The goal is to both preserve continuity with the past and to drive the enterprise's identity and core values into the future. The rise of the literacy and print-based mass media in late 1800's made it possible to disseminate information that was previously shared only in small groups, giving rise to many societal traditions and symbols that are now often assumed to have very ancient origins. Most current rituals of the British royalty are scarcely older than the airplane. Most existing corporations were founded well before the rise of the Web and will presumably exist well after various forms of network-based communications have become invisible routine in most enterprises. Symbols function best when they clearly transcend the immediate practical use they may have in your current Web pages or annual report.
Some institutions are so novel and unprecedented that even historical continuity has to be invented.
Backstories have moved out of Hollywood film and into technology companies too young to have a real past to borrow from. No one at ILM was under any illusions about the house-the point of writing a backstory was to create a consistent and convincing historical context for designing period details into a modern construction. Young companies might do well to create a backstory before designing their sites, not to mislead the reader, but to consciously avoid looking too ephemeral to be considered trustworthy. No one has been there long 2. It is tough to look trustworthy when your identity and Web site are designed only to look immediate.