines, building a positive "corporate im age" requires skillful long-term planning.

"Management cannot lim it its focus to the next few weeks or m onths. Plans to ensure a positive im age should create an im pression that will last for years" (Marken, 1990).

Although it seems impossible to imagine the fiitmre trends, it is possible to design the "corporate image" by considering the growth pattern o f the

company. But in any case an organization in its acquisitional growth m ay n eed some m odifications in its "corporate im age". There are lots o f reasons to proceed with image modifications, such as the changes in a m anagem en t team , establishing new techniques o f produ ction , the in trodu ction o f a new product or even changing the location o f the headquarters. On the other hand, as new inform ation and changing business trends are introduced, an im age o f an organization changes con sta n tly an d m ay fail to reflect the organ ization . S om etim es g ov ern m en t-ru n organ ization s th a t are sold b eca m e a p riv a te organization; the new owner o f a com pany m ay w ant to m odify the existing image.

"U nder the M argaret Thatcher governm ent, the B ritish are converting state-owned enterprises into private firms. One o f these firm s, B ritish Airways, was slated for divestiture and w anted to revam p its nondescript im age before bein g sold. British Airways did indeed revamp its look in accordance with a new com pany strategy b efittin g a for-profit enterprise" (Ñapóles, 1988).

In such cases the m odification o f corporate image becom es essential. As Ñapóles also mentions:

"The nam e and symbol obsolescence o f the company, related with the confusing messages about itself or its product/service m ay end up with re-design o f the image" (Ñapóles, 1988).

The sales reports and failures in growth patterns are the m ajor signals o f im age deformation. W ith their corporate growth some organizations pay little atten tion to th eir corporate im age until it becom es severely damaged.

B u t some other organizations consciously m aintain th eir "corporate im age" and in case o f im age obsolescence they im m ediately go w ith additional modifications to re-establish their desired im age.(Fig.3.6.)

"One o f the oldest examples o f 'c\arly' handwritten lettering is the Coca-Cola logo from 1887. It has been slightly m odified over the years, for example by adding the flourish tmder the w ords, litera lly and figu ratively em phasizing the nam e" (Hefting, 1989).

Ca

Fig.3.6. Modifications on “Coca Cola” trademark

W e have mentioned lots o f criteria above, about why an organization tend to have a positive im age. O f coirrse a positive "corporate im age" is

something very m uch related with the organization's over all reputation. B ut there are also m any different benefits o f a positive im age. A s the creation o f a "corporate image" needs a well organized campaign and long time; the rescdts o f a new corporate im age m ay not be apparent in the short term, and m ay not directly reflect the profit or public affairs o f the organization. B ut it will be seen clearly at the grow th patterns o f an organization in the long term. A positive corporate im age m ay even influence, or change the attitudes o f employees. M arken explains w h y it is im portant to have employees with better attitudes:

"Happy, productive employees are a powerful market influence. The attitudes o f a firms employees often influence the w ay it is perceived by clients, trade partners and competitors" (Marken, 1990).

The corporate identity program and as a result a positive corporate image m ay also effect the organizational thinking and m ay have a catalytic eflect on the board o f directors.

"The program usually provides a platform o f dealing w ith essential questions, such as how the company will achieve its goals. The program wakes people up, stimM ates ideas, and satisfies the need for executives to participate in corporate direction and planning" (Ñapóles, 1988).

A nother aspect o f the im age benefit can be seen through enlisting em ployees, because people generally look upon organizations that are favorable to the public.

"Com panies w ith good corporate im age can enlist talen ted people, actually providing for them the same feehng they might have belonging to an exclusive club" (Ñapóles, 1988).

According to Neilson a strong corporate image provides:

"-A complete awareness among managers o f the firm's long- range goals

-More clearly defined corporate objectives and direction

-Improved insights into competitive positions and m arket conditions

-Improved internal and external communication

-A positive accoxmting to customers o f the firm's position in the industry and the marketplace

-Improved understanding o f the organization within the financial community

-Better understanding o f the company, its objectives and its direction b y employees, suppliers, directors, and the media" (Nielson, 1990).

4. DIFFERENT APPROACHES OF REFLECTING A N ORGANIZATION

A s the organizational structures, identities, program s and im ages are custom made; the w ay o f projecting them m ay also change according to an organization's policy and the m essage that it tends to give to its consum ers and public. Although advertising m ay seem directly related w ith projecting an organization, a planned identity program m ay convey the desired im age with different make-ups. It is possible to project the id en tity in each contact w ith the consum ers and the public. So an organization has a large scope o f facihties to define its desired im age and m ay use each o f them to convey a positive im age. These facilities m ay also change according to the desired im age. G lob a lly op era tin g organizations adopt to support big events, such as "Olym pic Games". Although the games are related with sport, the organizations w hich are operating in this field, (or even the ones which are not operating in sports field), are in competition with each other to support the games. Because o f global advertising power o f the "Olympic Games", companies such as "Coca-Cola”, “Kodak" and other globally operating organizations always try to participate in "Olympic Games" as sponsors.

