Corporate Brands Dcsij
monitors graphic qualit
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12 The work of the Corporate Brands Design
department is based on the corporate
philosophy that Heineken heer should not
only taste the same all over the world, but
should also look the same. Simply claiming
that 'Heineken beer is the best' and then
sticking a poor-quality label on the bottle
would he a crime in the eyes of this depart
ment, which is headed by Mr. Cees VV. Oos-
trum.
Mr. C.W Oostrum is an expert on
graphic design. That expertise
is invaluable, as specialist
know-how is essential if you have to
judge whether a label (or a carton or
can) meets Heineken's stringent quality
requirements.
When a new design has to be de
veloped for corporate products (Heine
ken, Amstel, Murphy's, Green Sands,
Buckler, Hoppe, Bokma and Coebergh)
and sometimes also for national brands
(for instance Aguila or Dreher) Corpo
rate Brands Design is called in. 'The
graphic designers may have created a
very beautiful new label design, but it's
our task to study whether that beauti,
label can also be reproduced
words: whether millions and
them can be printed witho
problems. Does the relevant
have the graphic know-how hi
print a beautiful but complex laS
the right grades of paper and ink:
able in that country? Those are the ques
tions we have to answer. Besides that,
the designer's intentions have to be
'translated' into a clear production as
signment for the printer of the pack.
Essentially, therefore, we act as inter
mediaries between creativity and
graphic techniques.'
Implementation
But Corporate Brands Design does
much more. Guidelines are drawn up to
ensure consistency in the image of
Heineken products, whether this in
volves a label or an outer box, or a pro
motional article which has to carry the
corporate logo.
Eighty per cent of the department's
work is devoted to packaging, as the
pack is in fact the company's visiting
card with an immediate visual impact
on the consumer. But the department's
work goes beyond advising and draw
ing up guidelines. Corporate Brands De
sign is also involved in implementation.
The department has to provide the
printers with the right materials and
instructions so that they can print a
pack which complies in full with the
Heineken guidelines.
Those guidelines are strict, very
strict indeed. For example, if a change
in local legislation means that one of
our partners has to alter just one single
figure on the label, they will have to let
Corporate Brands Design handle that
for them. It may seem a roundabout and
expensive method, but it is absolutely
necessary to maintain a consistent
Mmi
laches
|ose statutory regulations in each
country sometimes cause Mr.
and his colleagues quite some
hes. As the brewery is obliged to
fivide an increasing amount of infor
mation on the label, the need arises for
'creativity within the confines of a
square millimetre because we want to
include such information in the label
without spoiling the label's overall
image.' And, specifically because that
list of statutory product information is
becoming longer and longer, the brew
cries are increasingly starting to use a
label on the back of the bottle. In this
way the legal regulations can be met
without this impairing the visual quality
of the body label.
What would happen if Heineken
wanted to introduce Heineken beer in
a hypothetical country where the local
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN