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KDD: Anatomy of a Rebrand
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There are times in a business’ life when a rebrand is a necessary step. A time when you step back, consider the state of your business, your mission, your goals, your philosophy. You look at your existing brand, and ask whether it reflects your vision, attracts your customers, or speaks in your current voice. Katy Dwyer Design has done this twice in our limited history. Take a moment to look back with us. See where we started, and why we decided to rebrand when we did.
Before we explore the rebrands, let’s begin with the original brand. In 2009, Katy Dwyer Design opened it’s doors. At the time, Katy Dwyer Design was just that. It was Katy Dwyer, Designer. The mission was to be a freelance design resource. The brand was very much about the person—I was a freelance designer, and therefore, the most important part of the logo was my name. You can see from the website, we simply let the work speak for itself. Design was our lead. And for the first year or two, this brand strategy worked.
In 2013, we decided it was time to expand our mission. We found that we had started to become more to our clients than just designers. We were offering strategy and expertise, and we had started to build a network of partners so we could offer solutions beyond just design. We had moved heavily into creating custom websites for clients. And perhaps the worst offender, at the time, our website wasn’t mobile friendly, and we knew that was reason alone to rebuild the website. So we rebranded. You’ll notice the logo moved away from being mostly about the name. There was more balance. We moved into using a palette of colors for some vibrance and whimsy, and the font felt friendly and accessible.
And that brings us to 2017, our latest rebrand. Success brings change, in a good way. Our success with our clients and our passion for what we are doing allowed us to narrow our focus and find our true strength: Helping companies connect with their customers emotionally, visually, and digitally through brand strategy, graphic design, and digital creative. It allowed us to expand beyond being a single freelance designer into a firm of four. We’ve become known in the community, and are cultivating relationships with larger companies. We needed a brand and a message that showcased the company we’ve become. We chose a palette of bright interchangable colors, we created an icon that alludes back to the original days when it was just Katy Dwyer, using the ‘kd’ initials, and it’s both dynamic and playful. Our website leads you through who we are, what we do, our process, case studies, and articles we have written.