The whole team feels right at home with our new identity and website. It says where we are as a brand and where we’re going. It’s Hurricane through and through.
As a creative agency which was clear on its strategic direction, we could have taken on the challenge of the rebrand ourselves. But we felt we would benefit from fresh eyes. We turned to Bristol-based agency, Big Fan Agency, and we’re pleased with the process and the results.
We caught up with David Robinson, the creative director and founder of Big Fan Agency to find out his take on the project.
The process of Hurricane’s rebrand
We knew from the outset that designing a brand identity for an equally creative company (albeit in different disciplines) would require a collaborative approach. The core team at Hurricane had a clear understanding of their strategic transition and needed a creative partner to help them visualise it.
After an initial meeting we got to work realising Hurricane’s vision. We began with a mood boarding phase which enabled both teams to share and discuss possible creative directions. This allowed everyone to have a shared sense of direction before the design process begun.
We dedicated two designers to the project who, following on from a “brand hothouse” (our fancy way of saying an intensive period of ideas generation), worked up two routes in order to present. We typically create a number of trial applications which allow us to ‘stress test’ the ideas to ensure they work perfectly.
The ideas were presented to the Hurricane team and discussed. Although there were elements of both directions that were favoured, one route was chosen to be developed.
Whilst still collaborating closely with the in-house team, the ideas were refined and eventually a set of guidelines were produced and all assets delivered to Hurricane to begin implementing.
Strategic brand identity
Although many creatives don’t recognise it, thinking about brand and identity is hugely strategic. Those very first initial conversations and meetings with Hurricane contribute hugely towards us attaining a clear understanding as to how the company should be positioned. The core emotions we produced with Hurricane represent who they are as a team, how they work with their clients and what their aspirations are for the future.
How to represent Hurricane’s dynamic nature
“Dynamic” became a key motivator for the identity. The logo and supporting graphical devices are designed to represent the pixel-led nature of video production, yet showcase the flexible and dynamic nature of how Hurricane work. A ‘fluid’ grid of dots forms the cornerstone of the brand assets. Aside from the main brand icon, the dot system can be used in many different ways including fully customisable patterns and a tailored icon set.
In addition to this system, a series of bright colour gradients were chosen to support the company’s enthusiastic proposition.
Thanks to David for sharing his insights into how our rebrand from his point of view. Now, explore the website to see how we’ve used the new brand identity.
Get in touch to let us know what you think.