branding design case study

20 Brilliant Design Case Studies That Neatly Present Brand Identity Concepts

• Articles & Inspiration
• 13 November 2017

21 Comments

Developing a brand identity involves more than just making a logo design. Research into the company’s values is necessary to collect inspiration from which to draw ideas. Concept sketches are then developed into a visual identity that represents the brand, which consists of not just the logomark, but also a complementary colour scheme and typography that provide consistency across the entire brand image. Rather than presenting just the final logo graphic in their portfolios, the designers featured in today’s showcase have produced thorough case studies that completely breakdown their brand designs. See how they neatly present the concept alongside stationery mockups and examples of real life usage.

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interastar by Necon

BEUNIT by Ollestudio

Validbox by Motyf Studio

Fortune Step by Sheen Young

BKK Logos by Hidden Characters

Worken Identity by Paola Flores

4Decision by Joy Intermedia

Costella Empreendimentos by Estudio Alice

Wyre Branding by Ramotion

Volusion Brand Identity by Ramotion

Veranda by Marka Network

Annecy by Grapheine

Gaia by Marka Network

Neostalgia by Marka Network

Jalan Surabaya Antique Market

Charly Gusto by Mubien Studio

Palm House by The Seventh Art

Aracely Melendrez Arquitecto by Roberto Melendrez

Extrajet by Alphabet

Origami by Mohammed Mirza

Semet Identity by Mohd Almousa

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that’s all cool am,azing design process and very talented designer i’ve ever seen.. I hope you to upload tutorial on Youtube about logo process design and brainstorming idea for logo project ? ,. Hope you answer… Thanks :)

Thanks for your feedback/request!

Amazing cases.. Thanks for sharing!!

Glad you liked the examples. Thanks Eduardo

Such amazing talent! Thank you for sharing Chris : )

Thanks for your comment Leandi

They all look fantastic!

Glad you liked the post

Wow! Nice work! I really like it! Keep it up :)

Thank you tauhedul

This goes to show the amount of thought and dedication that is put into designing logos. They’re not just logos but rather the birthchild of a creator.

I like that concept

Amazing, thanks for sharing! I always in a search for something new for my site and sites of my clients

Thanks for your comment Betty

Great examples Chris. The first one, Interastar, reminds me of the E-trade logo.

Glad you liked the examples Michael!

This is one fine article worth bookmarking as a brand design resource. Great designs with fantastic color schemes and top class typography. Thanks a lot for sharing :)

Glad you like the article Davo!

ThanQ for presenting these examples, they helped allot

Ohhh MG you are amazing !! Wonderful, fantastic and beautiful works. Where you studied? Im from Puerto Rico and I did my Master Degree in Pratt institute, my favorite designs are Corporate Identity but a long time I dont work, I really like a lot your Corporate Identity works, my works are junk next to yours. I wich to meet you and see your other works. Continue like that, you’re going to get far away. GOD BLESS YOU.

that is Awesome…! a true brand identity is such like that. This makes your costumes really amazed at your creativity. By the way, who is the mighty designer behind all this,. thanks

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Top 10 Brand Design Case Studies To Learn From

Stuart Crawford

Have you ever walked into a party and instantly known who the cool kids were? That's what excellent brand design does in the marketplace. It sings, dances, and sometimes even does backflips to get your attention.

However, not all brand designs are equal. Some of them are that character at the party who's trying a little too hard, all flash and no substance. Others are wallflowers, barely making a peep. And then those few strike that perfect balance, leaving an indelible mark upon our collective psyche.

We'll waltz through 10 different brand designs that have tried their turn around this precarious dance. Some have nailed it, becoming the life of the party. Others? They might need a few more dance lessons.

Why does that matter? Because in a world drowning in noise, clarity is king. And great brand design ? That's the crown jewel of clarity.

Buckle up because we're about to embark on a trip into the bold, beautiful, and downright baffling world of brand design. I guarantee you'll never look at these brands the same way again.

Why Brand Design Matters

Before the case studies, let's discuss why brand design is a big deal. How would you stand apart in a world facing thousands of messages daily? How do you make people remember you? That's where brand design comes in.

Brand design is more than slapping a pretty logo on your product; it's creating a visual identity through design that tells your story, connects you with your audience, and makes you unforgettable. 

The secret sauce makes the forgettable business become the one everyone raves about. 

The Anatomy of Effective Brand Design 

So, what goes into making a brand design tick? Here are the key ingredients. 

• Logo: the face of your brand
• Colour Palette: The emotions you evoke 
• Typography: The voice of your brand 
• Imagery: The world you create 
• Consistency: The glue that holds it all together 

Let's roll our sleeves and dive into our top 10 brand design case studies. Each one of these brands nailed their visual identity in inspiring and different ways. Ready? Here we go!

1 – Airbnb: From Startup to Global Phenomenon

Remember when Airbnb had that quirky idea about air mattresses and breakfast? Look at them now! Going from a scrappy startup to a global hospitality giant is impressive. And its brand design? It played a massive role in this transformation.

The Bélo: More Than Just a Logo

In 2014, Airbnb let the world meet its new logo, the “Bélo”. It is an elegant, simple symbol that resembles a cross between an A, a heart, and a location pin. Brilliant, right? But here is the best part: it's designed for anyone to draw. It's a symbol of belonging that transcends language and culture .

Colour and Typography: Warmth and Inclusivity

A coral pink – the company dominates Airbnb's colour palette and has even officially named the shade “ Rausch “. It's warm, inviting, and cuts through in a sea of blue tech companies. Its typography is modern and clean, and it has a custom typeface called “Cereal” – just like breakfast cereal. 

Impact: A Brand That Feels Like Home

The result? A brand that's as warm and inviting as the homes it lists. Airbnb's design isn't just good-looking; it embodies the purpose of making a world where anyone can belong anywhere. That is a robust brand design!

2 – Spotify: Turning Sound into Colour

Next up, let's tune in with Spotify. This music-streaming giant changed how we consume music, and their brand design is no less revolutionary than the service itself.

The Evolution: From Green to Vibrant

Spotify was born with a simple green and black identity. It grew a little more as it grew. In 2015, they revealed a vibrant, colourful design that captured the energy and diversity of music itself.

Duotone Magic: A Treat for the Eyes

Of all the aspects, duotone images are undeniably a masterstroke. This arresting visual effect uses two contrasting colours to render images with outstanding meanings, popping right out of the screen. This technique gained great recognition even for Spotify, differentiating it from the crowded digital world.

Typography and Layout: Calm in the Storm

Clean and modern, Spotify's typography cuts through the noise, lending clarity to its colourful world. The grid-based layout is flexible, allowing for creative arrangements that reflect the diversity of music. Result: A brand that sounds as good as it looks.

Spotify's brand design shines a light on exactly how a product can be mirrored through the development of a company's visual identity. It's a design that looks good but, moreover, feels like music. Vibrant, diverse, and in continuous motion – just like our favourite tunes.

3 – Slack: Making Work More Colourful

Who says work tools need to be bland? Certainly not Slack! This communication platform took the enterprise world by storm, and its brand design played a huge role in that process.

The Logo: A Playful Twist

The Slack logo seems plain at first sight, but there's more to it than meets the eye. It features 11 different colours for 11 uniquely different aspects of communication. This is like a visual representation of all the conversations happening across their platform.

Colour Palette: A Rainbow of Productivity

Slack's colour palette is vibrant and diverse. They use all sorts of bright colours that feel fun and energetic and break the typical mindset of corporate‎ work tools needing to be dull in presentation.

Illustrations: Bringing Personality to Work

A big standout in Slack's designs is its use of illustrations: quirky, character-driven images that add a sense of humanity and humour to its brand, taking what was once considered a chore regarding workplace communication into something that felt creative.

Work Doesn't Have to Be Boring.

Slack's brand design says it clearly: work need not be dull. By infusing their visual identity with colour, creativity, and a bit of whimsey, they've created a brand that makes people look forward to using a work tool. Now that's an achievement!

4 – Mastercard: Simplifying a Global Icon

When you're a global brand recognised by billions, how do you refresh your look without losing your identity? Mastercard's 2016 rebrand is a masterclass in modernising a classic logo. 

The Logo: Less Is More

Mastercard's new identity stripped away everything superfluous and held on to the bare minimum: two intersecting circles in red and yellow. Simple, bold, and instantly recognisable. It's such an icon that, in 2019, they dropped the wordmark from most uses.

Colour and Shape: Timeless Simplicity

These red and yellow circles have been part of the Mastercard identity since 1968. These core elements were retained in the redesign to preserve brand equity but propelled Mastercard to look different. The intersecting circles reflect connection and inclusiveness , essential ideals for a global financial brand.

Typography: Modern and Accessible

To that end, Mastercard revealed a new custom typeface called FFMark, which is clean, modern and highly legible across different sizes and media. Attention to typography will ensure that the brand communicates clearly in all contexts.

Result: A Brand Ready for the Digital Age

The redesign of Mastercard is the perfect case study in evolution to the digital age without losing its essence. This simplified logo works beautifully across all touchpoints, from a teeny mobile screen to gigantic billboards. It's a timeless design positions Mastercard as a modern, forward-thinking brand.

5 – Dropbox: Evolving Beyond the Box

Remember when Dropbox was just a blue box with a name? Yeah, they're far from that now. Their 2017 rebrand evolved them from a simple file storage service into a full-fledged creativity and collaboration platform. 

