We have always been engaged in the planning and design of corporate brand image. We always try our best to provide our customers with the best solutions. We also constantly look at ourselves for this purpose, and look at the development trend in this area around the world. Every time there is a new spark, until the feeling is condensed into a "redesign." Along with this is the strong desire and sense of mission to improve design. At the turn of the century, China's successful bid for the Olympic Games and the long journey to apply for entry to the WTO have also come to a successful conclusion. Chinese companies are faced with unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Professional service companies are highly motivated and each seeks to assist companies in winning the competition.
At the same time, our consumption has begun to enter the era of borderless nations. The beauty of Coca-Cola, the crispness of McDonald's, the energy of Ford, the precision of IBM, the creativity of Microsoft, the spirit of Toyota, Panasonic's culture continue to induce our desire to purchase...
The rapid development of the market economy has so powerfully promoted the transformation of the concept of consumer spending: the detachment of the physical level and the emphasis on the value level have dominated the consumers' understanding and selection of products and their production enterprises. The international business community has compared the image with human, material, and financial resources. It is called the fourth resource for business operations and the new driving force for enterprises in the 21st century. According to a survey of relevant experts in the United States, in the introduction of a new image, $1 will bring a return of $27. Image power is even applicable to urban development. In Hong Kong, an energetic international free port, in line with the "Asian international city" positioning, uses the new image of "Flying Dragon" to present Hong Kong's spiritual qualities and shape Hong Kong's urban brand. This is not only to show Hong Kong's charm to the world, but also to enhance it. Hong Kong people's confidence and centripetal force. The new image is seen as a new asset in Hong Kong.
However, how many corporate faces in China are known to the general public? How much is global awareness and how many companies have incorporated image power into their business operations? In addition to the few companies that have successfully image reformed; most companies that do not have an image force awareness; some companies that know little about the image; and some that have invested thousands of dollars in it, they have not seen what they expected. The returning company lost confidence in its image.
In any case, the improvement of the status of image power, the improvement of the quality of business operators, and the inspiration of successful cases will surely encourage companies to carry out image innovation projects one after another.
The question is: How far is China's design company from this reality?
Internationally, the design industry of economically developed countries has entered a mature period and naturally moves toward two poles: individual studios and large-scale and influential corporate operations. Both modes have their strengths: the individual studios have a strong sense of innovation. The company's business strategy is targeted, and both of these models have their own power in the social and economic development space. At the same time, we can visually and psychologically feel the impact of design on the social (urban) atmosphere and promote economic development. In Europe, people develop from developing their understanding of design to pursuing it. The higher the pursuit, the greater the challenge to the design company and the more obvious the demand; the more obvious the demand is, the faster the economy will be promoted. The image of the entire society (city), both inside and outside, has emerged as a result of its design.
In China, design began as an industry for only a decade. Because they are often considered to be subordinate to the advertising industry, the design managers rarely develop from the responsibilities of an industry and the height of business operations. Most of the design companies still linger in the middle of the above two models, and are not obvious in depth. Individual studios rarely have effective works, but most of them focus on pure artistic creation. Although some prominent designers already possess international thinking, outstanding design companies have not yet surfaced for the business community and academics. The community and the general public have known. The design concept of pursuing forms and lacking strategies is the fatal reason for the slow progress of the industry. The public's understanding of design is still in the stage of enlightenment. The pursuit of design has not yet become fashionable. The demand for design is naturally not obvious, and the design has little impact on the economy. This "reaction chain" indicates both the potential space of the design industry and the performance of the industry.
We must rethink the design.
China's design education started late, and design majors were derived from the fine arts majors of the Academy of Fine Arts. Teaching experience is limited, and methods are also traditional. The designers under these professional education usually have high artistic expression, but the knowledge structure is relatively single, and the design emphasizes the decoration and beautification. This makes it easy to design the corporate image as a beautiful coat for the company. It only looks at the texture and suit of the clothes. It does not look at whether the clothes conform to the company’s model, interest, temperament, and what kind of occasions it is necessary to put on this coat. . That is, the corporate image design is only the basic elements of the LOGO itself, such as fonts and colors, but it does not consider the task of corporate image innovation.
