“We have presented evidence that suggests the corporate identity construct
is not benign and that there are potential ethical dangers. We are not suggesting that corporate leaders never set out with the best of intentions; the problem is that very quickly such intentions become so entwined with competing interests that they become lost to the point where an identity constructed along lines of social responsibility can be misleading and disingenuous.

Finally, the debate in this article has implications for researchers and academic commentators in this area. We would reassert the value of seeing corporate identity as an anthropomorphism that is convenient, but represents an analogy, projection or metaphor only (Ashman & Winstanley 2007, 95).”

Is it immoral to communicate using Ci’s? Trademarks are commonly used as stand-in for Brand presence. The swoosh or the coke bottle stand visually for the entity.
Ideally, the designer spent enough time in the organsation and got a proper brief to create the Ci which is reflecting the values of the organsation.

And with this I don’t mean the unfortunately common approach of writing a one page brief that outlines what colours the CEO likes or market intelligence that counts the number of plumbers in the area. The best Ci’s represent the essence of collective values of the people who work in the place with a collective name. If the people’s values are corrupt, so is the Ci. However, Ci’s are not moral. They don’t represent boundaries, they are amoral. In my professional understanding they represent shared values.