Logo: Opening the Box

Dropping the new logo, Dropbox exploded that iconic box into a series of surfaces. This is cool design-wise because it shows opening possibilities and the idea of your work breaking out of traditional constraints. It's simple yet loaded with meaning.

Colour Palette: Creative Explosion

Gone, the single blue of yesteryear Dropbox. This means bright, starkly contrasting colours that can be mixed and matched in infinite ways. Mixing and matching is a nod to the endless ways people use Dropbox to create and collaborate.

Typography and Imagery: Eclectic and Energetic

They introduced a new typeface , Sharp Grotesk, available in 259 different fonts : “expressive and dynamic communications.” The imagery runs from photography to illustration and 3D. It was essential to develop guidelines for applying the brand at every touchpoint.

The Impact: From Utility to Creativity

Dropbox's rebrand moved them from a utilitarian storage service to a creative enablement and collaboration platform. The flexible design system lets them speak to different audiences in their tongue and positions Dropbox as a versatile tool for the modern creative professional.

6 – Burger King: Serving Up Nostalgia with a Side of Modern

Finally, in 2021, Burger King flipped how this brand was designed. The result is a mouth-watering blend of retro charm and modern simplicity that has made everyone talk about it.

Logotype: Future to Past

Burger King returned to the basics, reviving its classic logo from the 70s and 80s. That was not all; it was far from some ‘nostalgia' play. Out came the grease paper and rulers, and streamlined it, simplifying the design. The resulting logo feels familiar and fresh as comfort food for your eyes!

Colour Palette: Juicy and Appetising

The new palette takes its inspiration from the food at Burger King. Think flame-grilled browns, melty cheese yellows, crisp green lettuce, and juicy red tomatoes. It's a colour palette that could make your stomach growl to look at it.

Typography: Bold and Tasty

Burger King unveiled a new bespoke typeface, “Flame Sans.” It's rounded, bold, and a little wonky – just like their burgers. It's designed to look good, whether on a billboard or squished onto a burger wrapper.

Imagery: Keeping It Real

In a world where everyone does food photography like art, Burger King zagged. This new imagery style puts forward their food's messy, drippy, real nature: honest, appetising, and utterly worth Instagramming.

The Impact: A Brand That's Flame-Grilled to Perfection

The Burger King rebrand indeed is a masterclass in readdressing a heritage brand for modernity. They have managed to tap into that nostalgic feel, feeling fresh and contemporary. One of those brand designs makes you run to the nearest Burger King to order a Whopper. Now, that is what effective design is all about.

7 – Mailchimp: From Quirky Startup to Marketing Powerhouse

The 2018 rebranding that Mailchimp did marks the passage of this company from a niche e-newsletter provider to a full-service marketing platform. Let's deconstruct how they keep the playful spirit while growing up.

The logo: Freddie Gets a Makeover

Mailchimp redesigned its favourite chimp mascot, Freddie, as a more refined version. The new Freddie was an icon rather than an illustration to make way for more varied media. But never mind; he still had that wink behind his eye.

Colour Palette: Cavendish Yellow Takes Centre Stage

Mailchimp doubled down on its signature Cavendish Yellow, using it more liberally across the brand. They balanced it with softer secondary colours , making the palette feel energetic yet refined.

Typography: Playful Yet Professional

Mailchimp introduced Cooper Light as its new typeface, marrying quirkiness and readability. They paired that with a sans-serif font for the body and developed a unique and functional typography system.

Illustrations: Hand-Drawn Whimsy

The most recognisable pieces of Mailchimp's rebrand are its quirky, hand-drawn illustrations. Yes, this injects personality and warmth, setting apart Mailchimp in cold marketing technology.

The Result: Growing Up Without Growing Old

Mailchimp's rebranding is a masterclass in evolving a brand without losing its essence. They have managed to forge a more mature, versatile visual identity that still retains so much of the playful spirit that made people fall in love with it in the first place. This is like watching your quirky friend grow into a successful businessperson – without losing their sense of humour.

8 – Guinness: Crafting a Timeless Brand

Guiness-when one thinks of iconic brands, it is at the top of the list. Its brand design has continued, changing subtly over the years but staying true to its core identity. Let us dive into this rich, creamy brand design.

The Logo: The Harp Playing a Visual Melody

The Guinness harp logo has been consistent since 1862: simple, beautiful, and unconsciously recognisable. It has been refined and fine-tuned and perpetually simplified over the years; it still retains, however, its all-important originality . It's a testament to a well-designed logo.

Colour Palette: More Than Just Black and White

While Guinness is synonymous with the deep dark colour of its stout, the brand design is not merely black and white. Gold accents add a premium quality feel, while deep reds or blues may be used for special editions or seasonal promotions.

Typography: Strength in Simplicity

Typography for Guinness is bold and matter-of-fact, much like the drink itself. They use serif and sans fonts together in often-all-caps, confident statements. The typography states, “We know who we are and are proud of it.”

Imagery: Celebrating Heritage and Craftsmanship

More often than not, Guinness' visual identity has elements of its rich history and the craftsmanship that goes into brewing the drink. From images of the St. James's Gate Brewery to the perfect pour of a pint, the imagery of Guinness reflects a brand steeped in tradition yet always facing the future.

The Impact: A Brand as Timeless as Its Taste

The Guinness brand design is a masterclass in longevity – how to remain relevant for more than 250 years and never lose one's core identity. It's one of those genuinely classic brands that feels just as contemporary as the perfect pint of Guinness.

9 – Netflix: Streaming Success Through Design

The journey of Netflix, from rentals of DVDs to a steaming giant, is phenomenal. The brand design has accompanied this journey perfectly and has changed with time to reflect their leadership in entertainment.

The Logo: Simplicity Meets Sophistication

The Netflix logo has undergone many changes, arguably at its best in its present form. Its bold, custom-designed wordmark is as instantly recognisable on a billboard as a tiny app icon on your phone.

Colour Palette: Red Hot Branding

Netflix's signature red is bold, energetic, and impossible to ignore. It's often used against a black background – a high-contrast look that cuts through in the busy entertainment marketplace. It brings to mind the classic theatre of the red curtains against the dark.

Typography: Cinematic yet Clear

Designed to be expressive and functional, Netflix Sans is the company's custom typeface. Equally adept as both show title and user interface elements, it's saved millions in licensing fees. If that's not a wise design investment, I don't know what is.

The ‘N' Icon: A Brand in Motion

However, One of Netflix's most innovative design elements is its animated ‘N' icon. This ribbon-like ‘N' unfurls to mimic a film strip, infusing it with a sense of movement and energy. It's a perfect manifestation of a brand centred on moving images.

User Interface: Design That Disappears

Netflix's UI design is an integral part of its brand experience. It's intuitively designed, unobtrusive, and keeps the content front and centre. The clean, image-focused layout makes browsing feel like walking through a virtual video store.

The Impact: A Brand That Entertains

It does more than look great – Netflix's brand design elevates the entire viewing experience. From the instant you see that red ‘N', right to the swooning ‘ta-dum' sound at the start of a show, every element collaborates towards conjuring anticipation for watching it. This is a brand which does not stream entertainment but is entertainment itself.

10 – Lego: Building a Timeless Brand Brick by Brick

Our final case study is a brand that's been a part of childhoods-and adult hobbies-for generations: Lego. This Danish toy company has built a brand as sturdy and versatile as its famous bricks. Let's snap together the pieces of their brand design.

The Logo: Simplicity in Play

The Lego logo is playful simplicity at its best: instantly recognisable, from bright red bubble-like letters to kids and adults alike. It has remained the same since 1973, proving that good design can stand the test of time.

Colour Palette: A Rainbow of Possibilities

Lego's colour palette is as diverse as the worlds you could create with their building blocks. Though its logo is stuck on red, black, and white, the product line has everything from indigo to yellow as part of its vibrant rainbow of colours. That's a testament to the endless possibilities that Lego is built on.

Typography: Playful yet legible

Typography – clean and legible, with the slightest hint of roundness to echo the shape of their bricks – is playful but not childlike. This has made the brand youthful but also appealed to adult enthusiasts.

Lego's visual identity consists mainly of impressive constructions made with their bricks, showing what is possible with their product. It also involves CGI characters from themed sets and movies, bridging physical play to digital entertainment.

Packaging: A Window to Wonder

Packaging design also plays a significant part in Lego's brand experience. Many boxes feature a window, which showcases the bricks inside to build anticipation. It also doubles as inspiration, demonstrating completed models and suggesting alternative builds.

The Impact: A Brand Built to Last

The brand design from Lego – just like their product – is based on simplicity and versatility. It's one of those few brands that have kept fresh and alive through decades, as it appeals to new generations yet can attach itself firmly with nostalgia among adults. Among high-tech toys, the timeless design of Lego reminds one of something powerful: imagination and creativity .

The Building Blocks of Successful Brand Design

Now, having passed through these outstanding ten examples of brand design, let's piece together some key takeaways. What works for these brands? What can we be taught by their success?

Simplicity Is Key

From Mastercard's interlocking circles to Netflix's bold custom wordmark, simplicity is the name of the game for modern brand design . A simple design is more versatile, more memorable, and often far more timeless.

Consistency Across Touchpoints

Whether it's Spotify's duotone imagery or Airbnb's Bélo symbol, successful brands ensure the same across all contact points. This creates recognition and builds trust.

Flexibility for the Digital Age

Slack and Dropbox are among the companies that have created systems that will look stunning and perform great across digital channels. In today's multi-device world, your brand should look nice on a smartwatch or billboard.

