Collins designs Aldo's bolder, more upscale rebrand

Aldo, the affordable Canadian footwear giant, has launched a new visual identity which has been conceptualised and executed by Collins, a New York and San Francisco-based independent design company. The creative agency, which has previously worked with big names like Airbnb and Nike Jordan, sought to push Aldo away from “discount retail and into a more premium position and expression.”

The rebrand includes a refined, bolder version of Aldo’s renowned logotype, as well as revamped packaging, in-store signage and digital displays for web and mobile phone advertising. The updated identity is particularly notable in its application; the rebrand sees the bolder font used alongside a subdued, pastel colour palette across Aldo’s business cards and packaging. Equally striking is Aldo’s new collage-based aesthetic, which can be seen in the footwear chain’s advertising campaigns and in-store imagery. The in-house campaign, which was shot by the accomplished photographer Julia Noni, layers images of an outfit and reproduces it from different perspectives.

The rebrand follows Aldo’s first website redesign in ten years. This included a new, more effective payment system and even saw touch screens installed inside stores, which allowed customers to search for specific items by size and stock numbers.