Reflectactions

IDENTITY jobs are big news again. The past few months have seen public corporations such as the BBC “outed” by the tabloid press for planning to spend what are seen as massive amounts of cash on identity shifts, but more importantly corporate identity reviews have become a positive force in helping many companies manage change thrown up by technological shifts – the reason given by the BBC for a possible logo tweak – globalisation, mergers and the like.

The logo is no longer king, and the process underpinning an image change has more in common with management consultancy now as design groups take their clients through a set of decisions to get to the essence of a company’s culture and aspirations. Unlike management consultants, design groups can create a visual system to convey that culture and clarify a company’s positioning. They also tend to use a visual language to communicate with the client’s staff and customers throughout the identity review.

Take Lloyd Northover Citigate’s recent job for Anglo-American insurance group Lincoln National. The process which led to a new name, Lincoln, the evolution of an acorn marque and a logotype involved using visual material to elicit an emotional response from customers and staff to the company.

Then there’s Interbrand’s work for an international car giant, design being but a part of the developing relationship. More importantly, Interbrand is being brought in to help brief other marketing services agencies and is involved in management. True creative consultancy.

What’s prompting this spate of identity work? Mergers and acquisitions are a common cause, as charted in research by US identity specialists like Ansbach Grossman Enterprise. A merger, for example, led to Newell and Sorrell’s identity work in the lucrative pharmaceuticals sector for Pharmacia & Upjohn, described on page 16.

Pharmaceuticals has gone through tremendous growth, despite recession, and that has resulted in work for identity and branding groups. The same can be said of telecoms, particularly the mobile phone market with its proliferation of phone suppliers and services, and one of the most successful identities here has been Hutchison’s Orange brand. Our appraisal of Wolff Olins’ work on page 18 shows how a design group can manage the implementation of an identity across all media.

There has been a sharp increase in the telecoms sector. The need to differentiate one offer from the next is therefore key. The same can be said for professional services such as law firms, which, since a relaxation of the rules governing the marketing of legal services, have used design to compete. Many are honing their images in a bid to stand out. Mischon de Reya (reviewed on this page) is such a business.

Identity is set to be a source of work for design groups. But consultancies are showing sensitivity rather than arrogance and greed this time round. The results are strong relationships with clients and, hopefully, a key role for design in corporate strategies.

Pharmacia & Upjohn by Newell and Sorrell

According to Richard Watson of client advisory service EDR, corporate identity work is booming. “It is phenomenally buoyant in all areas, with a lot of deals happening in the mergers and acquisitions area,” he says.

While mergers are a lucrative source of design work, they can also be fraught with difficulties. The merger of Pharmacia & Upjohn created one of the five largest pharmaceutical groups in Europe, and the biggest challenge for design consultancy Newell and Sorrell was in having two separate identities which needed to be turned into a single one. In order to design a corporate identity for a company that had yet to exist, the group came up with a solution using images of the future as well as the past. The marque features part of a purple rock face with symbols of a hand, bird and star, inspired by prehistoric cave drawings.

“The new identity was created to express an idea about humanity, strength, compassion and aspiration,” says Tony Allen, managing director of Newell and Sorrell (Europe). He suggests that the identity of Pharmacia & Upjohn transcends language barriers and appeals to a global audience, one which will recognise such symbols and be able to translate them, with little question of misinterpretation.

Allen acknowledges that expressing the aspirations of the humanistic Nineties can become cliché-ridden: “Every company in the world is trying to put across a caring image. It all sounds so hollow and trite.” To avoid stereotypical imagery and thus turning off a jaded public, the design team built the corporate identity on simple, basic symbols that have been recognised since the beginning of society.

The new identity helped Pharmacia & Upjohn to articulate its ideas very quickly within a short timescale, notes Allen. The company merged in the latter half of 1995 and early this year it was able to put across “confident messages in terms of corporate communications and advertising which were absolutely driven by the new identity. I don’t think you could have done the same thing with a weaker or more usual solution,” he adds.

A prime objective, says Allen, was to ensure that the merged company was relevant to a wide public, and not just to the healthcare profession: “This is unusual because traditionally pharmaceuticals companies have not been in the public eye,” he adds. He felt it was important to avoid the visual language of pharmaceuticals companies and use a more unconventional approach while still expressing the ideals and values of the company.

According to Allen, a crucial factor is motivating the staff of the newly merged company. “The reaction from senior management was very positive. They recognised that this was something very different,” he says. The new identity also won acclaim in other quarters, with the Pharmacia & Upjohn brochure receiving an award for best photography in The New York Festival’s print advertising section.

