An IT consultancy rebrand

The situation:

The brand transformation would be long and complex, involving every department across every channel. It needed creativity, industry insights, a critical eye, plus energy and enthusiasm across the board.

The strategy:

An inter-department working group was set up with senior figures, with elements of the brief coming directly from the CEO. I made sure to understand nuances and discover the bigger picture—crucial at this early stage.

I listened to the business's needs, challenges and goals while providing creative insights, critical observations and fresh ideas.

The situation:

Three brands with a "K2" prefix existed: K2 Partnering Solutions, K2 University and K2 Konnect.

How would the consultancy offering be branded, and how would it sit within existing brand architecture? Introducing a new brand versus repositioning an existing one had different pros and cons.

The strategy:

Brand architecture diagrams, colour systems and proofs of concept were explored with the working group. I recommended approaches and ensured alternatives were clearly presented and discussed.

We agreed consultancy services would use the K2 Partnering Solutions brand, but every touchpoint would be reviewed and updated to better communicate the new offerings.

The situation:

Consultancies look and feel different to recruitment firms. How would the brand identity need to change to reflect the new offering?

Who would be the brand's main competitors after transformation? How would the updated brand differentiate itself?

The strategy:

I worked with business analysts, UX researchers and proprietary AI agents to identify direct competitors and aspirational brands. K2 already partnered with big IT consultancies and valuable insider knowledge was shared.

I also examined the design landscape to ensure the new brand fit in and was effective in the company's largest markets (US, Brazil and Europe).

Findings were discussed with the working group, letting us agree on market position, USPs and core values.

The situation:

K2 Partnering Solutions had expanded into many global markets and planned to continue, with Japan and Germany enjoying rapid growth.

How could we ensure the new brand would be effective in these markets with their unique languages, cultures and customs?

The strategy:

I interviewed key associates in each region and recorded their insights on the brand's market position. I discovered regional and cultural considerations plus any challenges they saw ahead.

Insights from K2's talent teams in APAC and DACH helped tailor the brand to local markets, informing photography art direction and messaging.

The situation:

The brand's red looked washed out and old-fashioned compared to newer tech brands. More vintage car than Virgin Media.

Marketing frequently switched between red and navy blue as the primary colour. The palette needed simplifying to improve brand recognition.

The strategy:

Using a grid system, I redesigned the logo with a new, more modern brand red.

The more vibrant, warmer red would shape brand perception—appearing full of life and passion while remaining recognisable and retaining its reputation.

I developed a full colour palette ensuring versatility, legibility, personality, professionalism and easy recognition, presenting it to the working group with explanations.

I asked the UI/UX designers to introduce a pale pastel tone—a subtler brand colour for web, applications and interfaces.

The situation:

The logo was unclear at small sizes with wasted space in the top left. The typefaces dated the marketing and conveyed little personality.

The strategy:

Using a grid system, the square logo and 'K2' monogram element was enlarged, emboldened and clarified.

A versatile chevron motif was introduced as a strong visual hook—both a 'less than' sign from programming languages and an arrow representing movement or transformation.

I suggested creating an additional logotype variant to allow the full brand name to be read at small sizes and when space is limited.

New brand fonts provided more personality in headings and clarity in body copy. Display typography contained geometric flourishes matching angles in the monogram.

The situation:

Legacy brand photography was dull, used dated treatments and seemed overly staged. This didn't reflect the increasingly young, nomadic and casually-dressed modern tech professional.

K2's marketing relied on static stock images—unsuitable for many popular advertising platforms and social media.

There was a compelling business case for utilising AI in content generation. How do we ensure AI-generated media consistently meets brand guidelines?

The strategy:

I designed and rolled out a new, more authentic and natural art direction. I wanted audiences to recognise and empathise with realistic environments.

New photography should have depth and be rich in colour and diversity. Photographers should avoid messy backgrounds and use large blocks of colour to complement brand colours.

I trained marketing team members on brand videography guidelines and created new Canva workflows. A curated library of approved brand video is shared with relevant associates.

I worked with the group's head of AI to develop prompts and an internal AI agent for generating on-brand imagery for blog articles, case studies and social media.

Video direction: This hero video montage demonstrates the new photography art direction. Note the authentic, fly-on-the-wall style footage and how the camera focuses on the subjects' facial expressions.