Corporate design for car rental companies: Why it's important and what to look out for
10.04.2025
In today’s highly competitive world, it is essential for every company – including car rental companies – to have a strong corporate identity. This identity not only defines the visual appearance, but also encompasses corporate communication and corporate culture. Together, these elements form the overall image and are crucial for the perception and long-term success of a company.
A well thought-out corporate design (CD) is a central component of this corporate identity. Your customers cannot identify with companies, they identify with faces. The corporate design is the face of your company. When you think of big brands, you probably first think of visual elements such as the logo or the colors. A good corporate design therefore helps car rental companies to stand out from the competition, retain customers and convey a consistent brand image. In this article, you will learn which aspects you should consider when developing a strong corporate design.
Logo: The heart of your brand identity
A strong logo is the heart of the corporate design. It represents the brand at first glance and should therefore be concise and meaningful. Make sure that it is easily recognizable and that your brand name is easy to read. For brands that are still unknown, the logo should discreetly explain what your company does. You can achieve this, for example, with a small slogan under the logo or a meaningful image in the logo (the so-called signet). Berit Garbrecht, our Head of Marketing, explains what we paid attention to when creating our logo: “With our logo, we paid particular attention to the legibility of the brand. With the smaller O, we have an element that has a high recognition value. It may also remind some people of the round shape of car tires, whereby we demonstrate the mobility aspect of our brand. With the latest adaptation of our corporate design, we wanted to create an additional element that can be used to complement the logo to give a more subtle indication of our brand without always having to use the entire logo,” explains Berit. The signet is an excerpt from our logo and stands for mobility: the circle symbolizes mobility, while the two bars represent our Mobility Partnership and mobility-OS products. “We particularly like to use it when there is not enough space to use the full logo or when we want it to be less noticeable,” says Berit.
Typography and color choice: How your brand communicates visually
Choosing the right typography is crucial to communicating a company’s personality and values. For your stationery, you should choose fonts that reflect the identity of your brand. It is important to consider appropriate fonts for all media, body text in brochures and on your website, as well as for decorative purposes. Typography should be clear, legible and consistent across all communication channels. Ideally, the chosen font should match your logo to convey a consistent image.
Colors are much more than an aesthetic tool – they convey emotions, values and moods. When Berit Garbrecht, our Head of Marketing, took up her position at Choice AG, the corporate design was in a state of upheaval. Choice’s designs used to thrive on color and variety, but over the years these were reduced and led to a black and white appearance. Berit realized that important elements were missing and that the design no longer reflected the colorful diversity and different characters of our company. “A corporate design is the face of a brand, while the company values represent its personality,” emphasizes Berit. However, this personality should also be reflected in our colors. “People should be able to identify with our brand.”
To achieve this, Berit initiated a creative process. It is often useful to ask which colors people prefer in order to find out which colors suit a person. These preferences are often defined by seasons. Berit asked her colleagues the question: “What season would Choice AG be if she were one?” The answer was clear: a late spring, which embodies a positive attitude because people are looking forward to summer. “We feel this as a company and work together to grow,” she explains. “These answers inspired me. I chose a picture of a spring landscape and extracted the colors from it to develop our new color palette.” Blue stands for reliability, green symbolizes respect and terracotta represents energy. These colors are the visual heart of our new design.
This story is intended as an example of how you can arrive at your individual corporate colors. Of course, you can also find the perfect corporate colors in other ways. However, it is advisable to pay attention to color theory. People associate different emotions with different colors. While red is often perceived as aggressive, yellow, for example, is a rather calm, balanced color. Think about how you want your brand to come across and adapt your colors accordingly.
Style guide as the key to uniform brand communication
A corporate design style guide is an indispensable tool that ensures that all visual elements of your brand are used consistently and uniformly. It serves as a comprehensive guide for the design of communication materials and helps to maintain brand identity across all channels. The style guide defines how to use the logo, typography, colors and other design elements correctly. It provides detailed instructions on the use of fonts, color palettes and layouts to ensure that all materials reflect the brand values and desired aesthetic.
A well-thought-out style guide not only provides clear guidelines, but also the necessary space for creative development. While a design that is too superficial can offer freedom, there is a danger that it can be restrictive if you don’t dare to design new things for fear of losing consistency. A balanced style guide, on the other hand, makes it possible to innovate within the established framework while maintaining brand integrity.
In addition, a detailed style guide promotes efficiency in the design process. It reduces the need for repeated coordination and corrections, as everyone involved can access a common visual language.
Touchpoints: Consistency in stores and online
Touchpoints are all places and opportunities where customers come into contact with a brand. This applies to the car rental industry as well as other sectors. These touchpoints can take place online, via booking platforms and customer portals, as well as in the physical branches of the car rental company. A consistent design at all these touchpoints is crucial to strengthen brand recognition, build trust and convey professionalism.
Especially when a branch network is being established, it is important that customers experience the same recognition value in every branch. A well-defined corporate design helps to consistently implement the design specifications – whether in the design of the branches or the digital user interfaces. This ensures that customers have the same positive brand experience everywhere.
Corporate design as a competitive advantage for your car rental company
A strong corporate design is more than just an aesthetic aspect; it is a strategic tool that conveys the identity and values of your car rental company to the outside world. By carefully selecting your logo, typography and colors, you not only create a consistent and appealing look, but also an emotional connection with your customers. Overall, a strong corporate design helps to strengthen the brand identity and ensure long-term success.