We work with aspirational brands to define their story and build strategies for meaningful connections

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From full brand identities to campaigns that change perceptions and improve reputation, we use what makes your brand incredible to create stories that stand out.

We unlock what’s truly special and distinctive about your organisation and then deploy that difference to create meaningful connections with the people that matter most.

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Brand blasphemy: go on, mess with your logo

Brand blasphemy: go on, mess with your logo

Resilience to tinkering is an underappreciated quality in a logo.

In the process of making a point about sustainability, designer Sylvain Boyer proved the resilience of several well known consumer brand logos. Boyer selectively whited out sections of the McDonald’s, Starbucks and Coca-Cola logos, among others, to create versions that use up as much as 38% less ink when printed on packaging.

What struck us about the project – besides the implications for the environment and the companies’ printing costs – was how little the redesign seems to affect these logos. In some, the change is only noticeable with the original logo alongside.

In context, out in the world, supported by the other elements of the brand – staff uniforms, packaging design, environment branding – we can imagine the change being imperceptible. A logo that can weather the loss of 38% of its bulk without losing any of what makes it recognisable? That’s the kind of resilience we aspire to.

In fact, there’s a clear parallel between Boyer’s project and the growing trend of brands stripping back their logo mark to its simplest form. You only have to look at the evolution of some of the world’s most beloved brands over the past ten years to see what we mean.

BMW, Instagram and Samsung (to name but a few) have all gradually been removing any and all fuss, excess colour and superfluous elements to make sure their their logos get across what makes them truly special, in a way that’s fit for today’s time-poor, digitally savvy, information overloaded consumer.

The logo is often the most heavily policed element of the brand, with pages of guidelines dedicated to examples of acceptable and unacceptable use. When the logo isn’t the be all and end all of your brand, it can survive much more tinkering and experimentation. And as long as it’s done with a precise understanding of what makes the brand recognisable, experimentation and creativity can only make the brand stronger.

When the logo isn’t the be all and end all, it can survive much more tinkering

5 rules for unique brand values

5 rules for unique brand values

Your company’s values need to be as unique as the rest of your brand. Here’s how to define values that couldn’t belong to any other organisation.

Involve your people
Your values are going to govern decisions at the executive level and attitudes throughout the company (otherwise why define them?). If people don’t know what your values mean, or the expectations they represent, they can’t be effective. Start by finding out what principles people are already holding themselves to, and expressing them in terms people recognise.

Prioritise and be proud
To value something in a meaningful way, there have to be things you don’t value so much. A company that values everything equally, values nothing. Acknowledge that the process of defining brand values also involves designating some things as lower priorities.

Let some things go without saying
At this point, we can safely assume there isn’t a company on Earth that doesn’t value innovation, trust, and people. So give yourself permission not to state the obvious, and open up space in your Brand on a page to define the values that make you different.

Keep questioning until the answers are satisfying
Ask “what does it mean that we value this?” until you feel like a toddler repeating “why”. Ask “would any company value the opposite of this?” – and if the very question seems absurd (who would value distrust?), ask whether making it one of your values is stating the obvious.

Allow for evolution
Companies, like people, change and grow with the world. Even if you’re satisfied that your values are right and they’re embedded throughout the business, you need to revisit them every couple of years. Ask whether they still describe the perspectives and principles of the people you’re asking to uphold them.

Give yourself permission not to state the obvious

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