Kodak

Official Film

of the

Olympic Games

Fig.4.1. The use o f “Olympic Games” and "Kodak” trademark.

As the organization is trying to convey a positive company im age, it m ay also support other events such as concerts. "Pepsi" is trying to convey younger and active image, when supporting the singer "Michael Jackson" (Fig.4.2.).

Fig.4.2. Sticker o f Michael Jacson concert in 1992, supported b y “PEPSI”

A nother approach is to reflect the identity with the architecture o f the organizations headquarters building or with interior design o f its offices, pu blic service spaces, and lobbies. German m anufacturer "Bayerische M otoren W erke" (BM!W) was intended to reflect its identity through its headquarters building in order to convey its superiority. The head office bm lding o f the organization was designed like pistons o f a car engine.

"BMW's head offices with a m useum below, are showpieces o f Bavarian industry and demonstrate its own progress" (Olins,

1989).

An organization m ay reflect its identity by using its technical facility as a prom otional tool. In 1985 "Coca-Cola" designed a "space-can" and offered to the use o f astronauts. This was a powerful prom otion for "Coca-Cola" during the years o f the space shuttle’ s up-date im age. This technical

fa cility m ade "Coca-Cola" the first soft drink th at w as able to be consumed in space.

"In July o f 1985, Commander Gordon Fullerton tests the space can aboard the Challenger shuttle" CLieverse and Nijs, 1990).

A nother example o f using the technology as a prom otional tool, can be ob se rv e d th rou g h th e cam paigns o f "SA A B ". T he o rg a n iz a tio n m anufacttues both cars and aircraft. It also is involved in the production o f h ea vy vehicles and electronic equipm ent. The pu blic know s th at vehicle m anufacturing business wiU need an increasing proportion o f new m aterials and electronic components. A nd these m aterials are largely transferred from the aerospace and electronic businesses. So in all its advertisem ents "SAAB" used the aircraft and vehicle image together, in order to em phasize its technical superiority. A lthough the corporate identities, programs, and structures are not limited with graphic design, an organ ization needs a visu al trigger in order to esta b lish the comm unication with the consumers and to have a clear sense o f purpose. A sym bol m ay send a concise m essage about the organ ization and contributes to distingm shing the organization am ong the competitors. A symbol m ay also stand as a summary o f the organization's identity. So as m uch as the design o f corporate identity and strategy, a "tradem ark" w h ich also contributes to convey a positive im age, has to be custom designed. The tradem ark is the essential m ajor graphic device for the "corporate design" process.

5. THE ANALYSIS OF TRADEM ARK AS A N ESSEN TIAL GRAPHIC DEVICE FOR CORPORATIONS

In onr era, companies have little chance to tell a lot about their histories, objectives, strategies and identities. So companies, need a tradem ark w hich will give a concise message about the company philosophy and the identity. In the m arketplace there are lots o f brands, products and services w hich are competing with small differences. All companies that are operating in the same field offer m ore or less the same products or services. So the differentiation o f brands, products and services is a m ajor problem for companies. One logical solution for differentiation is to code the product or service to the company. It is possible to code the product w ith other graphical solutions such as color codes and typography. But these kinds o f solutions may not always match the concept o f the product. Sam e kind o f products defined generally w ith sim fiar color codes and typographic solutions. So here a trademark o f the company, serves as a m ajor distinguisher, for both the produ ct and the com pany itself. Trademarks are custom made and related to the desired company image. To understand how a "trademark" contributes to the corporate im age, we have to take some definitions into consideration.

"The logo sym bol created for a com pany or organization is intended to ease visual perception. Perception o f the sym bol presented in an advertising context or accompanying a printed or illustrated m essage will im m ediately bring associations to the perceptor’s mind" (Ibou, 1990).

"Identity is expressed in the names, symbols, logos, colors and rites o f passage w hich the organization uses to distinguish itself, its brands and its constituent companies. A t one level these serve the same purpose as religious S3mibolism, chivalric heraldry or national flags and symbols: they encapsulate and make vivid a collective sense o f belonging and pm pose" (Olins, 1989).

"Logotype: the com pany name, designed in a unique and individual form" (Ñapóles, 1988).

