As Lawrence sifted through his mail last fall, a plain black and white envelope caught his eye, and anxiety began to well up. It had his name in the clear plastic window and was clearly official business. His first impression was that this was a letter from the IRS. But closer inspection made him realize it was from his bank – which he also happens to be CEO! Once the anxiety passed, he quickly sent the envelope to the marketing department initiating a slew of changes including face-lifts to envelopes and the addition of bowlfuls of green Hershey Kisses (the bank’s signature color) in all their branches.

Annually, 65 million envelopes are transformed from a vehicle carrying documents to a declaration of identity.  The strategy, planning and development of that identity can be totally lost on the consumer, if not for the creative.  Design plays an important, if not critical, role in how brand is perceived by the public, and reinforces that awareness throughout their interaction with it.

When you are running a business there are a million important things to worry about – and envelopes and bowlfuls of chocolate tend to be on the bottom of that list.  But this CEO recognized the immense power of creative as a vehicle to drive brand perception. Something as mundane as an envelope can carry a heavy message about a company’s relationship with its customers – potentially doing some serious damage to their brand if it leaves them feeling detached.

Like so many envelopes,  websites, business cards, PowerPoint presentations, email signatures – even Word documents can be seen as an extension of a company’s brand, reaching out to millions of people ready to identify themselves with that business.

Needless to say, brand goes far beyond colors and logos. A brand – the holistic way an individual identifies your business – is entrenched in everything from the font type to the imagery you convey a concept with. It states your purpose, gives you credibility and makes customers comfortable and at home with your product or service.