Can you show me some good branding case studies? As a business owner, I love looking at branding case studies, so I’m glad you asked!
Both rebranding and branding case studies are always really interesting, and there are some great websites that cover these topics regularly.
So if you’re looking for a constant supply of case study updates, we recommend you check out;
These websites feature some of the world’s newest and greatest branding case studies.
Under Consideration run Brand New as well as several other design blogs.
Identity Designed is ran by one of my favourite graphic designers, David Airey. There, he collates his favourite and most interesting new branding case studies.
The Dieline is slightly different, in that it’s a website that’s primary focus is packaging. However, a lot of companies decide on new packaging as part of a rebrand, so the two do tend to go hand in hand.
Check out the best graphic design blogs if you’re looking for new reading material.
But, you asked me to show you some examples of good branding case studies.
So, if I’ve not lost you down the rabbit hole of amazing design work in the three sites above, then let’s dive in!
Focus Lab
Focus Lab are a Georgia based design agency with one of the best portfolio’s of work I’ve ever seen.
From their Dribbble page to their own website, Focus Lab are consistently posting great branding case studies that they’ve worked on for their clients.
And that’s why I’ve not included one single piece of design work. But really, their whole portfolio is worth looking over.
From their bright, bold, beautiful work for Spot Hero, to the artistic brand identity they created for 500px, Focus Lab’s work has it all.
Aside from checking out their website, make sure you follow them on Dribbble, where they tend to post work in progress shots, and show how things are done behind the scenes.
They also write a great blog over at MadeBySidecar – where they sell other awesome products they create.
Oh, and make sure you check out this case study for their work with Service Brewing Co.
Moonpig
One of my favourite rebranding case studies from 2017 was for the online card store, Moonpig.com.
Established in 2000, the personalised greeting card business was long overdue a rebrand. Starting with what was a fairly mundane and scared looking pig as their logo, Moonpig have definitely changed their identity for the better.
The 2017 rebrand was carried out in house, in collaboration with a team of outside consultants including; Ian Styles, Simon Smith, Stuart Hammersley, and the F37 Foundry.
Taking a direct quote from Ian Styles;
Building on their new positioning our idea was a simple one; create a whole new world for Moonpig, one where we imagine that we live life on the moon, where the normal rules don’t apply.The logotype is playfully designed to compress down to form a subtle reference to a pig’s snout in small spaces and extend out to allow play with horizontal formats and interact with the new TV jingle.
The new floating typography, bright colour palette, and simplicity, has elicited a playfulness in the branding that’s not tied up in the equity created by the cartoon pig.
Just look at that new van! Vroompig.
Juventus
Another great rebrand from 2017, although admittedly this one did split fans right down the middle.
I’ve always been a big fan on Juventus, how could I not be with their black and white stripes hitting so close to home? And for me, any branding case study that looks into football is always worth a look.
Interbrand were brought in to help with the Juventus rebrand.
They got rid of the traditional looking club crest they’d had since the early 90’s, and decided to run with a very modern looking identity and brand new custom typeface.
The success of the identity comes not from the logo alone, but from the application of the brand across multiple brand touchpoints.
One thing I worry about is that the rebrand is positioned to exclude the day-to-day football fans, and pushes Juventus down the route of a high end premium lifestyle brand.
And for me, that’s dangerous. The club need their fans, just like any football club.
However, it’s hard not to be seduced by the striking visuals that feature in their Interbrand’s branding case study.
You’re just not going to fail with the old black and white!
David Airey
We’ve already mentioned David Airey in this post, as he runs the fantastic Identity Designed.
However, he’s also a great brand identity designer in his own right. And, his website is chock full of fantastic branding case studies.
I’ve followed his work for years, and he also writes a great blog.
I went through my years at University idolising his case studies for the likes of DLG, Digital Luxury Group.
There was a collection of fantastic early worked that I fell in love with on David’s website. He’s now replaced that work, with even better work.
Every time he posts a new case study, I know I’m in for a visual treat.
Recently I’ve enjoyed his work for Squelch and Ecometrica. I also can’t help but love the work for Tenon. That yellow shouldn’t work, but it’s beautiful when combined with the grey.
Make sure you check out David’s work if you’re looking for example of branding case studies that show creative, professional branding solutions.
And make sure you read his blogs too!
Mozilla
Yet again, another rebrand from 2017, which shall now be known as “the year of great rebranding projects.”
