{"id":45212,"date":"2022-11-30T17:08:19","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T17:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/corporate-identity"},"modified":"2026-10-01T08:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:04:16","slug":"corporate-identity","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/corporate-identity","title":{"rendered":"Corporate Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxpad alignright wp-image-45308 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/corporate-identity.jpg\" alt=\"Corporate identity\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/corporate-identity.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/corporate-identity-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Corporate identity<\/strong> is the system of elements, principles and behaviours through which an organisation defines who it is and how it presents itself to its audiences. It includes visual and verbal resources as well as decisions about culture, communication and conduct.<\/p>\n<p>It is not limited to a logo or the appearance of advertising materials. Identity originates in what the organisation establishes and applies; corporate image is the perception people form from those signals and from their experience.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Elements of corporate identity<\/h2>\n<p>Identity should translate the organisation&#8217;s strategy and personality into recognisable criteria. Each component has a different purpose and needs to relate to the others to prevent contradictory messages.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Name:<\/strong> identifies the organisation and affects pronunciation, recall, and legal or digital availability. Its creation can be addressed through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/naming\">naming<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Logo:<\/strong> visually represents the name through a typographic composition. It does not encompass the entire identity on its own; see the specific definition of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/logo\">logo<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Visual system:<\/strong> brings together colours, typefaces, icons, composition, photography, illustration and other graphic resources.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Verbal identity:<\/strong> establishes tone, vocabulary, messages, taglines and conventions for expressing personality consistently.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Corporate principles:<\/strong> set out the purpose, values and criteria that guide decisions and priorities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Behaviours:<\/strong> include customer care, employment relationships, policies and responses to specific situations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These elements may be documented in different guides. A visual manual governs graphic applications, while verbal, cultural and behavioural standards require their own instructions and owners.<\/p>\n<h2>Verbal identity and corporate behaviour<\/h2>\n<p>Identity is expressed in every interaction, not only in designed materials. A campaign may use the correct colours and typefaces while remaining inconsistent if its language, customer care or decisions contradict the stated principles.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tone of voice:<\/strong> defines how language adapts to the audience, channel and situation without losing personality.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Internal experience:<\/strong> leadership, collaboration and communication practices influence what employees convey. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/internal-marketing\">Internal marketing<\/a> can support this alignment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>External experience:<\/strong> sales, support, products, spaces and services turn corporate promises into observable experiences.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Decision criteria:<\/strong> help teams resolve new cases without depending on a closed list of permitted applications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Consistency does not require using exactly the same message in every context. It requires retaining the central traits while adapting the execution to each audience and channel.<\/p>\n<h2>Identity, image and brand differences<\/h2>\n<p>Corporate identity, corporate image and brand are related, but they describe different dimensions. Separating them makes it easier to assign responsibilities and assess problems accurately.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Corporate identity:<\/strong> is the system the organisation defines and applies to identify itself and guide its conduct.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Corporate image:<\/strong> is the perception held by its audiences. Identity can influence it, but so can experiences, news, comments and expectations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Brand:<\/strong> brings together meanings, associations and differentiating elements linked to an organisation, product or service. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/branding\">Branding<\/a> manages its construction and development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A company can control its standards and actions, but it cannot impose a particular perception. Corporate identity should not be confused with digital identity either: websites, social media and other digital channels are environments where the broader identity is applied and interpreted.<\/p>\n<h2>How to manage corporate identity<\/h2>\n<p>Management begins with a diagnosis and continues after the resources have been designed. An effective system needs usable rules, access to the correct materials and review mechanisms.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Analyse the context:<\/strong> review strategy, audiences, culture, competitors, touchpoints and existing materials.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Define foundations:<\/strong> establish purpose, values, personality and positioning before deciding the visual form.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Design the system:<\/strong> develop visual, verbal and behavioural components with enough variants for actual use cases.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Document applications:<\/strong> explain versions, restrictions, examples, files and owners without reducing the guide to prohibitions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Implement and review:<\/strong> train teams, update templates and periodically inspect internal and external executions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When strategy or context changes, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/rebranding\">rebranding<\/a> may be required. This process does not always mean replacing the symbol: it may affect positioning, naming, messages, brand architecture or experience.<\/p>\n<h2>Consistency and identity evaluation<\/h2>\n<p>A coherent identity can support recognition and reduce improvised decisions, but it does not guarantee trust, sales or a positive reputation. These outcomes also depend on quality, experience, communication and whether promises are fulfilled.<\/p>\n<p>Evaluation may combine application audits, recognition studies, qualitative research and experience metrics. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/brand-equity\">Brand equity<\/a> concerns the value associated with a brand, but it is not a score equivalent to compliance with a corporate manual.<\/p>\n<p>Consistency should also be distinguished from uniformity. The former preserves recognisable principles; the latter repeats an execution without considering context. A well-managed identity allows adaptation and development while retaining the signals through which the organisation is recognised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Definition: Corporate identity is the system of elements, principles and behaviours through which an organisation defines who it is and how it presents itself to its audiences. It includes visual and verbal resources as well as decisions about culture, communication and conduct. It is not limited to a logo or the appearance of advertising materials. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[1327],"class_list":["post-45212","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-visual-identity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/45212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=45212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}