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Getting The Most From A Design Audit
by Neil Tortorella
It's amazing how much visual material businesses create. Think about
the typical mid-size company. They have signage, stationary, forms,
vehicle graphics, uniforms, brochures, catalogs, webs sites, newsletters
and advertisements to name a few things. As a company grows, so
does its visual arsenal. Pretty soon, there are more locations,
more signage, more forms, more stationary, etc. If management isn't
careful, it can get out of hand faster than a group of young guys
at a Britney Spears concert. That's where the design audit comes
in handy. Don’t let the name fool you. This kind of audit is
a good thing.
A design audit is a review of all the visual elements used by a
business, as well as its message to the public. It's something a
company can do that's akin to therapy, leading to corporate enlightenment.
Without a method in place to monitor visual style, a business is
in danger projecting more personalities than Sybill.
And, it's not just for the big guys. Smaller businesses can benefit
from an audit as well. Just like their larger cousins, they have
signs, forms, stationary, ads, and brochures too. By the way, if
your enterprise doesn't have these things, call us. We can fix that
for you.
A design audit concerns itself with the consistency of visual style
and message. What does it all look like? Is the design consistent
throughout all materials? What message is being sent? Is it the
right one? Is it consistent? Is the level of production quality
where it should be? The visual materials produced by a company are
a key factor in how it is perceived by its market and other audiences.
If a logo is the face of a company, visual style is its clothes.
Sure, there are several other factors that contribute to corporate
identity. Quality, customer service, environments and the likes
all work in concert to create an identity. Successful companies
will direct these with a strategic plan. Companies that don't police
their materials and message simply let their identity happen to
them. Not a real good idea in a competitive marketplace.
An audit begins with the collection of all visual elements a business
creates. For companies with several operating locations, materials
are gathered from each. These are then studied by the design group
and an analysis report is presented to management. Many businesses
have a shocking revelation when they see all their visual elements
together in one place, at one time. It's often a monster made of
pieces and parts that would do Dr. Frankenstein proud.
As companies expand, they often start to have materials created
and printed in remote locations. “Geez, we’re almost out
of letterheads. If we order through headquarters, it will take too
long. Let’s just go down to the local quickprint shop and have
some run off.”
And so it starts. A little here, a little there. Next thing you
know, your company has 15 or 20 versions of its letterhead. Same
goes for other elements. For the small business owner it's often
the same thing, just on a smaller scale. Out of business cards?
Run out and get some printed. "Oh, you know, I used to like
that typestyle, but the one in the book here is pretty neat. Let's
go with that. Oh, and make it blue this time. Whadda ya mean what
color blue? I don't know. Just blue!"
So, is that a big deal? You betcha. When the visual style goes down
the tubes, so does positioning and with it, potential sales and
mindshare. If things keep changing, customers and clients can get
a little nervous. Worse, they may not even recognize you in the
market after the latest change. If there are multiple operating
locations, the connection between them begins to fade faster than
your favorite pair of jeans.
Visual style and message are a big part of branding. When you go
into a McDonalds in Hoboken, it's the same as the one in Sri Lanka.
Drink a Coke in Detroit and it’s the same as the one in Tokyo.
The colors are the same, typestyles are the same (within the confines
of the locations' alphabet). That's comforting to people.
We communicate with words, but also with our mannerisms, body language,
clothes, attitudes, etc. Think for a moment of someone who talks
like Neiman Marcus, but dresses like the local Goodwill. How believable
is their message? The message and the style that it’s wrapped
in need to line up. When a business strays from a consistent visual
style, its message begins to erode. One part of the company is saying
one thing, while another is saying something else. It's kind of
like corporate cognitive dissidence, where you think one thing,
but do another. That creates anxiety. Management gets anxious because
the market isn't reacting as they believe they should. The market
gets anxious because they can''t figure out what the company is
trying to say.
A design audit brings all the inconsistencies to light. From this
point, management and the designer can begin to structure a plan
to insure that the company and its message are presented in harmony.
That harmony should be chronicled in a Standards Manual. This documents
how an enterprise's visual style should be portrayed. It shows how
the company logo is structured, what colors are to be used, using
a standard numbering system like the Pantone Matching System. It
will also show what typefaces are to be used along with any specifics
about them.
A Standards Manual can be just a couple of pages for a small company
or a volume equal to War and Peace for a multi-national. It simply
depends upon the size and scope of the company and how many applications
are typically used. A large company will need to show signage applications,
uniforms, vehicle applications and several others, while a small
business may only need to show the logo, its colors, stationary
and a few forms. The point is to document it and never, ever, under
any circumstances, stray from it.
With a completed design audit and a clear set of standards, you're
ready to meet the market with a stronger, consistent identity. You'll
also save yourself a lot of time and aggravation down the road when
it comes to preparing new or additional visual materials. You tend
to sleep better too.
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