A few weeks before our company retreat last year, we began talking about redesigning our site. It had been around 2 years since the last redesign and there were plenty of new ideas on the table. Before jumping the gun, we knew we needed to update the Paramore brand.
First, we asked ourselves what worked with the existing brand:
- unique
- green
- personality
- tagline: “Simple. Clear. Focused on Results.”
Then, we discussed what we didn’t like with the existing brand:
- not simple enough
- over the orange
- not flexible enough for different mediums
- doesn’t portray us as a full-service agency
Who do we admire? Why?
- Google (flexible with identity)
- Target (brand is strong/consistent)
The Five Filters
Before setting a brand for our clients or ourselves, we like to create a set of five filters that every element must pass through before coming to fruition. Here are the 5 filters we chose that describes us and we made sure to stick to these during the rebrand:
- Approachable
- Confident
- Transparent
- Unexpected
- Badass
Exploring Icons
After finding out what works, and what doesn’t, we began exploring new icons for Paramore. The initial idea was to keep the circle and the P with an updated font. We went through our entire font library.
FIG. 1 - Over a hundred different directions we could have taken the brand
Some worked. Some didn’t. But I never felt great about just choosing a newer font. It was only when I began seeing more of a shape within the letter P which immediately felt like a stronger concept. My goal was to keep the same look of the P but create a more iconic symbol that could work on many levels.
FIG. 2 - We landed on the most simple version
When you first look at the final icon, you might see a speech bubble, or a thought bubble, a target, a map marker, or even a P.
Mood Boards
We created mood boards to decide which colors and overall style we should go with.
FIG. 3 - Red: Strong, Classic
FIG. 4 - Pink: Vibrant/Fun, Different
FIG. 5 - Green: New/Fresh, Organic
We agreed that green was the right direction for many reasons. Green was one of our existing brand colors, and it also aligned with the 5 filters.
Typography
Choosing a font seemed to come naturally. We wanted a font that represented us as a company: fun, full of character, professional, bold. ChunkFive was the perfect fit. We used Century Gothic for our new tag: the digital agency
FIG. 6 - Final Paramore | the digital agency logo
Collateral
When it came to the collateral, the goal was to keep it simple. Allowing the green icon and the name to fill up the back and only using what was needed for contact info. We chose a matte paper stock with a spot varnish on the icon.
FIG. 7 - Paramore business cards
FIG. 8 - Paramore banners
FIG. 9 - Paramore iPhone cover
I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out. We stuck to our 5 filters and our original tagline: Simple. Clear. Focused on Results. To be a digital agency, you have to be willing to change. Preferably for the better.
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