Contemporary design has emphasized the functionality of design. The purpose of the design is to communicate. This is obviously a problem that cannot be considered in traditional pure artistic creation. Whether or not a design can convey more information and pay attention to visual terminals determines whether it is worthwhile. This process of assigning functions imposes higher requirements on designers. In the past, designers could approach each other individually to complete the design. Now the design process is much more complicated, research, analysis, strategy, design, implementation and management. Group work methods replace individual work methods. Design is no longer a flat expression of the subjective idea of ​​the individual, but a communication medium that fuses function and aesthetics.
Maybe we can get some inspiration from the image of the city. Three “weather forecast†lights were installed on the top floors of three iconic buildings in Coventry, England. A predicted temperature change, a predicted wind speed and direction, and a predicted air quality. Every time the temperature, direction of the wind speed, and air quality change, the color of the lights on these three buildings will change. Citizens can learn about changes in the weather from changes in light, and they can also enjoy the visual pleasure of lighting changes. This lighting design project is not only a symbolic image project of the city, but also has practical functions that are closely related to people's lives. It is also integrated with science and technology, ecology, and urban planning. Image design is also true for companies.
From this we also quote an interesting phenomenon around us. In the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, five green belts have decorated more than 20 kilometers of the "China's first road," Shennan Road. If potted flowers are placed in these green belts, at least hundreds of thousands of pots of flowers are needed. When hundreds of thousands of potted plants are put on green belts at the same time, we can imagine how charming the road is. However, the fascinating scene may not last for a month or even a week. Potted flowers are not easy to root because they are not deeply rooted. As a result, the gardeners changed these withered flowerpots to new potted plants again, and withered and replaced, they were still circulating. Over time, the investment will be overwhelmed. If you plant flowers and trees on the green belt, you may not see the flowers blooming for a time. But it is a long-term plan. Garden workers can only water and fertilize, and they can take root, sprout, and bloom year after year because they are already Rooted on this avenue.
We rethink the design and think about such a simple and straightforward question. If the design companies take their own responsibility to "fabricate" beautiful flowers, and regard the image project as "the art of flower arrangement," companies will inevitably spend a sum of money. Buying flowers is still directly cultivated flowers, which is surprisingly similar to how companies invest in images. In China, of those companies that have a strong desire for image innovation, how many have spent thousands of dollars to buy seemingly bright but invigorating flowers? How many companies can realize that what they really need is a rooted flower cultivated in their own soil?
The result of rethinking design is strategy design, strategy first, and fostering corporate image. We start by observing the soil. What are the characteristics of the soil for planting flowers? What are the requirements for the enterprise's social and economic environment for the enterprise and what are the characteristics of the small environment for development within the enterprise? Having acquainted yourself with the characteristics of the soil, it will be easy to choose the right seeds. Secondly, we find the root function and apply nutrients to strengthen it – to achieve the company's business goals, enhance the company's visibility, reputation, and achieve the company's communication with the public, enhance corporate sales force, obtain customer loyalty ... and finally, Businesses and the general public are faced with the vitality and personality of the flower - a corporate image of a forceful communication.
Longitud's strategy design has been put into practice for a long time. We have seen the effectiveness of strategy design from many successful cases. We are deeply impressed by the urgency of strategy design. Therefore, we must start from scratch to clarify the vague understanding of the design of the company. For the purpose of this article. At the same time, we are aware of the need for image innovation to be implemented in a timely manner, taking the lead in implementing new images and adapting to the deepening of design after rethinking at this stage. The relationship between flowers and roots is exactly a vivid and appropriate substitute that we have found in the process of thinking. We are convinced that this is not only our own guiding philosophy, but also helps us understand the business.
In the era of this image power being promoted to one of the four major resources for business operations, Chinese companies have virtually given local design companies a great opportunity for development. We propose to rethink design and emphasize “strategic advancement†and emphasis on “cultivating†companies. Image awareness and skills to better serve Chinese companies. With more designers who are good at rethinking designs and design companies that value strategy, China's corporate image innovation activities will really enter a surging stage, and corporate images will flourish everywhere. With the gradual establishment of the corporate image design effect judgment standards will provide a clear reference for the company. The Chinese design industry will eventually win the trust and respect of society.