Case Study Archives: Forms simplification

Of the many interactions audiences have with a brand, an organization communicates more directly and more often through its business forms than through any other media. Forms are expensive to produce, warehouse, and keep current. But even more importantly, they may be a determining factor in how your brand is perceived. Confusing, crowded forms frustrate customers and employees. They also lead to higher administrative costs, lower sales, and a poor company image.

BrandLogic designed a form system for GE, redesigning many of the company’s forms and providing guidelines for the production of future forms. Prior to devising the system, BrandLogic conducted extensive, worldwide audits to determine which forms could be eliminated, combined, simplified, improved, or made easier to use.

One important benefit of the new design system was to provide consistency and more organized, streamlined, and foresighted production and processing practices at many of the company’s business units.

“The more you think about the forms process, the more you can save,” said the forms management administrator at GE Aircraft Engines. "The centralized forms production and design processes at GE Aircraft Engines have contributed to higher-quality, lower-cost forms because everything from how a form is filed to how many forms are printed is addressed upfront.”

A name change from “American Home Products” to “Wyeth” necessitated production of new business forms, but also provided this company an opportunity to improve and update its form system.
    The form system was part of BrandLogic’s worldwide implementation of the name change and a new brand identity: a major strategic move for the $14 billion pharmaceutical company that makes many well-known prescription drugs, as well as consumer brands such as Advil®, Centrum®, and Chap Stick®.

Like all business forms, Wyeth’s forms would be seen by many employees, business partners, and consumers around the world in the form of paychecks, invoices, applications for employment, information packets, and thousands of other applications. The redesigned forms took on the additional role of being one of the first introductions much of the company’s audience had to its new brand identity.