Emotion and Personality Count

Quirky illustrations from Mailchimp and appetising colour palettes from Burger King prove that excellent brand design isn't just a question of looking good – it's about evoking emotions and showing personality.

Evolution, Not Revolution

Guinness and Lego show that sometimes you don't need wholesale change. Sometimes, subtle evolution over time is all it takes to keep a brand fresh while carrying a consistent core identity.

Design That Tells a Story

The best brand designs, like Airbnb's Bélo and Netflix's animated ‘N', tell a story about the brand. They aren't just pretty pictures; they have meaning to them.

Functionality Meets Aesthetics

Particularly for digital brands, such as Spotify and Netflix, brand design is about more than just forms; it is very much a part of the user experience . Good brand design enhances functionality, but it doesn't get in the way of it.

Conclusion: The Art and Science of Brand Design

The ten case studies shown here expose brand design as both art and science, aesthetics and strategic psychology for solving complex problems.

Excellent brand design does more than make a company look good; it tells its story, connects it with its audience, and drives its success . From Airbnb's inviting Bélo to the ever-timeless Lego logo, each of these brands has leveraged design for a visual identity that is not about good looks per se but a potent business tool.

Whether you're a designer, an entrepreneur, or someone who appreciates great design, these case studies have helped further illustrate the power of brand design in action. Next time you see a logo or interact with a brand, take just a moment to think about what it took to create it – your thoughts and imagination.

Robust brand design is no longer a nicety; it's a core necessity in today's world, where thousands of messages are thrown at you daily. It is what places you differently and will make people remember you; thus, it is ultimately about success.

So, what's your brand's story? How do you tell it visually? The world is waiting to see. Now, go out and design something unique!

FAQs About Brand Design

What is brand design.

Brand design is creating the look and feel of a company or product. It includes elements like logos, colour schemes, typography, and imagery that tell something about a brand's personality and values.

How often should a company refresh its brand design?

There is no correct answer, but mainly speaking, a company should renew its brand design every 5 to 10 years. However, significant rebrandings must be cautiously approached and taken strategically.

Can a small business afford professional brand design?

Professional brand design can be a significant investment, but there is something for every budget. So many designers have scalable packages, and even some DIY tools exist, but you have to remember that professional design brings value to your business.

How big of a role does colour play in branding?

Colour is paramount when it comes to brand design. It helps create a mood, improve brand awareness, and deliver your brand's personality. Scientists have found that colours increase brand recognition by a factor of 80 per cent .

What is the difference between a logo and a brand?

A logo is only a tiny part of a brand. While a logo identifies a business through a symbol or design, a brand speaks to all identity and personality, including values, voice, and customer perceptions.

How does brand design impact customer perception?

The brand design certainly plays a massive role in shaping customer perceptions. It communicates your company values, quality, and personality all at once glance. Consistent, professional branding will build trust and loyalty among customers.

What are the common mistakes in designing brands?

The common mistakes are that the designs tend to be over-elaborative, inconsistent through different platforms, copying trends without considering brand personality, and not considering the target audience in the design process.

How does digital media influence brand design?

The most impacting power of digital media is that versatility has become essential in brand design. Logos and other representations of a brand must work on all screen sizes and platforms, from smartwatches to billboards. This encourages a trend toward simplicity and adaptability in design.

What is the purpose of typography in brand design?

Typography does have a significant role in brand design. It can establish personality, enhance readability, and contribute to brand recognition. Most big brands have specially designed typefaces that they use exclusively.

How do I measure the success of my brand design?

Success is measured through brand recognition, customer perception surveys, social media engagement, and business performance. A/B testing is also functional when considering design changes.

Should my brand design follow current trends?

It is great to be aware of the trends, but your brand design should, more importantly, reflect your company and resonate with your target market. If you are chasing the trends, a design may feel very outdated.

How does the design of a brand vary across cultures?

The brand's design would vary significantly because of differences in the associations of colour, interpretation of symbols, and aesthetics. Companies operating on an international scale greatly need to consider these aspects in brand design.

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The Science of Successful Branding: Case Studies and Insights

Successful branding can influence consumer perceptions, build trust, and drive long-term customer loyalty.

Branding is a powerful force in the world of business. It's the art and science of creating a distinctive identity for a product, service, or company. Successful branding can influence consumer perceptions, build trust, and drive long-term customer loyalty. In this article, we will explore the science behind successful branding , exploring key principles and sharing case studies highlighting the strategies and insights that have propelled some of the world's most iconic brands to success.

Branding as an Emotional Connection

At its core, branding is about creating an emotional connection between a brand and its audience. It's not just about logos, colors, or slogans; it's about how a brand makes people feel. Successful brands understand that emotions play a crucial role in consumer decision-making. They tap into these emotions to create a bond that goes beyond the functional benefits of a product or service.

Case Study: Apple Inc.

One of the most iconic examples of emotional branding is Apple Inc. Apple's brand is synonymous with innovation, creativity, and a sense of belonging. They have mastered the art of making their customers feel like part of a community, appealing to their desire for uniqueness and self-expression. Apple's design aesthetic, sleek product packaging, and marketing campaigns all contribute to the emotional connection that has made Apple a global brand leader.

Consistency is Key

Consistency is a fundamental principle in successful branding. A brand should present a unified and coherent image across all touchpoints, from its website to its packaging and advertising. This consistency builds recognition and trust over time.

Case Study: Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola, one of the world's most recognizable brands, has maintained a consistent image for over a century. The red and white color scheme, the classic contour bottle, and the timeless "Enjoy Coca-Cola" slogan have remained largely unchanged, fostering a sense of nostalgia and reliability. This consistency has allowed Coca-Cola to establish a strong emotional connection with its customers, making it a global symbol of happiness and refreshment.

Understanding the Target Audience

A deep understanding of the target audience is essential for successful branding. Brands need to know who their customers are, what they value, and what problems they need to solve. This knowledge informs branding strategies, ensuring that a brand's message resonates with its audience.

Case Study: Nike

Nike's "Just Do It" campaign is a testament to understanding its audience. Nike recognized that its target demographic, athletes and sports enthusiasts, sought motivation and inspiration. The campaign's message, paired with powerful imagery of athletes overcoming challenges, spoke directly to this audience. The result? A brand that not only sells athletic gear but also motivates people to pursue their dreams and passions.

Storytelling: Creating a Brand Narrative

Storytelling is a powerful tool in branding. A compelling brand narrative can engage consumers on a deeper level, allowing them to connect with the brand's values and purpose.

Case Study: Patagonia

Outdoor clothing company Patagonia has embraced a brand narrative that goes beyond selling outdoor gear. They've positioned themselves as a brand that cares about the environment, sustainability, and social responsibility. Their "Worn Wear" campaign, which encourages customers to buy used Patagonia clothing and repair their old items, reinforces their commitment to reducing waste and protecting the planet. By weaving this narrative into their branding, Patagonia has attracted environmentally conscious consumers who resonate with their values.

Adaptation and Innovation

Brands must evolve and adapt to changing market dynamics, consumer preferences, and emerging trends. Stagnation can lead to irrelevance.

Case Study: Amazon

Amazon started as an online bookstore but rapidly evolved into a global e-commerce and tech giant. Their commitment to innovation demonstrated through products like the Kindle e-reader, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Amazon Echo, has allowed them to stay at the forefront of industry trends. Amazon's willingness to adapt and expand has made it a brand synonymous with convenience and innovation in the digital age.

Cultural Relevance

Brands that understand and embrace cultural relevance can connect with their audience on a deeper level. They tap into what's happening in the world and leverage it to create meaningful messages.

Case Study: Dove

Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign challenged traditional beauty standards and focused on promoting self-esteem and body positivity. By addressing a cultural shift towards acceptance and inclusivity, Dove resonated with consumers seeking authenticity and empowerment. This cultural relevance not only boosted brand loyalty but also led to societal change.

Customer Experience and Feedback

Brands must prioritize the customer experience and actively seek feedback. This helps brands improve their products, services, and messaging based on real-world insights.

Case Study: Zappos

Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer, places customer experience at the forefront of its branding. Their commitment to delivering exceptional customer service, including a 365-day return policy and 24/7 customer support, has turned customers into brand advocates. By actively seeking and responding to customer feedback, Zappos continuously refines its approach, resulting in a loyal customer base.

Consistency in Branding

Successful branding requires consistency across various touchpoints. This includes the visual elements of branding , such as logos and color schemes, but it also extends to the tone of voice, messaging, and the overall brand experience.

Case Study: Starbucks

Starbucks has mastered the art of consistent branding. Their green mermaid logo, cozy store ambiance, and the promise of a personalized coffee experience have been replicated worldwide. Customers can step into any Starbucks location, whether in Seattle or Shanghai and expect the same comforting atmosphere and quality coffee.

Sustainability and Responsibility

In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, brands that prioritize sustainability and social responsibility have a competitive edge.

Case Study: Unilever

Unilever, the consumer goods giant, has made sustainability a core part of its branding strategy. With brands like Ben & Jerry's and Dove, Unilever focuses on sustainable sourcing, ethical practices, and reducing its environmental impact. Their commitment to positive social and environmental change resonates with consumers who prioritize responsible consumption.

Adaptation to Digital Channels

In the digital age, brands must adapt to new marketing channels, such as social media, online advertising, and influencer partnerships.

