Why Rebrand?
Benchmark’s past visual identity had slowly evolved out of its growth trajectory. While it had met the needs of the company at the time, it didn’t represent where the company wanted to go.
In 2016, the company had re-evaluated its business offering and was making organization changes. As Benchmark’s brand was evaluated, it became clear that an intentional identity was needed since it had never been done before. The company needed one that could align with its mission, vision and core values.
My Role
As a senior designer, I got an opportunity to collaborate with the Director of Design and a fellow senior designer. We worked with stakeholders to create the beginnings of a brand that clients could trust, and it became the catalyst for the company's visual rebrand. We were to create a new logo, execute initial phases of its rollout and successfully hand off to the marketing team.
Assessment
Our team first audited the company’s situation and worked together to define a brand brief. This helped align us throughout the process and gave a common language to communicate with stakeholders.
We took inventory of all outward facing channels, evaluated practical design needs and documented existing challenges. We considered items such as space constraints and colors that have different cultural meanings since Benchmark is an international company.
Explorations
One of the main areas our team focused on was creating a new logo and logomark. We explored initial concepts through various sketching exercises and brainstorming sessions.
Brainstorming Exercises
By going through word associations and visual pairing exercises, we were able to draft rough ideas quickly. These also helped us determine brand attributes that would continue to drive logo concepts through the whole process.
Iterations Based on Feedback
As we flushed out different directions, we switched back and forth between hand sketches and furthering concepts on the computer.
Having a continuous loop of giving feedback and iterating concepts, our team eventually narrowed down to a single direction that embodied the list of brand attributes and communicated them in the right way.
Refinement
Our team refined the logomark and finalized its paired typography. Since we were creating multiple variations, their relationship together needed to bring out the right personality traits.
For example, we were looking to create a logo that felt solid and trustworthy, while still being approachable and friendly. We aimed to find a balance in that relationship.
Visual Identity Beginnings
After refining the logo, we continued to extend the visual identity by exploring colors, typography and other brand elements.
We came up with a direction for each area before fully handing off to the company’s marketing team, who carried out and furthered the visual identity.
