The Best Redesigns of Winter 2021

Now that spring is officially upon us with restrictions on businesses easing up, many of us are starting to put away the winter sweatpants and venture outside, even if it means chilling solo in our gardens or outdoors with masks on. 

Before hitting the trails for a meal al fresco, or maybe the beach, here are some of the best brand refreshes and redesigns from this past winter. Some were spurred on by pandemic-related shifts in business, while others were motivated by a desire to better communicate a brand’s core spirit and character. Regardless of the reasons, they all stand out as significant reworks of already established firms rather than light touches.

Sound Sparkling Beverages

Facing a tectonic shift in its business due to the closing of on-site dining, sparkling beverage brand Sound realized it would need a new look to appeal to quarantined consumers. Going from a restrained identity that served Sound well when they primarily sold in food service locations, the new identity stands out on the crowded sparkling water shelf with some serious retro-70s funk. The new branding is a dose of chill in testing times.

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Miller Genuine Draft

MGD had historically been cooler than other big domestic beer brands while also not being a fancy craft microbrew showboat. It sat firmly in the middle, a smooth, flavorful, and unabashedly macro beer, pushing back the onslaught of pricy, hipster suds. Sadly for MGD, the craft beers broke through its cold-filtered ice wall like a legion of white walkers, and it was time for a rebrand. Studio BrandOpus took MGD and did a top-down on the rotisserie rack resto-mod highlighting the fresh visual elements, like the colors black and red. They also successfully brought the eagle to the foreground for improved brand recognition. MGD’s makeover isn’t fussy; it’s classic and just badass.

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McDonald's

Another brand that’s seen its business change dramatically due to COVID is McDonald’s. The clown prince of hamburgers decided to regroup and change its operations long-term, investing more in drive-thru, delivery, and app ordering. The global quick-service restaurant chain unveiled new location designs and a significant change to its visual identity. Pearlfisher helped modernize and minimize the branding with packaging that features bright graphical manifestations of ingredients. Core visual elements such as the Golden Arches and red fry cartons remain, while boxes and wrappers use a tighter visual language that’s consistent, for the most part, save the Fillet-O-Fish box.

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Burger King

Not to be outdone by the red-headed jester of fast-food, Burger King’s refresh aims to visually manifest the mood of sitting down to charbroiled goodness your way. Agency JKR dismisses the Planet Express-like logo and puts in its place a “new” logo inspired by the King’s past visual marks. Similarly, the typeface has a groovy feel, but it also has a sumptuous quality that’s on-point for a burger brand. Delightful illustrations of toppings set against bright colors dominate the new wrappers, and the color palette is vintage fast-food in a delicious way.

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Ingredients Matter

Being simple doesn’t have to be boring. When it comes to laundry cleansers, what’s not inside matters a lot, as some brands load up on synthetic chemicals and harsh dyes and scents. Some of these are bad for our skin, and others are bad for the environment. Laundry soap brand Ingredients Matter felt its visual identity and packaging didn’t reflect the brand’s story compellingly. They enlisted Abby Haddican Studio to help the brand pare down its look to the core, trimming away the distracting and the fussiness, swapping in exceptional typography and bright colors. Graphics get kept to a minimum, and the new look lets Ingredients Matter focus on the purity of its products.

Read more here.