From corporate identity to experience identity

Marty Neumeier, often regarded as the Father of Branding, famously stated:

“A Logo is not a brand. (…) A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or company. It’s in their heads and in their hearts. ”

At VAVE, we transform abstract corporate identities into tangible emotional environments where audiences feel the brand – it’s essence, values and stories. We redefine how people connect with brands, each other, and the world around them by putting feelings first. Our approach transcends traditional branding, introducing Experience Identity.

Experience Identity unfolds across both physical and digital spaces, where brands truly come to life. Every touchpoint, whether it’s a showroom, retail store, or online platform, connects the brand’s identity with its audience to forge emotional links that reaches both the heads and the hearts of people.

Translate corporate identity to space and experience identity

Our role is to transform a brand’s unique identity into immersive spatial experiences that resonate across various touchpoints. From events and trade shows to office spaces, brand showrooms, innovation centers and more. Our mission isn’t just to showcase a brand’s values and stories but to embody them. We create environments where people don’t just see the brand, they feel it, live it, and connect with it on an emotional level.

For example, with Lynk & Co, we explored how their bold, disruptive message „change mobility forever and challenge conventions in everything we do“ could be reflected in space at the Chengdu Motor Show  We delved deeply into the brand’s story, values, and attitude. As a relatively new automobile brand in an industry that has seen little change for decades, Lynk & Co took a bold stance: instead of being „another car company“, Lynk & Co is claiming to be an innovative mobility provider, offering a diverse range of car ownership options, including subscription models or even car sharing options. That’s why every Lynk & Co car comes pre-equipped with innovative car sharing technology.

“Car sharing isn’t just a service – it’s about enabling mobility and committing to sustainability” says Alain Visser, CEO of Lynk & Co. “It’s our way of revolutionizing the very essence of car ownership, paving the way for a more sustainable and inclusive tomorrow, one ride at a time.”

This statement and offerings translate well with young individuals today. In the Netherlands, 22% of Lynk & Co customers share their cars1, Adding the fact that 96% of the time cars are parked, forces us to rethink the way we design our environments.

So our approach was as radical as Lynk & Co: “let’s flip” the norm!.  Rather than displaying cars traditionally at the front of house, we flipped the plan, pushed the cars display back of house to give space to what really matters: a community space for connections and experiences.

A dynamic urban playground of performances and lifestyle interactions. This inversion of expectations physically expressed Lynk & Co’s core message of breaking norms, embedding the brand in an unforgettable, emotion-driven experience.

By doing so, we transformed Lynk & Co’s intangible identity into a tangible, immersive space, creating the emotional connection the brand aims to foster with its audience.

Craft a brand’s experience identity in sync with the brand's growth and transformation over time

A brand evolves, and so must its experiences. Our long-term collaborations allow us to align designs with brand growth, ensuring emotional resonance remains strong over time.

The transformation of stc (Saudi Telecom Company) is a prime example of how we help brands adapt and thrive. Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia has undergone profound political, cultural, and economic changes under Vision 2030, a national blueprint for diversification and modernization. As a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s telecommunications infrastructure, stc recognized that to stay relevant, it needed to evolve beyond its traditional role.

The Forward Museum reflects stcs transformation. Through this holistic experience, visitors are immersed in a world where everything is moving forward. The brand corporate identity transforms into a living narrative, engaging visitors and creating a unique experience that they can associate exclusively with stc.

Today, as stc pivots from a telecom provider to a digital leader, its retail spaces must also align with this transformation. VAVE has been tasked with developing the new retail guidelines for stc. The goal is to reflect stcs expanded product and service offerings, creating an experiential store environment where visitors can explore, engage, and interact with the brand, building a hub for people’s digital lifestyles.

From the initial pop-up guidelines to the stc Forward Museum and the retail guidelines, we are consistently working with stc to tailor their experience identity in step with the brand’s evolution. Throughout this journey, we’ve remained focused on the core mission: creating emotional connections with people and making them truly feel about the brand.

Building long-lasting relationships through quality and reliability

Beyond creative approaches, we believe that one of the most essential aspects of working with large corporations over time is establishing consistent trust, built on reliability and quality. Achieving this requires not only creativity but also professional management to ensure smooth execution and long-term alignment.

Translating the essence of a brand into spatial and experiential identities starts with in-depth research. A brand’s core often lies in intangible elements, its heritage, values, culture, and vision. By weaving these components together, we build a complete narrative that guides every design decision. Long-term collaboration deepens this understanding, allowing us to evolve with the brand.

We have developed such relationships with major corporations like stc, Lynk & Co, United Imaging Healthcare and others. Our projects span diverse categories, from trade fairs and offices to events, brand centers, and retail outlets. Across these touchpoints, consistency is vital, not only in visual identity but in the experiences these spaces create.

A cohesive experience identity is more than a set of guidelines. It’s a dynamic reflection of what a company stands for, blending design and storytelling to create lasting impressions and authentic connections.

This relationship-driven approach ensures that as the brand evolves, its spatial identity evolves with it, staying aligned with its growth and future aspirations. Consistency in design becomes a tool not just for recognition but for reinforcing the brand’s values and authenticity, ensuring each space is a true reflection of its essence.

Take-aways

From corporate identity to experience identity, we elevate a brand’s essence to an emotional level, where its true power lies. A brand shapes its reputation, builds relationships, and creates meaningful experiences. A brand exists for humans, with humans, and within humans.

As modern design master Paul Rand said, “Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.” At VAVE, we’re committed to crafting unique experience identities and voices that resonate with both the heads and hearts of people.