Most people are familiar with Mozilla’s Firefox. It’s a popular web browser, often ranking up alongside Chrome and Safari as a popular choice, especially within the design and development community.
Mozilla brought in renowned agency Johnson Banks to work with them on rebranding the company.
The rebrand took place in the public eye. Mozilla decided to do their rebrand out in the open, and Johnson Banks shared work in progress shots along the way.
You can check out how the identity came to be, over on Mozilla’s blog.
The whole process is on show, from the brand strategy creation, through to the visuals, tidying up, creating assets and more.
Hats off to Mozilla who rebranded right in the public eye, seeking advice and guidance from their customers, and working with Johnson Banks to pull off one of the most interesting rebrands I’ve seen.
The final brand identity is something all parties should be proud of, and the case study that goes with it is equally interesting.
I will say, the whole experience of Mozilla’s rebrand is best enjoyed if you read through all of the brand related blog posts in sequence.
It’ll bring you a new appreciation for the crazy world of branding!
Studio JQ
Studio JQ have become world famous for their super interesting Dribbble profile. Their work is super fun and amazingly unique!
The Bristol based design agency have a fresh new approach to design. The boast an impressive range of clients including; Aon/Manchester United, Bosch, Google, Intel, Mitsubishi Motors, Moscow Raceway, NASCAR, Rockstar Energy Drink, and more.
Their website isn’t the most up to date, however they do manage to keep their Behance and Dribbble pages looking fresh and exciting.
I’m a big fan of their work for Bald Eagle Beer.
Check in with their social profiles to keep up to date with them, and cross your fingers for a full website update soon! We’re certainly looking forward to it.
The Premier League
We’ve talked about football rebranding a lot already with the Juventus case study. We’ve also talked about The Premier League’s rebrand in the past.
However, it’s so nice, we wanted to take another look at it!
The rebrand of the most famous football league in the entire world was completed by DesignStudio and Robin Brand Consultants back in 2016. And it still looks great!
The Premier League branding case study can be viewed in full at the DesignStudio website.
The new identity for the league features a redrawn lion, a rounded sans-serif typeface that feels a lot more friendly, and a bright and vibrant colour palette which will reportedly be updated every 3 years.
So, we’re just about due to see what happens with The Premier League’s brand colours next. Stay tuned!
Older Case Studies
A long time ago on the Canny blog, we had another post focused on branding case studies.
However, as time went on, it became less relevant. That said, some of the case studies in that post are great, so we’ve lifted them out.
Take a look:
Brokers Direct
Graham Smith of ‘imjustcreative’ takes his viewers through his entire brand identity creation process for Brokers Direct in this post.
From concept to completion, the post is very detailed and a great insight into the designer’s working mind. A great post for anyone interested in brand identity design.
Just Creative
In this post, Jacob Cass of Just Creative takes his readers through one of the hardest jobs in graphic design, personal branding. Any designer will tell you they struggled when putting together their own brand identity, and Jacob proves in this post it’s no easier for even the best of designers.
Pinche Pinche
I love Mexican food and found this brand identity design for Mexican restaurant Pinche Pinche by Gareth Coxon of Dot Design very compelling. Demonstrating several different identity ideas, this post demonstrates Gareth’s creativity perfectly, as well as showing the design in both digital and physical form.
Following on from our love from food, we’ve just released a post about food packaging design incase you’re looking for inspiration.
Digital Luxury Group
This post is another David Airey project, showing exactly how branding should be done.
From the initial pages in the sketchbook to the completed branding presentation, David’s work for the Digital Luxury Group is complete class.
United States Postal Service
Whilst not strictly a case study into the brand identity process, this is one of my new favourite brand identity explorations.
Matt Chase demonstrates perfectly how a branding project should be put together and shows how his fantastic USPS identity can be applied across several brand touch points.
Can You Show Me Some Good Branding Case Studies?
Finding great branding case studies that share the entire ins-and-outs of the process is difficult. Most feature solely on the finished result.
The Mozilla case study is a great way to get an inside look at the inner workings of an internationally renowned branding agency.
Otherwise, feast your eyes on the other pretty visuals featured in this post. They’re worth it!
What do you think? Have you seen any outstanding branding case studies that you want to share? Let us know in the comments below! Or perhaps you need some help with your branding project? If so, you know what to do! Get in touch with the experts at Canny.
