Last week saw the rebrand of one of the world’s most significant innovation technology leaders, Nokia, with an entire new identity being released at the Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona.
This rebrand came into play in order to unlock the next stage of growth for the brand, helping Nokia to showcase its move from creating consumer products to becoming a pioneer in the technology market.
Therefore, in order to better reflect Nokia’s brand positioning the organisation worked with New York-based consultancy, and longstanding partner, Lippincott, to provide a fresh and contemporary feel to the branding whilst still including the heritage of the company.
In this post, we will be diving into the new logo, exhibition stand design, and website, graphics, and advertisements that place Nokia as both an inventor and innovator of technologies.
So, let’s get into the details!
Credit to Lippincott
The Logo
Despite the old Nokia logo being solid, memorable, and overall a great example of a logo design that stands the test of time, the latest look helps to update the brand.
An important goal for Nokia was to move the company branding away from the association with 3310 mobiles that users look back on with a feeling of nostalgia, and showcase its innovation in the tech sector.
This new logo does a great job at helping Nokia to make the move and asserts the brands dominance in the market.
One of the largest changes to the logo is the thickness of the letters, as compared to the old logo each of the letters has been replaced with a slimmer, taller version.
While the thicker letters of the past mirrored the brick-like Nokia mobile devices from the 90’s, the new logo is lighter and portrays a sense of agility that wasn’t there before.
This again helps the brand to move away from bulky branding, to an identity that flows and adapts to the changing world of technology.
Another major change to the logo is the slicing of letters, and removing sections of the N, K, and A, helped to create a distinct look that allows space for graphics and imagery to fill the gaps.
The I and O however, are untouched, yet there is a stand-out difference between the previous O and the newer design, as the rectangular shape has been smoothed into a perfect circle.
This again enhances the smoothness of the entire logo, removing the blocky lettering and allowing the new design to flow whilst still being a solid shape and format.
The before-to-after logo animation showcases the differences well and highlights that the redesign was more of a tidy-up that has in turn created something completely new in the market.
Credit to Underconsideration
Exhibition Stand Design
Next up we have the Nokia exhibition stand design from the Mobile World Congress 2023, which is when things get even more exciting.
Although originally considered a booth by the brand and design agency, it’s clear from the congress imagery that the Nokia “booth” was more of a full-fledged experience.
The entire Nokia area of the exhibition extended way beyond a mere pop-up or banner stand, with a large space dedicated to showcasing the new branding.
The most memorable feature is the huge “O” shape that not only made up part of the brand name but acted as a tunnel to guide visitors through the new Nokia experience.
Each of the kaleidoscopic colours and range of digital textures were shown inside each ring of this tunnel, helping to tie the boldness of the new brand design in with the rebrand release.
Along the journey, visitors were able to find out more about the companys new identity and goals, which helped to paint Nokia as a B2B technology innovator, rather than just a mobile company.
Credit to Lippincott
Website, Graphics, and Advertisement
The brand positioning and messaging continues to run throughout the new identity, particularly in the logo letterform graphics.
The N, O, and K, in particular, have been used to create bold graphics across the website and brand imagery that centre around growth, innovation, and sustainability using wildlife and Artificial Intelligence image cut outs.
For example, each graphic ensures that every letter stands for something related to the brands values, with the worldwide presence being shown through the globe, and the dedication to sustainability represented through the use of AI and bots.
The website contains these logo letterform graphics, but for the most part, remains simple and doesn’t overcomplicate itself.
With short and snappy website copy and simple navigational features, it makes for a solid website that is positioned as a technology company and less so a technology provider.
Finally, moving onto the advertisements which are much like the website as they are simple, colourful and use letterform graphics as a base for the design.
These are elements that help to tie the branding together neatly, and the adverts in particular are a platform to showcase some of the brand’s messaging.
The language used certainly pushes Nokia’s new identity with phrases such as “At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together”.
This creates a shift away from what the brand is currently known for, and instead pushes the identity linked with technological innovation and the integration of networks and the cloud.
Innovation at its Finest: The Nokia Rebrand Explored
In order to be a pioneer in your market you need to have an identity to show you mean business. That’s exactly what Nokia has done with the help of the Lippincott agency.
With a refined and agile new logo, and logo letterforms that capture the brand’s core values and commitments to future technology, this new brand identity helps to place Nokia right at the centre of the tech market.
Although most of us will never forget the old block-style logo, and playing a game of snake on the classic Nokia 3310, this rebrand was needed in order to propel Nokia onto the scene as an innovative tech giant.
But now we are handing it over to you, let us know what you think of this rebrand! Are you a loyal Nokia customer who preferred the original and memorable branding, or do you think this change was necessary to put Nokia at the top of the technology game?