Case Study: Airbnb

Airbnb disrupted the traditional hospitality industry by creating a platform that connects travelers with unique accommodations. They've harnessed the power of digital marketing and social media to reach a global audience, while user-generated content and reviews provide social

proof. Airbnb's success demonstrates the importance of adapting to digital channels and embracing the sharing economy.

The Role of Trust

Trust is the cornerstone of successful branding. Brands that consistently deliver on their promises and provide high-quality products and services build trust, which, in turn, leads to brand loyalty.

Case Study: Toyota

Toyota has established trust by consistently delivering reliable and durable vehicles. Over the years, their commitment to quality and innovation has earned the trust of millions of customers worldwide. This trust has not only resulted in brand loyalty but has also positioned Toyota as a leader in the automotive industry.

Authenticity in Branding

Authenticity is an increasingly vital aspect of successful branding. Consumers are drawn to brands that are genuine and transparent in their communication and actions.

Case Study: Pat McGrath Labs

Pat McGrath Labs, a cosmetics brand, stands out for its authenticity. Founder Pat McGrath, a renowned makeup artist, leveraged her personal brand and expertise to create a cosmetics line known for its quality and inclusivity. Her direct involvement and genuine passion for her products have created a cult following among makeup enthusiasts.

Embracing Change and Innovation

The world constantly changes , and brands that embrace change and innovation stay relevant. This includes adopting new technologies, exploring new markets, and seeking out opportunities for growth.

Case Study: Netflix

Netflix began as a DVD rental service but transitioned into a streaming platform, revolutionizing the entertainment industry. Their commitment to creating original content and adapting to consumer preferences has made them a household name, even as the media landscape continually evolves.

The science of successful branding is a dynamic and multifaceted field. It involves understanding the emotions and needs of the target audience, maintaining consistency, telling compelling stories , adapting to change, and prioritizing customer experience. The case studies provided, from Apple and Coca-Cola to Nike and Amazon, demonstrate how these principles have been applied in diverse ways to achieve remarkable success. Successful branding is not just about creating a logo; it's about creating an enduring and emotionally resonant identity that stands the test of time. It's about forging connections that transcend transactions and lead to lasting brand loyalty.

You Should Know

ThoughtLab is a dynamic and innovative full-service creative agency renowned for its exceptional branding prowess and relentless commitment to thinking outside the box. With a team of visionary creatives, strategists, Web3, and marketing experts, plus decades of superior website design, ThoughtLab consistently delivers groundbreaking solutions that redefine the boundaries of branding and design. They understand that breaking away from convention and embracing bold, unique ideas is vital in today's fast-paced and competitive landscape.

ThoughtLab's approach involves immersing themselves in their client's businesses, understanding their values and aspirations, and crafting tailor-made branding experiences that resonate deeply with the target audience. Their track record of success stands as a testament to their ability to push creative boundaries, captivate audiences, and ensure their client's brands stand out amidst the noise. With a focus on innovation and a passion for excellence, ThoughtLab continues to be at the forefront of revolutionizing the world of branding and marketing. Contact ThoughtLab today.

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Brand Equity: Understanding and Enhancing Your Brand’s Value

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Intelligent Brands, Built to Endure

Brands that are intelligent don’t just define an organization, they change industry careers and community cultures. They stretch the mind and the business—and tell purposeful stories with power and passion.

Whether launching or relaunching products, business units, or whole business categories, there’s a protocol for doing it intelligently the first time. Intelligent Brands are built to work hard. We craft and nurture brands that fill gaps, answer tough questions, inspire innovation, and intrigue skeptics.

Case Studies

Reinvigorating a fin-tech software provider by accentuating a capacity for bespoke services

Stretto is a fin-tech software company that provides bankruptcy case management solutions. The company needed a differentiated story that reflected the needs of diverse bankruptcy clients, while emphasizing its sophisticated technologies and experience. Read how our rebrand, including a name change that evoked the capacity for guiding clients through a cacophony of change, helped make Stretto an innovation leader in its space.

Uniting constituents in a large and diverse hospital system with a shared identity and mission

Centura, a large faith-based hospital system experiencing a period of expansion, needed to reconcile differing perspectives across a wide array of stakeholders, pulling them together around a common cause. Learn how we leveraged the health system’s faith-based traditions in a way that celebrated a continuum of community concern, creating a brand story of healthcare delivered by people on a mission.

Elevating a mission-critical logistics provider from the competition by amplifying its peerless capabilities

MNX is the world’s largest independent mission-critical logistics company, specializing in time, temperature and security-sensitive transportation and logistics services. The company needed a brand identity that showcased their capability to handle situations of unparalleled complexity. Read more about how we helped MNX amplify awareness of the highly specialized nature of their services, positioning them as a polished, sophisticated logistics leader.

Reimagining a music production library’s brand to leverage great relationships, simplicity, and accessibility

Megatrax is the leading independent production music library, providing the scores for film, TV, and commercials. Amidst widespread industry shifts, Megatrax needed to stay relevant—but their brand had a confusing story and visual identity. Learn how we elevated the Megatrax brand by celebrating their relationship with the content creators worldwide, leveraging the idea of greatness through simplicity and accessibility.

Revitalizing and uniting a premium snack company post-merger by leaning into authentic traditional values

Hawaiian Host Group is a manufacturer of premium chocolate and macadamia nut snacks with a 95-year history. After a big merger, employees needed unity around one strong employer brand and performance culture. Learn how we capitalized on Hawaiian Hosts’ founder Mamoru Takitani’s vision of pursuing excellence, continued growth, and taking initiative to “make the islands’ future flourish.”

Let’s See and Seize Opportunity Together

Our Clients

• Traditionally a payroll company with 60% of the market, aggressive customers and market demand for additional services put the ADP brand in a critical position: be more to our audiences or risk category leadership.
• By pulling together, repositioning, and storytelling all the added-value services available across ADP’s five business units, we helped launch and brand an entirely new sixth business unit, ADP SmartCompliance. From brand architecture to sales enablement, it became the darling of ADP’s innovation portfolio, and an ultimately came to account for $1B in revenue.

• Mind-bending data was published for Google’s largest customers worldwide and scheduled to be presented at their TED-like event: Think with Google. Despite the power of the data, disinterested responses compromised the value of the insights and risked crashing the event.
• In 30 days, we dug into the data, rethought implications, wrote a narrative, and then represented the dataset as the keynote speaker at 12 Google Think events around the world – becoming the highest rated content in the history of Google conferences.

• The undisputed world leader in executive recruiting and RPO needed to carefully integrate key acquisitions to diversify its services and take the leadership position in Talent Consulting.
• By de-branding, repackaging, and integrating acquisitions ranging from professional skill assessments to original research, we helped Korn Ferry unify and simplify its global solutions from six independent brands to one Korn Ferry – and continue to keynote their global sales conferences more than a decade later.

• Acquisitions and innovations cluttered the PayPal customer and developer experience, creating confusion across products that ranged from browser plugins to bank accounts.
• Over 10 years of consulting, we reorganized offerings companywide – from credit products, to Magento and Venmo, integrated unnecessarily sub-branded features, and created a brand architecture that defines the PayPal experience online, instore, and in-app.

• Brilliant marketers that stay for decades know their business inside and out – but new data and consumer behavior warranted an outside perspective.
• By meeting with each business unit, assessing key data from strategic partners, and evaluating novel-yet-distracting entertainment solutions, we keynoted LEGO’s conference for global marketing leadership twice, and facilitated offsites for LEGOLAND’s executive team to keep both brands proactive and relevant.

• Health science so innovative even the business unit down the hall needs help understanding what you do and how you do it.
• We helped enable the six business units and the enterprise solutions that support them understand their unique part in the Amgen business by helping them each explain their role in under 5 minutes via mini-videos and PowerPoints designed to kickoff any cross-business unit meetings, guarantying collaboration would continue without confusion.

• K-12 education in the United States had been pursued by the world’s largest enterprise software companies for decades – after all, 330,000 schools is a large potential market for business solutions. Not one of them broke through, and private equity decided it was their turn to make the market real
• Our work integrated more than 20 acquisitions via brand architecture, repositioned the Masterbrand for market specificity, constructed an inclusive visual system, built sales and talent training modules, and launched a thought leadership platform that set the category standard – helping Frontline Education hit unicorn status in under three years.

• Fierce competition and a laser focus on major rides preoccupied property leadership and distracted communications teams across amusements, hospitality, retail, and marketing, warranting a brand strategy assessment and plan.
• Our research revealed the real competition – not Disneyland like everyone thought, but local shopping centers and city sites, helping us reposition the property as a place to spend quality time with family and friends emersed in experiences that inspire and entertain, instead of as a resource for roller-coaster recreation.

• A leader in online food ordering and delivery – up against an ever-growing landscape of other platforms competing not only for customer business but for that of restaurants (as partners) and delivery drivers or “Dashers” (a necessary component of their gig economy-based business model).
• Through extensive research, including interviews with Dashers all over the country and employees throughout the company, IP helped shape a differentiated and sustainable Dasher brand; this counsel supported DoorDash’s strategic investment in communications and activations to attract and retain drivers who not only fulfilled their roles (delivering food) but served as ambassadors for the DoorDash brand overall.

• An undisputed champion in academics, sports, and faith – mired in inconsistency, legacy, and fiefdoms… the Notre Dame brand didn’t look the same anywhere… not on the field, in the classroom, or in church.
• Through a calculated, comprehensive, campuswide effort, we redesigned the Notre Dame identity, trained leaders from every team, and helped the university relaunch its brand for its next 170 years.

