Best Branding and Rebranding of 2017

“A logo may not cure the world, but great branding may just make a better world to live in.”

A belief that’s helped me and some of the best designers in the industry make 2017 a great year in branding and design. Branding and rebranding are never easy tasks to achieve; the process is much less about timing and money, more about solving and helping. We’ve seen some great work come out of the most unexpected studios and agencies, but we’ve also seen fantastic designs from individuals who hold the flame of design and it’s principles very high. From small start-ups to established brands, 2017 has come and gone with a bigger sense of passion for great design than ever before. We have paid tribute to the past masters by emulating and learning from them, but also adapting our designs to the ever-changing technology landscape. The industry is growing and thriving, but the gatekeepers of branding and great design have led the way by example with their amazing work and case studies of what great design is and should be.

           From Paula Scher’s incredible work on The Quad Cinema’s, Tendergreens, to Interbrands rebrand of the Juventus sports team, we’ve learnt that it’s not only about the logo design or the font choice you make, but much more about originality and insights as well as the applications and multiple delivery touchpoints developed to guide their audiences experience towards the brand journey and engage them into understanding the reasons behind the design decisions. Designers may have done the heavy lifting by creating the logos and brand assets, but they have also worn the hat of justifying the branding through social media, videos tutorials and honest conversations.

We are lucky to have opinionated voices like Rich Baird, Ian Paget, Debbie Millman, Natasha Jen, Chris Do, Mauro Porcini and many more, spend countless hours of curated on-line content, tutorials teaching and interviews about the importance of good design, how to think about a brand and how to go by selling your designs to your clients and costumers.

We’ve learnt that design by itself is not enough. Putting a company brand or redesign out there can potentially receive both backlash and negative criticism. Yet when the see the results and rationales, backed by strong conceptual ideas based on smart insights and strategies, the design decisions begin to make more sense to them and the consumers will begin to embrace and engage much more with the brand. Some achieved this through a simple color strategy and communication revamp, as seen with e-bay or Dropbox, others went big bold and retro cool, as in Chobani. Other brands made bigger changes to reach a wider audience and make their designs assets more adaptable for future technologies, for example the F1 rebrand by the W+K London team.

           In terms of packaging designs, we have seen amazing work that embraced more a verbal tone and voice expression to direct the designs, like the Ugly rebrand, Batch Organics and Waun! Ice Cream. Some packaging designs even went as far as straight up copying other designs like Nespresso limited edition packaging launched this year which is very close to Bond’s widely circulated Allsorts design from 2013.

           As for completely new brands, I appreciated Sydney’s School of Entrepreneurship dynamic and versatile treatment of their identity that generates new shapes, creating a unique logo on a daily basis. Kaibosh fashion eyewear branding by Sweden-based Snask, also showed us that shape-shifting typography can be used as a form of visual brand communication for a trendy fashion brand. London based SomeOne agency did a fantastic job, by giving the old HiyaCar logo and brand an energetic approach with a multicoloured palette of choice, with animated elements, for a digitally-led service. The identity revolves around illustrations and compositions of colorful “trails” that are meant to represent cars on the road zooming along. They are enjoyable, unique, and yield interesting textures, especially on the darker backgrounds.

           As for the best rebrand of the year, my vote goes to the extraordinary designs for Polaroid Originals. In the same vain as the 2016 Co-Op rebrand, Polaroid’s in-house team decided to dig deep in the their treasure trove of past designs, archives and materials to form a fresh new and exciting identity that current and future generations can appreciate. By simply paying homage to the original visual identity by Paul Giambarba from the 1960s, Danny Pemberton’s design team refined the old logo, gave it a cool twist and relied more on the fresh packaging and design assets to re-launch the brand for the new Instagram generation, born way after the Polaroid camera went out of fashion. A great nostalgic approach, which may be best, fitted for the diehard Polaroid enthusiast, but generated enough buzz that the sales of the new revamped version of the Polaroid camera are in back order waiting list. Great case study for future brands and companies who are are looking for a brand evolution rather than revolution. I have a feeling that some 2018 and beyond rebrands will place a greater importance on a visit of their heritage designs assets, to create new branding tools with a better appreciation for simpler and bolder styles.