{"id":9441,"date":"2026-03-10T15:23:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.signes.es\/signage-with-its-own-brand-corporate-identity-beyond-the-logo\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T17:11:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:11:38","slug":"signage-with-its-own-brand-corporate-identity-beyond-the-logo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.signes.es\/en\/signage-with-its-own-brand-corporate-identity-beyond-the-logo\/","title":{"rendered":"Signage with its own brand: corporate identity beyond the logo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cIt seemed to me that the entire city of New York was a permanent exhibition of Vignelli. To get to the office, I travelled on a subway with signage designed by Vignelli.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This comment from a former Vignelli employee precisely summarises how signage can be key in building the corporate identity of a company, a city or a tourist destination. It can become so important that, in some cases, signage is as recognisable\u2014or even more so\u2014than the brand itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Designers who connected corporate identity and signage <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Corporate signage does not belong to a single discipline: it connects graphic design, architecture, interior design, industrial design, communication and human behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the most influential designers of the 20th century devoted their work to developing signage systems that, in many cases, elevated a simple functional object to an artistic level. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pioneers of modernist design and design culture, Massimo and Lella Vignelli designed the New York City subway signage system within a global visual identity approach. Their work in many of the city\u2019s most iconic spaces was so prolific that, for many years, the \u201cimage\u201d of the Big Apple seemed to be shaped by their own designs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a former Vignelli employee explained: \u201cIt seemed to me that the entire city of New York was a permanent exhibition of Vignelli. To get to the office, I travelled on a subway with signage designed by Vignelli, shared the sidewalk with people carrying Bloomingdale\u2019s shopping bags designed by Vignelli, and walked past St. Peter\u2019s Church with its pipe organ designed by Vignelli visible through the window.\u201d <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A graphic designer of boundless talent, Jane Davis Doggett was another key figure in wayfinding. A pioneer in signage and orientation systems in airports and public spaces, she developed typefaces and visual codes legible from long distances. Her designs remain a benchmark in corporate identity and environmental design, guiding travellers in airports around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jane Davis Doggett, American graphic designer recognised for revolutionising signage and wayfinding systems in airports and public spaces. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Spaces are also corporate identity <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Just as with brand identity, corporate spaces\u2014such as offices or retail environments\u2014are a key structural element within the set of components that give personality and build brand identity, expressing values through space, objects, architecture, design and signage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an essential component, signage has both functional and communicative implications in the built environment. Colours, typography, materials and the visual tone of signage can reflect an organisation\u2019s personality and create a coherent experience aligned with its identity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In complex environments and large-scale buildings such as hospitals, university campuses, corporate headquarters or airports, signage goes beyond orientation through spatial communication that strengthens the relationship between people, place and brand. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n