• One of the oldest, largest, and most prestigious universities in Southern California employed tens of thousands of educators and staff but wasn’t helping them get access to employee services and innovation solutions that were built just for them.
• We helped the office of employee services rearchitect its solutions and outreach methods to bridge the gap between employees and the services they deserved.

• Once seen as a resource for socialites to refine their repertoire of ranting, Toastmasters became the world leader in professional development through intentional verbal communication. With 300,000 global members and clubs on every continent, the brand became highly fragmented and localized and no longer looked like the category pioneer and leader.
• We repositioned the brand to leadership training instead of public speaking, built an all-new brand platform, brand architecture framework, and visual system, and then trained global membership to help the 80-year-old icon achieve record global growth.

• You’ve got an NXP chip in your phone and likely in your car, but you just wouldn’t know it. Leadership realized that being secret but everywhere wasn’t good for business.
• By unifying the global sales team around a common story, branding NXP’s leadership in innovation, and strategically refining marketing voice and investments, we’re helping NXP earn the recognition it deserves and continue leading the Internet of Things revolution.

• Having a vast portfolio of consumer brands makes marketing and sales relationships with key distributors and retailers challenging.
• We produced a three-day summit for North American marketing leadership, realigning the teams on strategic priorities, key brand opportunities, and team collaboration occasions where less could be more, and brand efforts could focus on long-term equities instead of ceaseless monthly sales campaigns that compromised prices and shelf space.

• Traditionally a B2D (business to doctor) organization, the rise of the internet-informed patient and their expectations of patient-first marketing from across care categories warranted a new approach to serving patients with diabetes in the United States.
• By focusing entirely on the customer journey, we helped rescript and prioritize the sales team’s go-to-market approach, changing the perception of Medtronic from a distant medical device company to MY partner in diabetic health.

• The original travel currency resource has created a network of billion-dollar travel agencies that define global travel for businesspeople and the elite worldwide. With so many other organizations targeting those key customer groups, AMEX needed to realign with its top 20 travel partners, fast.
• We produced an exclusive summit in the penthouse conference room for the largest travel agencies in the world to extract their needs, reconnect them with AMEX’s solutions, and redefine how AMEX would serve them going forward.

• The original warehouse retailer knew that online shopping was important but wrongly assumed that simply selling what’s in stock on a website was the answer.
• By carefully evaluating revenue origins, consumer feedback, competitive actions, shipping costs and growth goals, we repositioned the brand online from just another digital retailer to a massive membership benefit – completely changing how Sam’s Club goes to market online.

• The number one source for B2B accounting solutions in the world, troubled by an expansive portfolio, cloud upgrades, acquisitions, and huge board goals.
• A global brand architecture and naming strategy, boosted by a new brand platform, website strategy, and visual system upgrade, helped redefine the board’s objectives, more accurately target key customer segments, and refine the portfolio for easy comprehension and advocacy.

• A massive global suite of multi-unit residences that serve the working professional, the ongoing acquisition of new properties left some sites underserved and unknown, compromising the perceived quality and desirability of the premier property portfolio. 
• Through brand architecture, Masterbrand repositioning, and leadership unification workshops, Oakwood’s portfolio has been refined and synchronized, directing equities at a durable brand that stands for class-leading residential solutions for professionals.

• When one of the largest and oldest religions in the world decides that its 1.3 million members in Orange County California are instrumental to its global future, you call in the brand strategists. 
• We worked with 64 parishes, hundreds of priests, nuns, and lay leaders to rebrand the Catholic Church and create a vision for the next 50 years. From a massive new messaging and visual system to staff training and website, we completely rebuilt the aging brand into what the Los Angeles Times called “The Future of the Catholic Church in the United States.”

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6 Compelling Package Branding Design Case Studies

Posted by Michael Garlitz

All brands have a story to tell...the compelling reason that they came to be, the inspiration that planted the seed...the aspiration that drives them forward. Branding Design is distilling that essence—that energy and inertia—into a tangible (and hopefully impressionable) statement about a company and its products. A logo brandmark and packaging are extensions of Branding Design— both are visual touchpoints put out to a target audience in hopes of engagement. They form opinions in the minds of consumers about a product its source, therefore it's important that Branding Design be true to the company's core values in order to gain consumer loyalty. Below are 6 compelling Branding Design Case Studies that Catalpha has had the opportunity to develop. ______________________

MASCOT CANDY PACKAGE BRANDING DESIGN

Brand longevity and refresh

Three years ago when the largest buyer and seller of Pecans in the US came to us, they were looking to move from wholesale to the retail market and wanted a   new package design   for their four top selling products. This would be the beginning of their brand journey into retail and the start of a successful client/agency relationship that continues to this day.

The brand back story

MASCOT Pecan Shelling Company is a proud family owned company that was founded in 1955. Over the years they have expanded their operation from just nuts to include a large variety of candies and snacks. They were already selling a line of these products under SCOTT’S, a fundraising division.

They pride themselves on their homemade, small batch, original recipe products, made in the USA, and were clear that this new retail line must reflect their history in the brand graphics and copy.

The Mascot brand evolution

Our first projects.

Our initial project was taking their top 4 sellers from wholesale to retail. A package design was created that was centered around their history. It incorporated their existing Scotty dog logo and a historical shot of their first, original storefront location. Differentiating the various flavors through color guaranteed the choices would be evident on the shelf.

As the brand grew in popularity and their product lines expanded, Catalpha was asked to redesign their packaging again. This involved a logo redesign to maximize the MASCOT name and strengthen their position as a snack company. The Mascot Scotty was simplified and reworked for brand name prominence. The package design also went through a redesign to strengthen brand visibility. Highlighting the breadth of the product line was achieved by the color badge at top of package. These colors create a bold backdrop to pop the brand and help differentiate between product flavors. The color pallet was expanded as new candies and snacks were developed and brought to market.

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Today— what’s old is new, moving forward without forgetting the past.

Through successful marketing and brand consistency, MASCOT has seen tremendous growth in the retail snack arena. We have had the opportunity to work closely with the client in evolving the brand through this success in the retail market. It became very apparent that part of the popularity, aside from their unique and substantial product offerings, was Mascot’s family-owned, small batch commitment that has stood the test of time—without shortcuts in quality or consistency.

Using the feedback received from their buyers, distributors and marketing team, Catalpha redesigned a new logo and created a striped packaging reminiscent of candy and confection bags from centuries ago that pays homage to their proud history with a nostalgic yet fresh, appealing look.

A look at the  branded elements

Not to be missed is the redesigned Mascot logo. Gone is the Scotty dog, a decision that was not taken lightly, but now gives the Mascot name full domination.

Featuring a modified script font in a signature chocolate brown, the logo flows with a sweep like chocolate drizzle dominating the top of the packages.

The distinctive striped design gives the packaging a nostalgic look with the color pallet carefully curated to give each product category its own distinct look.

Vintage graphics and text treatments, like the “Batch Made” icon, work to build the brand format of a fresh take on nostalgia. The photo of the original MASCOT building from 1955 remains on the back of the pouch, along with a photo of the current facility—a nod to their 60+ years in business and the 3rd generation management.

Catalpha  custom photographed  the snacks so the mouthwatering products are front and center – to draw customer in. Key ingredients are incorporated to support the message of small batch and hand made goodness. Not to be missed, the front of package is anchored with “Made in the USA” icon.

The new brand is being rolled out across Mascot’s entire product line from store displays to seasonal and gift items.

Brand refresh  is a major investment – not to be rushed into. It requires a strategy that is founded on facts and a total management buy in and support from you retailers. Without question the brand must know their competitions and the shelf. Catalpha has a proprietary process that helps evaluate individual brands situations and opportunities. If you are considering a revising your brand don’t miss the opportunity of asking our experts advise and insight.

______________________

GENIUS GEMS EDUCATIONAL TOY  PACKAGE BRANDING DESIGN

The Genius Gems back story

Genius Gems, founded in 2013, excels to enrich kids lives by learning through play. With on-site camps and labs and classes, kids of all ages gain experience with hands-on creativity, interacting with peers, critical thinking, and having fun. Their STEM and STEAM-focused curriculum was developed by an experienced educator. At the center of these activities?— magnetic tiles! Genius Gems has designed and produced one-of a kind, unique magnetic tiles that magnetically adhere to all brands of magnetic building tiles. These tiles feature printed designs to inspire magnetic creations, as well as interactive adhesive tile sets that you design and embellish. They have become such a hit at the Genius Gems campus, the owners decided to package select sets to offer for sale.

Designing branded packaging to appeal to kids of all ages

A series of bold, cleanly branded pouches were designed for the tile sets. With their educational, STEM focused purpose and diverse target audience covering kids of all ages, a brand concept was developed that is engaging without looking juvenile.

A clean white background was used to play off colorful product imagery for each tile set.

A window on the front provides a view of the tiles, with some featuring a 'Bonus Mystery Tile'— cleverly used to cross sell a tile of a different sort in each pouch.

MEARS BACK PAIN RELIEF PRODUCT PACKAGE BRANDING DESIGN

Great ideas require great packaging..

Such is the case with a revolutionary MEARS Back Support for drivers.

Dr. Brock Walker spent his entire career developing medically-engineered technologies that have changed driver performance, both in the professional sport racing arena as well as on a personal level. Now, based on those years of research and applied talents, Dr. Walker has developed a back support product for the average driver.

After years of development and product development, when it came time to go to market he knew his back support would require a package and brand look that backed his reputation and research.

