t as they appear. “Gold lettering on a sign is not gold, wood grain is not real wood and marble floors are seldom made of marble… [In these instances, a designer or architect looked at the surface of the project and chose materials to suit the needs of his design and the budget of his client.]…When putting together a company image, you need to begin seeing things on the surface the way an artist might see it. When an artist paints a tree, he doesn’t take a real tree and smash it into the canvass. He looks at the tree and sees that it is just different shades of green and brown pigment. He then recreates the tree using different materials. The end result is not a real tree but a valuable representative image. When putting together your new company image try squinting your eyes to see things differently,” Paull says.Look at everything that makes up your public image in this different way, your logo, your sign, displays, letterhead, brochures, annual reports, walls, and floors. Paull says that you should try to “while squinting see the colors change and shapes move. Notice that red can appear to be several colors when the shades are lightened or darkened. Notice that movement can change the color, size and shape of things [like signs]. See that an expensive die cut in the cover of an annual report doesn’t look cut at all, rather it is a sharp contrast of color with a blackout line. Make note that direct sunlight is different from florescent lighting that is different from incandescent light and that lighting coming from above is different then lighting from the floor or a table lamp.”Now turn these observations into cost cutting questions. Do you really need an expensive four-color processor for your brochure or annual report to get the look you want? Does your lobby furniture really need chrome accents to achieve the same image as you saw in the lobby of your competitor? Do you hate your old...
