Often, it's not just product quality or price, but the consistency of the visual identity.
Building a strong corporate identity is the first step in communicating who you are, attracting the right customers, and becoming memorable over time.
This article will explain how to make your brand recognisable across all online and offline channels.
What is corporate identity (and why a logo is not enough)
When we talk about corporate identity, many immediately think of a logo.
In reality, it's just the tip of the iceberg.
An effective corporate identity includes:
- Visual elements: logo, colours, fonts, icons, layouts, photography style
- Tone of voice: how you communicate in texts, videos, and social media
- Values and positioning: what you represent, who you are relevant to, and why people should choose you
The goal? To be recognized and remembered in every touchpoint: website, social media, brochures, slides, packaging, videos, trade shows.
Why being recognizable across all channels is essential
Our world is overloaded with content, and our brains look for shortcuts to identify what feels familiar.
That's why consistency in your company image is a powerful strategic lever:
- If your website has one tone, your social media another, and your brochures look like they were made by someone else… customers get confused.
- If everything speaks the same visual and conceptual language… customers trust you.
- Consistency builds trust. And trust drives conversions.
Where to start to build a solid corporate identity
If you're starting from scratch or already have a fragmented presence, here are the first steps:
1. Analyze who you are (and what you want to communicate)
Define your positioning, values, and tone. Do you want to be authoritative or friendly? Technical or inspirational?
2. Create (or update) your brand guidelines.
A good brand book includes:
- logos and variants
- color palettes
- rimary and secondary fonts
- layout examples
- photography style
- tone of voice and keywords
- usage rules for all elements
Many companies don't realize the importance of having a brand book. It's not just a document to forget on a shelf — it's the foundation of your brand's direction.
3. Align all company touchpoints.
From website to email signatures, social posts to sales materials. Everything must speak with a single voice.
Concrete examples: how a strong corporate identity looks
This is how a solid identity shows up:
- A customer lands on your website and finds the same colours and graphic style they saw on your LinkedIn posts.
- They download a catalogue and immediately recognise the same voice and message.
- They visit your office and see the same style in physical materials and presentations.
- It's not just about aesthetics: it's a visual strategy that can change your market perception.
Common mistakes when building a corporate identity
A weak corporate identity doesn't come from significant failures, but small repeated mistakes. Here are the most common ones:
- Changing graphic style or tone depending on the channel
- A serious website, technical LinkedIn posts, and ironic Instagram content — this confuses users who can't understand who you are.
- A strong brand is recognisable even without seeing the logo.
- Using different suppliers without a central direction
- The freelance designer does the slides, the social media manager posts carousels, and the external agency built the website.
- Each output communicates a different version of your brand without a unified visual direction.
- Not training the internal team on visual identity.
- Even a great brand book can lose consistency if those creating newsletters, presentations, or social posts don't know how to use it.
- Thinking that a "nice logo" is enough.
- Relying only on the logo is like thinking the title makes the movie. It might catch attention… but without story, cast, and direction, no one stays until the end.
- The logo is the symbol. The identity is the system that supports it.
The agency's role in building corporate identity
Corporate identity is not just about design, it's about vision.
Building it alone can be complicated without an expert external perspective.
A good corporate identity is born from strategic collaboration.
An agency like Organica helps you to:
- Clearly define who you are (and how you want to be perceived)
- We help you translate your positioning into a recognizable personality through workshops, interviews, and market analysis.
- Turn vision into consistent design.
- It's not about creating a "nice logo" but building a visual system that works on the web, social media, print, video, and events.
- Ensure consistency across all channels.
- We help you align everything: website, social media, brochures, internal and external materials. Everything that "speaks for you" must speak the same language.
- Train your team
- We don't just leave you with a PDF. We support your internal team's training so every collaborator can consistently represent your brand identity, even without being a designer.
- In short? A strong identity is not improvised, it's built. And to do it well, you need a partner who listens, understands… and guides you.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to build a complete corporate identity?
It depends on the project complexity: an SME usually starts at around 3,000 CHF, but every company has different needs.
Do I need to redo everything if I already have a logo?
Not necessarily. Sometimes, you can build a consistent system by making strategic adjustments to what you already have.
How long does it take to rebuild a corporate identity?
Between 4 and 8 weeks, considering briefings, development, and intermediate reviews.
Do you want a strong and consistent corporate identity?
Organica helps companies in Canton Ticino build solid, recognizable, and consistent brands.
If you want to review your brand identity or develop a clear strategy from scratch, contact us for a personalized consultation.