He found the right packaging design company in Catalpha. Following serious discussions with owner Don Keller, an agreement was reached that Catalpha was the right fit, with the attention to detail, support and one-on-one attention this brand would require.

Our approach…

After numerous conversations, a creative brief and product development notes were reviewed we convinced Dr. Walker that not only did we need to sell his product on the package, but also his story. Dr. Walker’s breadth of experience and the amount of technology embedded in this product was key to the brand.

We knew that to present this product in the proper light would require more than your normal 6 sided package. We needed room to sell the story and create a user experience that backed the buyer’s purchase decision. A presentation box with a front open lid and custom designed insert was decided on.

Initial presentation included several front cover concepts to display different approaches of creating a brand look and to float various product messaging angles.

The chosen brand direction

The chosen design direction went through numerous iterations to get to the final package design. We set about doing the product photography and distilling the wealth of information to consumer-level copy points.

The way the information is presented and revealed was carefully designed to reinforce the back support’s medically-engineered benefits as well as the vast experience of Dr. Walker’s R&D.

Product information, graphics and supporting facts were refined through a series of PDF proofs back and forth with Dr. Walker and his legal team. Images and testimonials from professional race car drivers drove home the merits of the product.

We were put in contact with the client’s overseas support team who would be printing and packing the product. Catalpha worked closely with them on creating the package structure and inserts necessary to hold and protect the product. An initial two-piece inner structure from them proved to be too cumbersome and did not hold the product in place. With product in hand, Catalpha re-engineered this critical platform to be one piece, easily assembled, and locked the product in the proper position.

A personal note of thanks was designed to be included in the package as a final touch to the user experience.

Final words

It’s all about buyer confidence in getting a product worthy of their money. It’s about opening a package and being recognized as a brand that takes the extra step in crafting a unique user experience which in turn reinforces their confidence in the purchase. It’s also about the finding a support team that you feel comfortable working with that can deliver professional results from start to finish.

Don’t take it from us – listen for yourself Dr. Walker’s impression of working with Catalpha!

VICIOUS VAPE VAPE PACKAGE BRANDING DESIGN

When a product category heats up and you have something to sell, you have to strike while the iron is hot. Such is the case with our client who, with an entire line of vape products, needed to get to retail fast.

The brand challenge

The vape product market was lit up in 2020 when we were contacted by the developer of Vicious Vape. He had an entire series of vape products that needed to get to market quickly. Catalpha was challenged with developing a logo for his brand as well as a brand ‘persona’ that would be distinct and memorable in a saturated retail space. It needed to exude premium, quality and create a buzz that would drive sales in a saturated market category.

The brand persona

The distinct Vicious logo is crowned with a vibrant viper and a type treatment was that designed to pick up on the snakes fangs, giving it the ability to stand on its own sans the illustration and still carry the brand impression.

Dynamic, color-coded, mouth-watering graphics were created for each of the 17+ flavor profiles, giving each their own personality.

The Vicious Vape package

Small in size but big on impact, the package and printing techniques used reinforce the premium qualities that the brand represents. The small,   rigid setup boxes   feature turned-edged construction with soft-touch matte finish printing. Touches of gold foil-stamping shimmer to catch the eye give a true luxury feel. If that wasn’t enough, they feature a magnetic closure and dense black interior foam insert that cradles the product. Everything combines for a very tactile user experience.

After the brand launch

Since the initial roll-out, Catalpha continues to design new packages as flavors are developed. We produced a   marketing video   for social media, spun out a promo T-Shirt, and produced a   countertop POP . It’s been a successful brand launch with Vicious and with a solid brand persona established, the sky’s the limit.

DAVE'S SWEET TOOTH SNACK  PACKAGE BRANDING DESIGN

It began with one person who made some of the best tasting toffee ever. That quickly became a local favorite, and just as quickly grew to become a national brand.

Getting started

The Daves Sweet Tooth Brand had one iconic reference that we needed to build on – they had started out selling their toffee in glass canning jars. To scale their packaging efforts, they needed to switch to a convenient tear-off flexible pouch package… in the shape of a canning jar. Simply the jar graphic, logo and the flavor name.

With only a few flavors at the time, the simple iconic look worked. Things grew wild as they began adding one unique flavor after another and that’s where Catalpha came in.

Building on brand equity

To build a family branded appearance across their flavors, we ran with the canning jar concept, but amped it up to really define the Daves Sweet Tooth Brand. The jar became more dimensional with a rustic homemade kraft look. The logo was redefined to stand out more. We had each unique flavor of toffee custom photographed alongside their mouth-watering ingredients, and color-coded banding to visually highlight each distinct flavor.

A brand follow up

Daves Sweet tooth has since blown up with online sales with new toffee flavors being regularly added. The owner ( son of the original founder) is fun to work with and we have been able to help build his brand and broaden his reach. A big bonus for him has been our custom package rendering capabilities, allowing for quick pre-production launches and flavor testing. And as he launches into retail, we have developed Point of Purchase displays and gift packaging.

Don’t take it from us – listen to what Dave's Sweet Tooth has to say...

NATIONAL HARDWARE BRANDS TOOL & HARDWARE PACKAGES BRANDING DESIGN

A trusted design source for national hardware brands

While Catalpha collaborates with many entrepreneurs and startups who   develop and launch their brands , we also are a trusted source for many top national brands.

Brands that have their own internal marketing teams, designers and production departments that need to go out-of-house for any number of reasons. A bogged down production department, a fresh perspective, design skills they are lacking in-house, structural engineering help.

Catalpha brings 35 years of solid marketing experience to the table, with a full wheelhouse of capabilities when you need it—without the hassles.

A creative ace up your sleeve

National brands like Black & Decker, DeWalt, DAP know the commitment we make each and every time we interact with their brand. A relationship is established that is just a one call away when needed.

Catalpha branding design experience:

• Experienced in adhering to established brand guidelines
• Able to seamlessly integrate with our client’s in-house procedures and design flow protocols
• Ready to pick-up quickly on rush projects when in-house departments get overwhelmed
• A trusted ‘go-to’ whenever new, fresh ideas and perspectives are needed, given our solid marketing and design experience.
• Your confident production resource. Our print production files are second to none—fast, accurate and print-ready.

Our long-standing collaboration with National Tool & Hardware Brands has included:

• POP Concept and Development
• Packaging Design and Production
• New Product Naming / Logo Development
• PR Collateral Development
• In-Store Marketing Material Design and Production

Our experience and reputation has continued to grow as our contacts grow and move to other brands—we are on their call-list when they need to move quickly to get a project done. We are that team.

DO YOU HAVE A PACKAGE BRANDING DESIGN PROJECT?

Contact catalpha to schedule a risk-free consultation today..

Topics: Branding , Marketing , Packaging Design , Design , Product Development , Rebranding , Brand Loyalty , Luxury Packaging , Food Packaging Design , Beauty Packaging , Retail , product packaging

Call Today 888-337-0066 or fill out this form for a risk-free consultation on your packaging, branding or marketing project.

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Brand Design with Case Studies and Examples

Designing a brand that stands out and resonates with its target audience is essential for businesses looking to establish a strong presence in the market. Brand design encompasses a variety of elements, from logos and color schemes to messaging and overall identity. A well-designed brand communicates a company’s values, differentiates it from competitors, and creates a lasting impression on consumers. In this article, we will explore what brand design is, why it is important, how it relates to user experience (UX) design, and the best practices for creating a successful brand.

What is Brand Design?

Brand design refers to the creation of a cohesive and visually appealing identity for a company or product. It involves the development of various elements that collectively represent the brand's personality and values. Key components of brand design include:

• Logo: A symbol or graphic representation of the brand that is easily recognizable and memorable.
• Color Scheme: A set of colors used consistently across all brand materials to evoke specific emotions and associations.
• Typography: The selection of fonts and typefaces that align with the brand's personality and enhance readability.
• Imagery: The style and type of images used to convey the brand's message and connect with the audience.
• Messaging: The tone of voice and language used in communications to express the brand's values and engage the audience.

Why is Brand Design Important?

1. establishes brand identity.

Brand design is the foundation of a brand's identity, allowing it to express its unique personality and values. A well-defined brand identity helps businesses stand out in a crowded market and become instantly recognizable to consumers. By creating a strong identity, companies can build trust and foster loyalty among their target audience.

2. Builds Brand Recognition

Consistency in brand design across all touchpoints—from packaging and advertising to digital presence—enhances brand recognition. When consumers encounter consistent visual elements, they are more likely to remember and associate them with the brand. This familiarity builds brand equity and encourages repeat interactions.

3. Differentiates from Competitors

In today's competitive landscape, having a distinctive brand design is crucial for differentiation. A unique brand identity sets a company apart from competitors, highlighting its value proposition and attracting the right audience. A memorable brand design can also create a strong emotional connection with consumers, fostering brand loyalty.

4. Influences Consumer Perception

Brand design plays a significant role in shaping consumer perceptions and expectations. The visual elements and messaging of a brand can evoke emotions and create associations, influencing how consumers perceive the brand. Positive perceptions can lead to increased trust, preference, and advocacy.

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Branding in the context of user experience design.

Branding and user experience design are closely interconnected, as both aim to create meaningful and enjoyable interactions between the brand and its audience. Here’s how branding relates to UX design:

1. Consistency Across Touchpoints

Consistency in branding across all touchpoints is essential for a seamless user experience. From the website and mobile app to social media and packaging, maintaining a cohesive brand design ensures that users have a unified experience with the brand. Consistency builds trust and reinforces brand identity.

