Alba

by Elizabeth Freeman on 08/24/2015 | 2 Minute Read

I got my first cell phone in high school, around the time that it was really becoming a thing to have one. Like most teens with cell phones, I thought I was the coolest thing around — and once I learned to text, I was untouchable. Of course, growing up with today’s technology is a little different. To make it to high school without ever using a cell phone is unheard of, not to mention the use of tablets and other portable devices.

Tech company Alba witnessed this shift, realizing that many adults today not only search for technology for themselves but also for their children. After nearly 100 years, they hired Elmwood to create a new identity that would simultaneously tap into this younger audience without alienating adult customers. The result is an energetic and bold design that excitedly embraces the new and evolving role of tech in our lives.

Steven Shaw, design director at Elmwood, states, “The tablet has become a core part of day-to-day family life, as every parent fed up of their kids stealing their iPad will know. Our challenge was to appeal to a younger audience’s sense of self, while delivering an attractive value position to modern tech shoppers. We’ve created an identity that speaks to the key technology ‘wants’ for both audiences by communicating that bold tech attitude alongside carefully pitched price messaging, delivered in a clean and impactful way.”

Since the Alba products themselves are bright and colorful, the new branding needed the same energy. Different illustrations represent their four product categories: TV, audio, portable and accessories. The abstract designs do a perfect job of giving off an upbeat, energetic vibe that can appeal to consumers of all ages. Shaw mentions that the four illustrations convey “suggestions of volume dials, shattered glass (with its sound wave connotations), ambient shapes suggestive of the positive feelings music and film can create, and 3D shapes and splatters for a cooler, edgier tween feel.”