Brand Evolution

Evolve or die. That's the brand mantra in the current hyper paced retail environment. Brands need to constantly keep fine-tuning their personality. Sometimes it requires a return to the history books in order for a brand to move forward. Many successful brand rejuvenations went back in time to rekindle the essence of their DNA. Burberry's, Harley-Davidson, Nike and many others have returned to their roots to get consumers to remember why they loved the brand in the first place.

The Art and Science of Rebranding

It's important to note that research and strategic planning play a key role in a successful rebranding campaign. The key stakeholders, customers and employees should be taken into account. It's also important to look not only at the historical aspect of the company -- but the potential new horizons that will be the future of the brand.

Seeing into this future is part of the visionary skill set of the brand development team. Is there any equity in the current brand? Is it a complete overhaul -- or a brand evolution?

Best Rebrands

RIP Steve Jobs

I'm pretty sure the graphic design community is the largest and most hardcore group of followers of the Apple brand. Without the Mac, we would have struggled to create ads, logos, packaging and all that goes into "design".
Thanks Steve! You made it all better.

Ducati Sport Classic - 70's chic

I am digging the retro motorcycle craze. So many cool old bikes showing up on eBay and Craigslist. Lots of reissues and retro inspired bikes popping up from Harley, Ducati, Triumph and beyond. This Ducati Sportclassic is a sweet looking machine. Stay tuned for more eye candy.

Fiat 500: Sexy Beast

This is the new Fiat 500 Abarth edition. Sexy little beast. Glad to see the Italians jump in and take on the Smart car and the Mini.

Swoosh: 40 Years Fly By

The story of the Nike Swoosh logo...
here's an excerpt from Steven Heller's new book.

The origin of the mark goes like this: Knight wanted to differentiate BRS's custom product from the ones they were importing from Onituska in Japan: "...so Knight turned to a graphic design student he met at Portland State University two years earlier." One day in 1969, the student, Carolyn Davidson, was approached by Knight and offered $2 per hour "to make charts and graphics" for his business. For the next two years Davidson managed the design work on BRS. "Then one day Phil asked me if I wanted to work on a shoe stripe," Davidson recalled. The only advice she received was to "Make the stripe supportive of the shoe." Davidson came up with half a dozen options. None of the options "captivated anyone" so it came down to "which was the least awful."

Swoosh: 40 Years Fly By — Imprint-The Online Community for Graphic Designers