Elastic brands: How to adapt to the shifting landscape of branding

Branding is a fickle thing

While brands are required to adapt more quickly these days, the truth is that responding to trends in branding has always been a part of the process. The key difference here is that these trends are increasingly micro in scale and more transient than ever. “Mass pop (mono) culture can thrust any aesthetic into a trend overnight,” says Jeremy, “exemplified by the most notable piece of graphic design in 2024 being a seemingly fumbled together pixelated default font on a green square [in reference to Charlie XCX’s now-iconic Brat album cover].”

But what does this mean for designers? Well, it means striking the right balance between building a brand that is nimble enough to react quickly to cultural moments that feel relevant, but substantial enough to weather the onslaught of content that passes through our digital world each day. Engaging with every single trend that crops up will inevitably eat away at a brand’s integrity, but being so glacial and monolithic as to be unable to engage with important cultural moments will make a brand seem stagnant and outdated.

A recent example of a brand getting it right is when Burberry chose to return to its design roots in 2023, with reworked branding that utilises a handmade, ornate aesthetic. Not only did this make total sense for a heritage brand like Burberry, whose visual language should be rich rather than slick, but it also tied nicely into a wider appetite for punchy branding that has personality. As Mike from Studio Lowrie attests to, we were overdue a change from the clean, monochromatic brands that had dominated the world of fashion for the last decade, and Burberry’s high-profile departure marked the start of something exciting. “A few years ago we were at quite an uninspiring point where all the big fashion houses felt homogenous with their derivative sans-serif logotypes,” he says. “[So it was] great to see brands like Burberry pivot back to what makes them unique: traditional British roots with contemporary design. Their new logo feels rooted in tradition with crafted quirks and personality.”

Naturally, striking the right balance between embracing change and sticking to your guns can seem like a daunting and stressful task at times, but Hugo insists there is still fun to be had: “As a practitioner, I think it’s exciting,” he tells us. “Creating systems that are more flexible, more nimble, and can really scale is a fascinating challenge. The elegance of the tools we have at our disposal today is truly amazing, and we also have sophisticated audiences that understand nuance. Creatives who can tap into that potential will keep making work that stretches the notion of brand building.” Certainly, those who are able to harness the power of the digital world without succumbing to its vast and transient nature will always stay ahead of the curve – which brings us to the next point.

Which brings us back to the point about knowing yourself, knowing your audience, and knowing how to bridge the two. For instance, Noemie and Jeremy often work with brands whose target demographic is a younger generation with a sharp eye for design and a touch of Golden Age Thinking. The result is that this audience wants eye-catching branding with rich storytelling and a nod to the past, but not something that feels obviously dated in terms of its execution. Noemie and Jeremy know this, and in turn they frequently find success in mixing the retro with the contemporary. “We often take a mash-up of relevant reference points to create something completely original, that might feel subtly nostalgic and inviting, while at the same time totally new and unexpected,” explains Noemie. “Balancing old and new, high and low, fun and function.”

This capacity to read your own brand, and be sensible when presenting it to the world, is also something at the forefront of Hugo’s mind. Summing up this notion, he says: “Find what you’re good at, and do that. I know it sounds overly simplistic, but if there’s one thing I see over and over again is brands trying to be all things, to everyone, all of the time. It’s increasingly hard to find examples of companies that figured out who they are, who they are for, and wear that comfortably.”

He continues: “With the fragmentation of media channels, avalanche of data, economic pressures, and creepy AI, it’s fair to say we’re all to one degree or another trying to figure stuff out on the fly. Confidence is the one thing that’s at a premium today: not in the know-it-all sense, but the confidence of editing, cutting stuff out, choosing to not jump on every bandwagon, preserving some critical space.”

No risk, no reward

With the above in mind, there is one final thing to consider, and that is the importance of risk taking. Though this might feel like a design platitude, it’s still something that many designers and brands fail to do. Not only is taking risks an essential part of building a brand that stands out, it’s also key to building a brand that can stand the test of time. It’s not dissimilar to how certain musicians are able to maintain their relevance over the years by making clever changes to their sound. The crucial caveat here is to not change too much. You should never cut off your roots entirely, but you should be able to branch out at the right times and in the right ways.

Reflecting on this, Jeremy says risk taking is something that he hopes to see more of in the future: “To us, it feels like most brands are still playing it pretty safe. It’s a tough economy right now and it’s evident that budgets don’t extend beyond just getting the thing done.... But when brands (or designers) make the investment, it’s noticeable.”

“It might be harder than ever to do something that feels truly original and fresh, but I think that’s both the challenge and the opportunity,” adds Noemie. “I think designers should feel empowered to push themselves and their clients to create work that transcends trends – to use their own imagination and wit to come up with new approaches. From our perspective, that’s a lot more fun than simply adding to the sea of sameness.”