Contrary to what people sometimes imagine, brand identity has nothing to do with a company suddenly deciding “okay let’s go and design a new logo.” It is much more like trying to write everything about a company onto a very small piece of paper.

Frank Lenisa, Marketing Director at Compuscan says “Deciding on a new logo takes a lot of time, commitment and effort”. We spoke to him to find out more about the reasons for the logo revamp, plus the process of creating and implementing a new logo and brand for CompuScan.

“A Logo has to achieve 3 things to be successful”, according to Frank.

“Firstly, it has to identify and capture the purpose, vision and values of the company. Secondly it has to communicate this throughout the company. And finally it has to bring it to life throughout aligning the brand with the short-term and long-term approach of the company in every aspect of its business.”

For Frank the important thing to stress is that ”the new branding is not just about the logo, it goes deeper than that. It is about the values and the philosophy that underpin it. Our new brand is representative of our aspirations and ambitions, where we see ourselves in the future…”

How did you decide to change Compuscan’s logo?

“With all the new developments in mind in terms of our products and technology, we felt it was necessary to re-position Compuscan in terms of its corporate identity”, says Frank.

“Another reason for this decision was that we felt that the old logo was outdated with the modern, innovative, fast paced, technological direction that our company is moving towards.”

“A new corporate image will also show our customer base that we are not a static company; we accept change as should all companies and that change can be a positive factor in a company’s development.”

What did the Designing and Implementation Process Entail?

“People might not realise how much work went into defining this identity and how many people were involved to get it just right” says Frank. “It has been a long journey involving much investigation to respond to the following questions: Where do we want to go? Who do we want to be and how do we want to be perceived? The design process took about a year and a half, involving several branding companies and re-designs of logo concepts until we finally embraced the new image.”

Frank goes on by saying, “A logo also has to respond to an extensive range of demands at the same time. It has to be high-tech and it has to be simple. It has to work when a man is sent up a ladder to paint a logo on a huge wall as well as on sophisticated websites and on small printing jobs like pens and embroidery on t-shirts. It has to be economical to implement while still communicating the energy and dynamism of our company.”

“To understand the scope of implementing the new identity, you have to consider the extent of updating all of the communications tools to conform to the branding: business cards, stationery, website design, brochures etc”.

What does the new logo signify for Compuscan?

Our Vision is “To be the Leading Provider of Credit Management Solutions in emerging markets.”

Our Values includes the following:

• Customer Focus
• Innovation
• Competitiveness
• Accountability
• Empowerment
• Openness
• Honesty
• Trust
• Respect

Our vision and values is portrayed in our logo by using the following symbols:

• The arrows wrapped around the circular shape signify movement around the globe and it gives an international feel to our logo – stating that there is no end to the extent of our business ventures.
• The arrows signify process, innovation, progress and services.
• The arrows also signify our knowledge, information, experience and our technological systems.
• The use of a simple font and two corporate colours signifies a modern, established company.
• The use of red signifies speed, ambition and leadership.
• The use of dark blue signifies confidence, dependability and technology.

Where are you at the moment with the Implementation of your New Identity?

“We are busy creating a new company brochure, business cards, letter heads (etc) and we will keep you updated as we go along. Just keep watching this space.”

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