Article • 08 03 2022

Our Bird & Bird brand identity refresh

Giving Bird & Bird new wings

We’re pleased to see our brand refresh of international law firm Bird & Bird launch.

Bird & Bird is an international law firm focused on digital transformation and technology which has a strong heritage in IP. It approached Dragon Rouge in the spring of 2021 as it was developing a new corporate website.

As part of the new website process, Bird & Bird had made some significant changes and updates to its style but had not taken this across the whole brand. We were tasked with taking the initial design concept for the website, and developing it into a full visual identity system.

The goal was to create an identity system that not only added a new coherence and vibrancy to the brand, but allowed for more flexibility and enabled them to stand out for their fresh thinking.

A strong strategic foundation for the visual style, design guidelines and templates were required, and we used the brand personality traits – curious, bright, practical, likeable – as a basis for all design thinking.

We collaborated closely with Bird & Bird’s in-house team in design development, support in preparing for both launch and the ongoing implementation. We took the time to really understand both their needs and the strength, and recognisability, of existing brand assets in building the new look and feel – but didn’t miss the opportunity to create something distinctive and exciting for future use.

The equity in the logo and ampersand, the theme of connecting messages and the core slate grey were retained, but all were applied with more clarity, and flexibility of use.

The theme of ‘curious connections’ is a link throughout the identity, and the ‘curiosity line’, which extends from the ampersand, weaves throughout the comms. Highly coloured and composed imagery, allows natural space for content and shows how the firm is connected to the modern world, in such a variety of ways. This vibrancy is also demonstrated in the vivid colour palette that has been introduced.

The strapline ‘One firm. Your firm’ was integrated throughout the designs and the new design system reflects the energy and versatility of the firm, and allows it to have immediate standout in the sector.

Hayley Brooksbank, Head of Marketing and Communications at Bird & Bird said:

“We needed a fresh new look to support our revised brand strategy and Dragon Rouge delivered something exceptional. They came to the table ready to understand and accept some difficult parameters and used creativity and some serious brand and design expertise to help us see a path through. At every step they pushed us to think in a bigger more expansive way, but what was absolutely critical was that they never let go of the detail. Our new visual style is built on some very strong foundations, which is vital as we are a highly complex business, so the visual style really needs to be able to stretch and flex. Without the strategic grounding that Becky and her team brought, we might have ended up with something superficial and fragile. Instead, we have a robust design logic and a beautiful brand style which we are all very proud of.”