Implementation is one of the toughest
new house-style. So an ingenious,
designed to ease us through the implementation
keep us on the right track for the future. At first sight, it rh
look complex, but once you've got the hang of it, you'll find it's
almost child's play.
On the cards
Workin
Voortaan herkent u ons
aan dit beeldmerk.
Rabobank
Every conceivable application of the house-style has
been classified in related groups - everything from
cheques to invoices, banners to paperclips, and seminar
programs to neon signs. There are 18 categories
altogether. 'Think of lego,' says design
manager Polly van Raam, 'and you'll
get the picture. It consists of a basic
set of building blocks you can use
to make a whole range of things -
houses, trucks, farms. But you
can also get additional sets to
broaden your options.'
The basic house-style set
covers every-day, Standard
needs, such as stationary, state
ments, cheques, etc. It shows
what you can and what you can-
not do with the symbol and logo
type, while leaving enough room for
flexibility. The additional sets show
how the house-style should be applied in
more special circumstances. 'Imagine you're organizing
a conference,' says Van Raam. 'Say it is called "Vision
'95". You would probably want to put that slogan on
all the material related to the conference, such as fol
ders, memo pads and pens for participants. And you'll
want a backdrop for the speakers.
want a more neutral Rabobank-banner outside the
venue to avoid overexposure of the slogan, and per-
haps because you want to use it again for a different
purpose. How to put it all together is included in
the "lego" set designed specifically for ex-
ternal meetings.'
But the system also includes sets for
such diverse applications as uniforms
for sports teams, sponsoring, direct
marketing, stands for trade fairs,
you name it - they've got it. 'All
you have to do is define exactly
W what you want,' Van Raam says,
'and you'll find the answers in one
or other of the sets. Admittedly, the
system means you have to think about
your needs in advance, but I doubt any-
one will see that as a bad thing. And in
the end you'll have exactly what they want.'
The new house-style's
building block structure
makes it easytoim-
plement. But one appli
cation - the horizontal
business card - stub-
bornly frustrated the
designers'efforts.What-
ever they tried, the small
cards looked overcrowd-
ed and rather untidy -
which is a far cry from the
image the bank is trying
to project. But do not
despair - Rabobank
Guernsey was there.
The small team at
the Guernsey office
Raboband International 5