Pharmacia & Upjohn wanted to promote a strong sense of self-difference, which Allen says is not high on the agenda of other pharmaceuticals companies. The period when two companies combine can be a worrying time for employees. With mergers there is often a rationalisation programme, so it could be a tense time for staff in the company. The role of corporate identity has another function, Allen points out: “It’s like a rallying cry – to rally behind the new company.”

The industry is full of takeovers, and, in fact Pharmacia was in the process of completing a previous merger when the deal with Upjohn came along. There is a need to overcome what Allen calls “merger fatigue”, characterised by the euphoria of the early stages followed swiftly by the slip into depression. At this point, people start thinking that the merger hasn’t made any difference or that things will be worse. Some believe that the psychological aspects of creating a new identity are of equal importance to the design concept, as a strong, meaningful image needs to emerge in order for people to have faith in the new company.

Clearly, corporate identity is made up of many parts, including the cultural values of the company. To reflect this, there are plans for a landscaped garden at a Pharmacia & Upjohn corporate management centre in Windsor, to be implemented later this year. The garden will contain herbs, reflecting the healing powers of the pharmaceuticals group, and also ancient plants which may sow the seeds of longevity for this newly formed company.

In a scene reminiscent of the sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey, enormous rocks which have the corporate symbols inscribed on them will be sprouting in Pharmacia & Upjohn buildings all around the world.

Mishcon de Raya by Spencer Landor

A departure from the traditional image of the legal profession was promulgated by design consultancy Spencer Landor, which was commissioned to create the corporate identity of law firm Mischon de Reya. Quill pens and tablets of marble were definitely out, says consultancy creative partner John Spencer. He feels that these symbols have little to do with today’s law firms. Instead, Spencer opted for a direct approach, concentrating on the signature. “It is a very distinctive name. We didn’t want to overdesign it but keep it as natural as possible. We used a very traditional, simple logo with a radical treatment of colour, images and text. That contrast, almost conflict, brings it to life,” he says.

Spencer claims that he was not conscious of any compromise in the designs put forward. He decided on a complete transformation with bold use of yellow and red, instead of the predominance of blue and black much beloved by the legal eagles. According to Spencer, it’s important to bear in mind the centuries-old traditions of this sector, which can be a powerful asset, conveying notions of stability and permanence. He also understands that the client needs to be comfortable with the new corporate identity. “There’s no point in being wild and crazy so nobody wants to use it,” he argues. Although known for its media clients, the reputation of Mischon de Reya is based in the property and commercial sectors. Striking a balance was necessary in order to convey the spread of its activities.

Fortunately, says Spencer, Mischon de Reya was “keen to be more radical”. The practice brochure is one of the most important documents for lawyers. Indeed, Mischon refers to it as a manifesto, and wanted to communicate its personality as well as how the company deals with clients. To meet that challenge, the law firm believed that the text was of equal importance to the design. “Design is often the part that makes it look good,” says Spencer. “But the words are often ignored.” In order to impart a totally fresh approach, Mischon was keen to have the brochure written by someone new to the field of practice brochures. It considered Clive James, one of its more illustrious clients.

Spencer feels that the legal sector is difficult to work in. Lawyers are not only extremely argumentative but also highly articulate. The brief therefore needs to be clear and precise. “You can’t bluff the legal profession,” he warns. Spencer also points out that “what they do is pretty intangible. You can’t make pictures of it”. And yet the images used in the practice brochure created a great impact and helped achieve the new corporate identity. It is a dramatic departure which includes paintings by Andy Warhol protégé Jean-Michel Basquiat. “It has a bit of an edge which is consistent with the firm,” says Spencer.

Managing partner Giulia Landor identifies barristers as an area of new corporate identity work. A lot of changes are happening as barristers encroach on what has traditionally been the preserve of solicitors, and vice versa. Not only are mergers happening in multinational conglomerates but also in barristers’ chambers. Hardwicke Building is one of London’s largest sets, and Spencer Landor created its new corporate brochure. Again choosing twentieth century art, a painting by Picasso is on the front cover, reflecting a more modern approach.

Landor believes that deregulation has stirred the legal profession into a buzz of activity. “They now need to pitch for work, which is something they never had to do before. This is why they are all involved in marketing.” She suggests that law firms are now much more discerning about the brochures they produce. This also leads to analysing the company’s needs as well as looking into new technology and setting up web-sites on the Internet.

Orange by Wolff Olins

The colour orange proved to be part of a successful formula for the eponymous telecommunications company, winning a corporate identity award at this year’s Design Effectiveness Awards. Designed by Wolff Olins for Hutchison Microtel, the new digital mobile telephone brand was renamed Orange Personal Communications. According to research, within ten weeks of the launch, awareness of the Orange identity rose from 0 to 45 per cent. In the space of two years, Orange has grown to become a 2.5 billion company.