"The logotype (or word-mark) may be a proper name, a product name or an imaginary name which is drawn and designed in a special w ay and used to identify a commercial firm , activity, product, etc... Logotypes often have the typical characteristics o f a trademark" (Ibou, 1990).

"The m ark projects a positive im age o f the corporation to the pubhc, and this image is used extensively as a m arketing an management tool" (Nakanishi, 1987).

A com pany m ay reflect itself with a tradem ark w hich can be created in different ways. There are different kinds o f trademarks. A tradem ark can b e typographic, abstract, descriptive, or a com bination o f these. In typograp h ic tradem arks designers generally use the in itials o f the company. I f only the company name is used in the design , as Ñ apóles m entioned a logotype will be created. A designer m ay solve the problem b y using one or more letters o f an alphabet. But the important criteria w h en designing this kind o f tradem ark is to consider the balan ce betw een the usage o f the space, the structure and the combination o f the letters. The trademarks o f all divisions o f "SABANCI" corporation, such as "TOYOTASA” is an example o f a typographic trademark.(Fig.5.1.)

Fig.5.1. A t3T)ographic trademark

Second category is abstract trademarks. This kind o f trademarks usually represent the company in a stylized and simplified form. Because o f thie n ecessity o f a large budget to prom ote recogn ition o f an abstract tradem ark, it is not preferred b y sm all organizations. E xam ples o f abstract tradem arks in Tmrkey are, the w olf head o f "Petrol Ofisi" oil company, the tradem ark o f "Eaks" cassette m anufacturer and "Turkish Airlines" (Fig.5.2.).

RAKS

Ñapóles defines the case as:

"A b s tra ct m arks are u su a lly a sso cia te d w ith la rg e organizations: an abstract m ark o f a com pany whose m ajor objective is personalized service or attention w ould not be a very good choice" (Ñapóles, 1988).

Behaeghel defines the success o f an abstract trademark as

"The symbol, even when it is an abstract one, can be better m em orized than a letter or an initial in so far as it expresses dynam ism or the essence o f the company's activity or o f the product concerned" (Bebaeghel, 1985).

The th ird category is the descriptive tradem arks. T h ese k in d o f trademarks are related with a companies’ product or service by means o f graphic representation. As Ñapóles mentioned, descriptive tradem arks w ork successfully when they suggest the character o f the organization, rather then show actual products; products change over the years, and a tradem ark m ay become meaningless i f its too specific. The descriptive trademarks supposed to give some messages about the company, such as an illustrated book figure m ay refer to a pubbshing business, or a coin figu re m ay refer to banking business. A n exam ple o f descriptive tradem ark from Turkey is the S3mibol o f "Ziraat Bankası (Fig.5.3.). The letters "Z" and "B" were designed in order to refer to an ear o f a wheat. Although the organization could not manage to convey a bank image with its trademark; it conveyed its agricultural interest with the design o f its initials.

TC.

z ir a a t

BANKASI

Fig.5.3. Trademark o f “Ziraat Bankası”

"This form o f identification is certainly the one that assures the hest association between symbol and company. This w ay o f expressing the company personality is probably the strongest one to create an image which wiU become a m emorable sign in people's mind" (Behaeghel, 1985).

The kind o f trademark m ay change depending on the company's desired image. A company m ay choose either abstract, t3^ographic, or descriptive tradem arks, or use a combination o f all o f them. The selection o f the tradem ark is essential to convey a desired company im age, in term s o f projecting the specific characteristics o f the com pany such as identity, philosophy, products and service. Custom made trademarks are intended to project the company's characteristics in a "visual statement". There are various factors which m ay effect the m eaning o f the visual statement. O ne such fa ctor on the perception o f a v isu a l statem en t is the environment. A trademark m ay be perceived difierently, under changing environmental circumstances. For example, letters on a billboard m ost o f the tim e are chosen from lower-case characters, because a low er-case character tends to possess more characteristic forms o f a letter and the w ay they are spaced will help viewers to perceive the message or a name in a short exposure time. This is a simple example o f visual principles

involved in perception o f visual statements. Letters are the easiest w ay o f conveying a message as a visual statement. But when a designer comes across a problem o f conveying the im age o f an organization, the issue becom es m uch more complex then ju st bringing letters together into the nam e o f organization. H ere issues o f perception and use o f design principles becom es important. Perception o f the visual statem ent m ay change according to the cultural and social background and m ay also be dependent on the psychological mood o f the viewer.