2. Emotional Connection

Both branding and UX design focus on creating an emotional connection with the audience. While branding uses visual elements and messaging to evoke emotions, UX design enhances the emotional experience through intuitive interactions and usability. Together, they create a powerful brand experience that resonates with users.

3. User-Centric Approach

A user-centric approach is fundamental to both branding and UX design. Understanding the target audience's needs, preferences, and behaviors allows designers to create experiences that meet user expectations. By aligning branding and UX strategies, businesses can deliver value and exceed customer expectations.

4. Enhancing Brand Loyalty

A positive user experience reinforced by strong branding can enhance brand loyalty. When users have a satisfying experience and feel connected to the brand, they are more likely to become loyal advocates. Branding and UX design work together to create a memorable and lasting impression.

Best Practices for Brand Design

To create a successful brand design that resonates with the target audience and achieves business goals, consider the following best practices:

1. Define Your Brand Identity

Start by defining your brand's core values, mission, and personality. Clearly articulate what sets your brand apart from competitors and what you want to convey to your audience. Use this foundation to guide all design decisions and ensure consistency in messaging and visual elements.

2. Understand Your Audience

Conduct thorough research to understand your target audience's needs, preferences, and behaviors. Use this insight to inform your brand design, ensuring it resonates with the audience and aligns with their expectations. Tailor your visual elements and messaging to create a strong connection with your audience.

3. Create a Memorable Logo

Design a logo that is simple, distinctive, and memorable. A well-crafted logo serves as the visual cornerstone of your brand identity, making it easy for consumers to recognize and recall. Ensure that the logo reflects your brand's personality and can be adapted across various platforms and touchpoints.

4. Choose a Consistent Color Scheme

Select a color scheme that aligns with your brand's personality and evokes the desired emotions in your audience. Consistently use these colors across all brand materials to create a cohesive and recognizable brand identity. Consider the psychology of colors and their impact on consumer perceptions.

5. Select Appropriate Typography

Choose typography that complements your brand's identity and enhances readability. Consider the tone of your brand and how different fonts convey different messages. Use a combination of typefaces for headings, body text, and accents, maintaining consistency across all brand communications.

6. Craft Engaging Imagery

Use imagery that resonates with your audience and supports your brand's message. Whether it's photography, illustrations, or graphics, ensure that the imagery aligns with your brand identity and enhances the overall design. Use images strategically to create visual interest and communicate your brand's values.

7. Develop a Distinct Brand Voice

Define a brand voice that reflects your brand's personality and resonates with your audience. Use this voice consistently in all communications, from website copy and social media posts to customer interactions. A strong brand voice creates a cohesive experience and reinforces brand identity.

8. Maintain Consistency Across Channels

Ensure that your brand design is consistent across all channels and touchpoints, from digital platforms to physical products. Consistency builds trust and reinforces brand recognition, creating a seamless experience for users. Use brand guidelines to maintain uniformity in design elements and messaging.

9. Adapt and Evolve

Stay responsive to market trends and consumer preferences by regularly evaluating and adapting your brand design. While maintaining core elements, be open to refreshing your design to stay relevant and appealing to your audience. Embrace innovation and creativity to keep your brand design fresh and engaging.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, designing a brand that resonates with its audience and stands out in the market requires a thoughtful approach and attention to detail. By focusing on defining brand identity, understanding the audience, and maintaining consistency, businesses can create powerful brands that foster loyalty and achieve long-term success. Remember, a well-designed brand not only enhances recognition and differentiation but also builds trust and emotional connection with consumers.

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Let's work together to bring your brand to life with eye-catching design elements (logo, color, typography, iconography, templates...) united into an authentic, compelling identity. 

To give you a feel for the process, here is a brief description of my branding project with  Northwest Academy . ​  

With limited time and budget, Northwest Academy hired me to design an easy-to-use branding system that would strengthen the visual identity and illuminate the spirit of this independent, arts-focused school. They opted to keep their existing logo and reinvent the rest.

For the heart of their branding, I chose to use a visual element that signifies both arts and academia: a basic geometric shape. I started by tapping into my own studio art class experience and sketched out multifaceted shapes that could be used to unify the brand and to frame and organize type and images in layouts.

I experimented with the shapes, mocking up items from their list of deliverables: print products, print templates and a PowerPoint template. In the process, I developed and finessed a color palette and typography, sharing my work with them all along the way for their input.

I kept drawing, creating symbols representing the subjects taught at Northwest Academy. The symbols can be used individually as icons or altogether as a pattern.

Once all of the design elements were approved, I shared guidelines for their usage. We continue to use the geometric shapes as the foundation for everything from the Northwest Academy View Book and Inside Magazine to large format window art.

11 Inspiring UX Case Studies That Every Designer Should Study

A UX case study is a sort of detailed overview of a designer's work. They are often part of a UX designer's portfolio and showcase the designer's skill in managing tasks and problems. From a recruiter's perspective, such a UX portfolio shows the skill, insights, knowledge, and talent of the designer.

Therefore, UX case studies play an important role in the recruitment and demand for designers.

What Makes a Powerful Case Study

Building a UX case study includes showing the design process through compelling stories. They will use plain language to demonstrate how they handled key design issues, offering a comprehensive view of their process. Well done case studies often include:

• A  problem statement and solutions with real applications.
• Relevant numbers, data, or testimonials to demonstrate the work and efforts.
• A story that directly connects the problem to the solution.

Any competent UX professional will know that creating a stunning UX case study is about the little details.

11 Best UX Case Studies for Designers

The best way to understand what a good case study looks like is to go over other examples. Each of these UX case study examples shows a designer's insights, basic skills, and other designers' lessons learned through their experience.

1. Promo.com web editor

For this video-creation platform , UX designer Sascha was brought on to revamp v2.0, adding new features that could work alongside the existing UX design. The point was to work on interface details that would help create a user friendly platform, and that users could find simple enough to use.

User personas mapped by the UX designer revealed the most common confusion to be the process of inserting particular features into the video, such as subtitles. The designer's goal, therefore, was to create a platform with improved editor controls.

The designer then used a common text-editor layout to include top and side navigation bars that made it easy to access and implement text editing.

Key Learnings from Promo.com

This case study focuses on addressing a particular problem that customers were currently facing. Its main theme is to show a problem, and how the product designer addressed this problem. Its strength points include:

• clearly highlighting the problem (i.e. inaccessible and limited video-text editor options)
• conduction research to understand the nature of the problem and the kind of solutions customers want
• implementing research insights into the redesign to create a platform that actively served customer needs

2. Productivity tracker app

The main concept behind this UX case study is to address a pre-existing problem through the design of the app. Immediately from the start, the study highlights a common pain point among users: that of a lack of productivity due to device usage.

This UX case study example addressed some of the main problems within existing productivity apps included:a poor UI and UX that made navigation difficult

• a poorly-built information architecture
• limited functions on the mobile application

Key Learnings from the Productivity app case study

The case study highlights the simple design process that was then used to build the app. Wireframes were created, a moldboard developed, and finally, individual pages of the app were designed in line with the initial goals.

3. Postmates Unlimited

This case study clearly identifies the improvements made to the Postmates app in a simple overview before jumping into greater detail. The redesign goal, which it achieved, was to improve the experience and other interface details of the app.

The problems identified included:

• usability that led to high support ticket volume.
• technical app infrastructure issues that prevented scalability.
• lack of efficient product management, such as batching orders.

A UX research course can help understand the kind of research needed for a case study. The app redesign involved bringing couriers in and running usability testing on improvements. The final model, therefore, had input from real users on what worked and what caused issues.

Key Learnings from Postmates

The Postmates redesign works as a great UX case study for the simple way it approaches problem-solving. Following an overview of the work, it addresses the problems faced by users of the app. It then establishes research processes and highlights how changes were made to reduce these issues.

4. TV Guide

Addressing the fragmentation of content across channels, this case study sought to redesign how people consume media. The key problems identified included:

• the overabundance of content across various TV and streaming platforms
• the difficulty in discovering and managing content across all platforms

To deliver on the key goals of content personalization, smart recommendations, and offering cross-platform content search, the design process included conducting interviews, surveys, and checking customer reviews.

The design of TV Guide enables users to get custom recommendations sourced from friends' and family's watchlists.

Key Learnings from TV Guide

Like previous UX design case studies, this one tackled the issue head-on. Describing the research process, it goes into detail regarding the approach used by the UX designers to create the app. It takes readers on a journey, from identifying pain points, to testing solutions, and implementing the final version.

5. The FlexBox Inspector

Designer Victoria discusses how she developed the investigator tool for the Mozilla Firefox browser. Surveys into understanding the problems with the existing CSS Flexbox tool revealed a need for a user-friendly design. Interviews with a senior designer and other designers helped developers understand the features design-focused tools ought to have. A feature analysis revealed what most users look for in such tools.

The final result of the development process was a design that incorporated several new features, including:

• a new layout
• color-coded design
• multiple entry points to make workflow management efficient

Key Learnings from the Flexbox

This UX design case study starts with a clear goal, then addresses multiple user needs. It clearly defines the design process behind each feature developed by the time, and the reasoning for including that feature. To give a complete picture, it also discusses why certain features or processes were excluded.

6. The Current State of Checkouts

This Baymard UX design case study looks into the checkout process in over 70 e-commerce websites. Through competitive analysis, it isolates problem points in the UX design, which, if addressed, could improve the customer's checkout process.

