VdS brand system: one set of rules, countless applications
VdS brand system: one set of rules, countless applications
Client
Industry
Services
Period
VdS Schadenverhütung
Corporate security and safety
Brand architecture
Corporate design
Corporate website
Interface design
Information architecture
Brand implementation
since 2018
pages in one information architecture
languages
publications made accessible
Bringing grown brands together under one recognisable sender
VdS communicates across many business areas, topics and formats. Over the years, this did not add up to a coherent picture in the market.
The web presence had grown as well. It comprised more than 800 pages in several languages, ranging from certification data to technical publications. Users struggled to find key information. What VdS needed, therefore, was not a new design but a system.
Both tasks ran in parallel. The corporate design started in early 2018, the website was built the same year. As a result, the rules could not be finished in advance.
That was precisely the challenge. Every decision had to work immediately across more than 800 real pages. That is why the VdS brand system needed firm rules from the very beginning. A visual identity alone would not have been enough.
After the analysis phase, VdS and CRENEO set out their objectives in a joint brief. Three points took priority:
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One set of rules. Design, applications and website follow the same specifications.
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One place: certificates and publications are quick to find
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One editorial team. The team maintains the content itself in the backend.
The VdS brand system was meant to hold up in everyday work, not just in a presentation.
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System
One set of rules. Two disciplines. One brand.
Today, all business areas appear under a single brand. The corporate design and the corporate website draw on the same foundation. Whatever applies to one also applies to the other, from the logo and colour palette to the design language of the interface.
Further development
The VdS brand system handles tasks it was never designed for
Result
What VdS Schadenverhütung can do with it today
Today, more than 1,000 pages sit within a single, shared structure. More than a thousand guidelines, safety regulations and guidance notes are just a few clicks away.
What matters most, though, is what came after launch. The VdS brand system has continued to grow since then. New modules have been added to the website, and new applications to the corporate design. Campaigns and joint appearances with partners followed, all built on the same set of rules.
None of this required starting over. Every addition follows the rules established in 2018 and 2019. That is what separates a system from a visual appearance.