Our rebrand: A step-by-step process to a new identity

In my previous post, I shared how we came together as brand stakeholders to achieve consensus around the idea of rebranding Spry. Through a step-by-step rebranding process, we mutually agreed on the need for a visual brand identity update. With the full support of company leadership, the next step was to transform the idea of a new look and feel into reality. 

The design phase began with a comprehensive brand audit. We knew that various team members had voiced concerns about elements of our existing brand. To ensure clarity, we conducted an unbiased assessment of our visual brand identity, considering both objective and subjective aspects such as:

• Accessibility in design
• Reproduction challenges
• Design constraints
• Longevity of branding elements
• Perception issues
• Brand-voice alignment

Our audit also included measuring visual contrast to address accessibility issues and ensure inclusivity in our branding.

The audit included the measurement of visual contrast to illustrate accessibility issues.

The next phase of the rebranding process was all about collaboration. We brought company leadership together in a series of stakeholder workshops to voice their thoughts, questions, concerns, and ideas for the new brand identity. These workshops provided an open forum to align leadership’s vision with our design direction.

Workshop participants were asked to bring examples of brands that possessed qualities they’d like to see in our new identity.

Context is everything in the world of branding. While there was a general consensus  that our brand felt outdated, we needed to establish what we collectively considered modern and effective branding. This required a detailed competitive analysis of dozens of brands. We analyzed aspects such as emotional use of color, alignment of visual elements with brand voice, and memorable design strategies.The insights gained helped us craft an ownable visual brand language that resonates with our target audience. To streamline collaboration, the competitive analysis was facilitated using a shared FigJam board where the team documented findings.

The Competitive Analysis was facilitated through a shared FigJam board where our team collected findings.

With inspiration in hand, our designers began creating concepts for the new Spry brand. Initial sketches emphasized qualities like growth, energy, technology, and our people-centered approach.

Early concept sketches of the new Spry Digital logo captured the essence of our values and vision.

After several concept presentations, we narrowed down our options to three strong candidates. To ensure the logo worked within a full visual identity, we extended the design concepts into style tiles, testing combinations of color palettes and font pairings in real-world applications.

The final, approved style tile that provided the basis for our full brand guidelines.

Rebranding is more than just creating a new logo – it’s about translating your brand into every touchpoint. For us, these included external platforms like our website, marketing materials, and client presentations, as well as internal assets like team communication tools and training resources.

We carefully planned the implementation phase, taking a phased approach to prioritize critical touchpoints. Because we launched both our rebrand and our website concurrently, our design and technology teams worked collaboratively to ensure seamless execution.

A simplified timeline showing the phased approach to the new brand rollout.

We are incredibly grateful to all the stakeholders across Spry who contributed to this rebranding journey. Our new visual brand identity represents more than just design elements; it’s a testament to our values, our people, and the energy we bring to supporting growth and innovation.

This rebrand has given us a cohesive visual language that communicates our mission and invites others to explore their own potential – the very foundation of what Spry exists to support.