"Visual in form ation m ay also have definable form either through attached m eaning in symbols or th rou gh shared experience in the environment, in life. Up, down, blue sky, vertical trees, scratchy sand, red-orange-yellow fire, are but a few o f the denotative, point-at-able qualities we all share visually. And so, whether consciously or not, we respond w ith some conform ity to their meaning.... The final resu lt is the artist's true statem ent. B ut m eaning also depends on the response o f the view er, who also m odifies and in terprets through the net o f subjective judgm ent. One factor alone is common cm rency between artist and audience, in fact, am ong all people-the physical system o f their visual perceptions, the psycho-physiological components o f the nervous system , the m echanical workings, the sensory apparatus through w hich they see" (Dondis, 1988).

Consequently, besides different perceptions o f different viewers, various factors are considered in conveying a visual statement.

"In all visual stimuli, on all levels o f visu al in telligen ce, m eaning m ay lie not only in the representational data, the environmental information, in the symbols including language, but also in the compositional forces that exist or coexist w ith the factual, visual statement" (Dondis, 1988).

These compositional forces are utilized to bring together various visual elements o f a trademark such as point, hne, shape, color and texture, into a clear comprehensible whole. Although there is no definite consensus on principles o f design, certain design issues, strategies, principles and concepts are repeatedly used by m any authors, o f design m anuals. D ondis writes about them as visual techniques o f unification (visual elements) and fists them under two headings o f Contrast and Harmony.

"CONTRAST: HARMONY: Instability Balance Asjmnnetry Symmetry Irregularity Regularity Complexity Simplicity Fragmentation Unity Exaggeration Understatement Activeness Stasis Transparency Opacity Variation Consistency Distortion Accuracy Depth Flatness Juxtaposition Singularity Sharpness Difiusion

Episo dicity Repetition" (Dondis, 1988)

C heatham and Owens (1987) in th eir book "D esign Concepts and A pplications" under the heading o f "Design concepts" fists: Proxim ity, Closure Similarity; while Preble (1989) in his book "Artforms" fists them under the heading o f "Principles o f Design" as: Scale and Proportion, U nity and Variety, Repetition and Rhythm, Balance, D irectional Forces an d C ontrast. M eanw hile Zelanski and F ish er (1984) in "D esign P rinciples and Problem s" writes about design principles u n der the heading o f "Unifying Principles O f Design" and fists them as: Repetition, Variety, Rhythm and Balance.

As seen above designers write about similar concepts related to design under different names. Some designers are calling them as principles or strategies while others are calling concepts. For proposes o f clarity in this thesis we w ill call them "design issues". In fact there is a consensus on using all these issues to reach a comprehensive whole, "Gestalt".

"These prindples are the resources that affirm or predicate the elements into some kind o f organizing action. The principles o f organization m ay help in finding certain pictorial solutions for unity" (Ocvirk et. al., 1985).

"When individual visual units are next to, or near, one another, they can be described as being in proxim ity and are usually seen as grouped. These various methods o f visual grouping hy proxim ity are direct and easily performed. The artist can use them independently or in as m any numbers and combinations as necessary to create a well-organized gestalt" (Cheatham , 1983) .

'W hether "fine" or "functional," in all art the parts o f a piece m ust seem to fit together to make a coherent whole. In fact i f all the parts are working together well, the whole will seem to be m ore than the sum o f its parts... This characteristic o f successful art is called gestalt o f a work" (Zelanski and Fisher, 1984) .

A nother consensus among designers seems to be the use o f these design issues (principles, strategies, concepts) also and m ostly for analysis purpose o f visual statements. In other words while it is im portant to know and utilize these issues while designing, they can be o f utm ost im portance during the analysis o f visual statements.

"Gestalt psychology has contributed valuable research and experimentation in the area of perception..." (Dondis, 1988).

Authors Ocvirk et. al. in their "Art Fundamentals Theory and Practice" book displayed the investigation phase o f the form, to reach unity, and states that:

"The whole work o f art is always more im portant than any o f its components. ...we study the component "form" to theorize and investigate some o f the physical principles o f visual order” (Ocvirk et. al., 1985).

In this research while analyzing the tradem ark o f "GUE.1§" corporation as a separate visual statement, the concept o f corporate im age w ill also be considered a visual statement in a wider sense and analyzed using some o f these design issues. The fact that "G U R l§" corporation was selected as a case is that it being a particularly negative exam ple o f corporate im age in terms o f both visual organization and usage. I f I was able to do research in to im proving corporate im age, the decision is pa rtia lly was based on the distincts o f research o f that particu lar organization. The fact that the type has both symbol and t3rpographic elem ent, was also effected m y decision to analyze the tradem ark of "GUE.I§" corporation. The historical information o f the company w ill be placed in appendix A, the organizational chart will be placed in appendix B, and the hst o f jobs completed will be placed in appendix C.