The first step for Keith Kirby, project leader at Wolff Olins, was to look at the reputation of mobile phones in general, and to locate problem areas such as reactions to hidden charges. A position was then defined and a set of values attached to the new brand, even before the name or look was chosen. The crux, says Kirby, was to make something far more personal, and create company values that reflected straightforward, dynamic and honest policies.

The key for any corporate identity, Kirby insists, is for it to be truthful: “Now, more than ever, the identity needs to reflect what the company stands for. Rather than just banging out a logo, it’s much more about reflecting the internal culture of the organisation. If this is true, you have a powerful identity.” Offering value for money to the customer is all-important in gaining trust and acceptance. In a bid to attract customers, Orange became the first company to introduce the concept of per second billing, making it a much fairer system for the user.

One of Kirby’s key jobs for Orange is to brief the other design groups used by the company, which can be as many as 20. “Our job is to get all the consultancies thinking about Orange in the same way and making sure that it is consistent,” he says. Kirby hates the phrase “logocop”. “We try to be image consultants. The logo is a relatively small part of the job. We create a very strong style in terms of typography and colour.”

The power of the written word is a strong selling point, says Kirby. He points out that the greatest problem Orange faced was being the fourth and last entrant in the competitive UK mobile telecoms market. To establish a markedly different identity from the rest of the pack, it was decided to depart from using the standard term mobile phone but instead opt for the futuristic-sounding “wirefree communication”. Certainly a bold statement, and whether this phrase takes off remains to be seen.

The use of colour is critical, and ownership of colour vital. Kirby and his team looked at a range of warm colours, finally deciding that “orange captured not only friendliness but was also refreshing and reflected optimism”. However, one of the concerns was that orange wouldn’t appeal to businesses as it was perhaps too frivolous a colour. In spite of these considerations, the colour hit the spot in terms of popular culture, used in the film Trainspotting as well as reappearing as a trendy, fashion colour.

Historically and politically, orange means different things to different people. In The Netherlands, the colour is associated with the royal family as well as being the national football team’s strip. In Northern Ireland, where Orange is launching next year, the colour has Loyalist connotations. Kirby is keenly aware of the situation: “It is a sensitive issue and I hope it is a short-term one. People will understand that what Orange is talking about is much wider.”

Rob Furness, head of communications at Orange, is reviewing the situation: “We have always been wary of the implications of using it in Northern Ireland. We don’t want to aggravate any situations. Choosing to use the colour or indeed not use the colour could both be political statements.” While the peace process was going well, the use of orange didn’t seem to be much of an issue. However, if negotiations are difficult, Furness accepts that there might be more sensitivity around the use of orange. “We want to understand the situation better and decide what the appropriate course of action is.”

Furness points out that Orange already has a presence in Northern Ireland, as satellite TV channels broadcast advertisements for the company, and the national and specialist press carry Orange ads. Furthermore, Green Flag, the automobile breakdown company, is operating in Northern Ireland, and that colour, in theory, belongs to the Republican movement. The future’s bright, but will it be orange in Northern Ireland?

Being in a deregulated telecoms market, there was a drive to stand out from the rest of the pack, and Furness believes that it is business pressures which lead towards good, distinctive corporate identity worthy of praise. He also contends that most of the costs associated with corporate identity tend to be operational and in implementation. “We had it slightly easier because when the service was launched we could build from zero, so we had low operational costs,” he says.

New technology could also help to reduce the much-touted millions spent on implementation costs. The launch of D’nA, computer software from Trademark Design, was produced specifically for the design and application of corporate identities. The first user of D’nA was pharmaceuticals giant SmithKline Beecham which used the application to achieve consistency in the branding and logo of all its products. The software is placed on a PC to generate pre-programmed items of stationery, signage, advertising signatures and logos, which Trademark claims reduces costs by 50 per cent.

It seems clear that many in the design industry believe that the thinking behind corporate identity has changed radically. There appears to be a trend towards having a greater understanding of the company’s policy, which includes dealing with areas such as customer care – or as one design consultant put it: “Not designing in an ivory tower but making sure that the corporate identity comes from within the client’s organisation.”

The corporate identity market will remain in the pink, believes EDR’s Richard Watson, though he contends that the quality leaves a lot to be desired. “I think the creative work is appalling. It’s wallpaper,” he says frankly. “The strategic work is very good but it falls apart on the execution.” Watson points out that there are exceptions to this, stating that “Orange is a gobsmacking identity”. The standard of design work needs to keep up with the high volume of corporate work around, and Watson feels declining standards are due to conservative clients and design consultancies trying to come up with safe solutions. What consultancies need to do, he suggests, is “say no more often, and stick to their guns”.