Small shifts sometimes speak volumes, says Brand Impact Awards judge.
Brands face a timeless quandary when they reconsider their identity – should they have an overhaul or a refresh, to change everything or (almost) nothing? A rebrand is never a trivial decision. It involves a matrix of choices that factor in positioning, culture, narrative – and all too often a boardroom full of stakeholders. If only there was an easy answer. What matters, though, is being clear about the destination.
Successful rebranding is not necessarily a revolution or merely a cosmetic operation. It is a transformation that is executed with precision – sometimes discreet, sometimes radical – but always driven by a strong intent. For established brands in particular, this path requires strategic rigour and a fair dose of calculated courage.
When is the right time to rebrand?
(Image credit: Jaguar)
You know the cliché: a hot shot new CMO is appointed and within a few months, they announce a rebrand. While it can be an expensive and complicated way to try to make one’s mark, a new senior hire does also signal a new direction for a brand, or maybe new markets, or the evolution of the company’s reputation. All of these are valid reasons for a fresh look at the brand from logo all the way through to experience.
The right time really is the moment when you realise your existing brand just isn’t working for you anymore. Does it feel dated? Does the brand language miss the mark? Have customer tastes changed?
Probably the most talked about rebrand in the past year has been Jaguar, which seemed to reject everything that had come before, from typography to colour palette to that world famous marque. The move seemed to be a bold, deliberate choice to signal a rebirth, yet the question remains: in seeking to appear new, does one lose touch with what built the brand? Despite Jaguar’s insistence that it was a success in terms of brand awareness, this bold move has yet to pay off with sales.
The art of faithful originality
(Image credit: Google/Future)
What fundamentally distinguishes rebranding from brand creation is its relationship to its origins. A good rebrand doesn’t deny the past – it reassembles. Alongside strategy, executional excellence and fitness for purpose, I recommend a fourth evaluation lens: faithful originality. How has the new visual narrative extended the brand’s founding idea?
Take Google’s recent rebrand - the first update in 10 years. I couldn’t have imagined Google becoming a “heritage brand” when I first tried out search in the early 2000s, but here we are, 25 years later. The new logo remains instantly, recognisably, Google but the move away from a blocky, flat identity helps keep the now venerable tech brand fresh.
What would have been the value of a complete overhaul when all they needed to do was spruce up the 'G'? A tweak – one that I’m sure was accompanied by an extensive brand architecture review – that has hopefully set Google up for another 10 years.
Google isn’t the only tech giant that’s been updating lately – we’ve seen fresh looks from OpenAI, Mozilla, and Amazon in the past year. Like so many startups, these companies grew up without really thinking of themselves as brands. They were projects, products, platforms.
Over time, they have inevitably structured themselves, organising and presenting themselves with a voice, a posture, an aesthetic. These rebrands are not a mere graphic update. It’s a foundational act, communicating maturity. Here, design becomes a tool of strategic clarification, storytelling, a language in service of an identity under construction.
At Lonsdale, we worked with French e-commerce scale up Prestashop on a rebrand that did require something different. Entering a period of rapid expansion meant taking on global giants like Shopify, so in this case standing out was important. We still tried to keep it simple by using the power of typography to communicate the brand’s diverse range of customers and almost limitless customisation tools.
Rebranding as a balancing act
(Image credit: Prestashop)
Transformation without amnesia, disruption without disconnection – rebranding is like walking a tightrope. It demands a clear vision, rigorous execution, and deep contextual intelligence. The flashy, “all change” rebrands might catch our eye first and many of us will be guilty of celebrating the bold brand transformations, while overlooking the intent that lies behind a more subtle refresh.
But in a world hungry for meaning, a truly successful evolution can lie in articulating a simple, strong, coherent idea – one that remains profoundly faithful to what made the brand unique. The ones that didn’t change everything. Nor nothing. But simply made the same story resonate more clearly.
With over 25 years of experience in branding and packaging design, Muriel has held senior roles at global design agencies in France, Hong Kong, and Singapore. For more than 15 years, she has worked extensively throughout Asia and across all consumer branding categories.
Passionate about nurturing the next generation of creatives in Singapore, she contributes to skill development and training. She has previously judged at D&AD and been named Creative Director of the Year by the Transform Awards Asia. Muriel is a member of the Brand Impact Awards 2025 Jury.
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