The study found at least 31 common issues that were easily preventable. The study was designed and conducted on a large scale, over 12 years, to incorporate changing design patterns into the review.

Recommendations based on findings include:

• prominent guest checkout option
• simple password requirements
• specific delivery period
• price comparison tool for shipping vs store pickup

Key Learnings from Checkout Case Study

Each identified issue is backed up by data and research to highlight its importance. Further research backs up each recommendation made within the case study, with usability testing to support the idea. As far as UX case studies go, this one provides practical insight into an existing, widely used e-commerce feature, and offers practical solutions.

7. New York Times App

Using a creative illustration website, the designers proposed a landing page feature "Timely" that could counter the problems faced by the NYT app . Its major issues included too much irrelevant content, low usage, and undesirable coverage of content.

The goal behind Timely was to improve user incentives, build long-term loyalty, and encourage reading. Design mapping for the app covered:

• identifying the problem
• understanding audience needs
• creating wireframes
• designing and prototyping

The end result was an app that could help readers get notifications regarding news of interest at convenient moments (at breakfast, before bed). This encouraged interaction and improved readability with short-form articles.

Key Learnings from NYT App

The UX case study proposes a problem solution that works with an existing information architecture, instead adding custom graphics to the mobile app. It leads from a simple problem statement to discuss the project that could address these issues without changing was customers already loved.

UX case studies focused on redesign include the FitBit redesign, which started off by understanding personas and what users expect from a fitness tracker. Developing use cases and personas, Guerilla usability testing was employed to assess pain points.

These pain points were then ranked based on their importance to users and to app performance. They were addressed through:

• Highlighting essential parts and features of the app
• Changing easily missed icons to more recognizable icons
• relabelling tracking options to guide users better to its usage

Key Learnings from Fitbit

While the case study maps user experiences and offers solutions, it does not begin with an intensive research-based approach. The prototype is successful in testing, but problem factors are not identified with research-based statistics, meaning key factors could have been ignored.

9. Rating System UX

The designer behind the rating system UX redesign sought to solve issues with the 5-star rating system. Highlighted issues included:

• the lack of subjective accuracy of a 5-point rating system
• the issue of calculating the average of a zero-star rating
• average ratings are misleading

Better alternatives include:

• 5-star emoticon rating that relates the user experience
• Like/dislike buttons that make approval/disapproval simple

The final design incorporated both these styles to make full use of the rating system.

Key Learnings from Rating System UX

The UX case study stemmed from insight into the limitations of the existing rating system. The new design addressed old issues and incorporated better efficiencies.

The Intuit redesign was focused on making content readable, more engaging, and accessible. Looking into product personalization, the content was found to be lacking aesthetic value, as well as being hard to find. The goal was to create content that was easy to find, clear, and consistent.

The implemented solutions included:

• increased readability with increased body text and header spacing
• table of contents on the sidebar for easier navigation
• visible and prominent search bar
• illustrations and designs for pretty visuals

Key Learnings from Intuit

The Intuit case study approaches the problem from a practical point of view. It begins with isolating problems with the interface, in particular with the content. This is an example of a case study that breaks down problems into broader categories, and solves each problem with a practical solution.

This UX case study about a social platform tackles a commonly-faced problem from existing platforms. It addresses the issue of recognizing non-monetary user engagement, to help creators identify their user base.

The case study addresses the problem statement and establishes the design process (building wireframes and prototypes) as well as conducting user testing. The final result is to develop "Discover" pages, engaging layouts, and animated interactions to increase usability.

Key Learnings from Jambb

The study goes into detail regarding problem identification, then moves on to propose solutions that take into account the perspective of all stakeholders involved. It then explains why each design decision was made, and proves its efficacy through testing and prototyping.

Key Takeaways

Developing good UX case studies examples is as much about the details you include as the ones you leave out. Going over UX courses can give you a better understanding of what your case study should look like. A good case study should provide an overview of the problem, include numbers and statistics, and offer practical solutions that directly address the problem. The above-discussed UX case studies provide a good example of the dos and don'ts of a well-structured UX design case study that should be part of every UX portfolio .

Additional Resources

Check out these resources to learn more about UX case studies:

8 UX Case Studies to Read

UX Design Case Study

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Branding Case Study

Case Study: Referanza. Logo Design

Fresh case study telling the details of logo design process for an innovative marketing startup referanza. full path of logo creation packed with illustrations..

Logo is definitely the basic element for efficient branding and marketing. Its design, taken seriously and based on user research, analysis, talent and design laws can become a solid basis for successful communication of the brand with its buyers, customers and users, that is why it needs careful professional approach.

Here in Tubik Studio we have felt the nuances of branding and logo design. You probably remember detailed cases of design process for  Ribbet , Passfold , Tubik , Saily ,  SwiftyBeaver  and Andre logos shared here in the blog. Today we would like to continue this set with a new detailed case study, showing logo design process for Referanza . This case was assigned for Tubik graphic designer Ildar Aleksandrov.

Logo design for an innovative marketing startup  Referanza .

Adobe Illustrator

The clients represented a startup based on the idea of enhanced marketing and business growth: Referanza helps businesses improve customer satisfaction and turn happy customers into referrals. The task set for a designer was to create a logo which feels modern and friendly and signals on customer happiness and growth. The primary target audience was defined as young marketing professionals and online entrepreneurs. General task on branding design solutions was to get a fun and fresh look for a brand.

After user research and marketing research, the designer worked over several stylistic directions. As for the color palette, the search didn’t take long because the clients primarily set their preferences on light and airy design within white and blue shades. So, the main search was focused on shapes and imagery. At this stage, the clients were provided with four stylistic versions, three of which presented various approaches to lettermark while the fourth featured a mascot character. All the versions were based on circular geometric approach. The logo versions were made monochrome applying flat style of graphic design.

The first option showed the stylized version of the initial letter “R” combined with the image of a target card as a symbol of success.

The second variant moved away from the letter concept and featured a friendly positive mascot as a part of branding.

The next option offered the lettermark accomplished with a more classic stylistic approach and inscribed in the colored circle.

The fourth variant featured another lettermark which looked a bit bolder and more massive and had a star inscribed in the top part as an image usually associated with high achievements and success.

In addition, all the versions were supported with stylistic variants of lettering for the brand name.

Having discussed all the set, the clients agreed upon the direction of lettermark rather than the slogan. The version with bold and massive “R” was chosen as a basis and the stage of the creative search was continued around this concept. The clients wanted to see more prominent and clear sign of communication setting the link with the startup activity and philosophy. So, the designer offered another option for combining the letter with a bubble speech easily associated with communication.

Lettering for the full name of the brand was accomplished originally for the brand without capital letters to feel balanced when used together with the logo image. Rounded corners, enhancing readability, also added some original look and consistency to design of both parts of the logo combination.

Once the final version was approved, it was carefully tested in different resolutions, on multiple devices and surfaces to ensure that logo works effectively for various environments. The logo keeps harmony and consistency in both horizontal and vertical placement of its elements.

The final version of the logo was also tested on smoothly colored surfaces to provide the brand sign with marketing flexibility.

To read more about theory and practice in the logo design process, welcome to look through the articles about types of logos and creative stages of logo making. Don’t miss new design cases and articles coming soon.

Useful Case Studies

For those, who are interested to see more practical case studies with creative flows for the logo and identity design, here is the set of them.

AppShack. Logo Design for a Digital Agency

LunnScape. Identity Design for a Landscape Company

Binned. Brand Identity Design for Cleaning Service

Reborn. Identity Design for a Restaurant

Andre. Logo Redesign for Landscape Firm

Andre. Corporate Identity Design for Landscape Firm

SwiftyBeaver. Logo for Mac Application

Saily. Logo for Local C2C E-commerce Application

PassFold. Logo for a Mobile App

Ribbet. Logo for an Online Photo Editor

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Case Study: Dance Festival. Creating a Set of Event Poster Designs

Check the project in which tubik team created a set of original illustration poster designs for various events of a dance festival organized by a dance school chain.

Modern Graphic Design: Directions and Purpose

The article presenting the variety of purposes served by modern graphic design: branding, UI navigation, mascots and lettering, tutorials, posters and animation.

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2024 Reports

Ethics in Media, Technology, and Design: Case Studies

Scherling, Laura S. ; Povolny, Mariel ; Gleeman, Claire ; Ray, Sagarika ; Jiang, Joyce ; Lam, Katelyn ; Fang, Wen ; Green, Nicola ; Korbey, Allie

Technological evolution happens at a break-neck pace and widespread adoption of emerging technologies often happens prior to thorough ethical evaluation. In a world where efficiency is critical, prioritizing ethical considerations alongside innovation is a precarious balancing act. Examining externalities for both users and society, the authors in this volume explore existing solutions to a selection of urgent ethical dilemmas in technology use, and propose their own design, policy, and education-based solutions. Their ideas are grounded in ethical frameworks. This collection brings to the fore nascent and complex challenges, forcing us to consider questions like: How much information shared about our personal health is too much? Can AI outperform doctors? Do everyday apps like Google Maps compromise our privacy? What becomes of our online identities after we pass away? In all, this rich collection of real-world studies showcases a broad and complex array of challenges, many of which manifest in our daily lives.

• Technological innovations--Moral and ethical aspects
• Digital media--Moral and ethical aspects
• Information technology--Government policy

More About This Work

Produced in the Spring 2024 course "Ethics in Media, Technology, and Design" at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

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