A positive corporate merger forces the need for a rebrand. One that not only sees a design change required, but also a name. Seeing a highly-successful and well-respected accountancy and advisory firm reborn as PKF Smith Cooper.
What We Did
With the added complication of the name change came the need to simplify wherever possible. Distilling to its essence was the design imperative, meaning a more graphic representation of Smith Cooper’s ‘leaf’ motif. The integrity of the original device was retained by designer, Mark Ashton. Mark reimagining the original floral pattern with the very minimum of fuss and line work. The original ’Smith Cooper’ typography was also adjusted and tightened to match the appearance of the PKF brand.
The versatility of stacked and single-line versions of the logo proved particularly successful across signage. The change to the new logo was supported by a switch to the PKF network corporate colour palette. More widely, the leaf motif comes into its own within social media, as an instantly identifiable mark.
James Bagley – Managing Partner
“Working with the creative team at STENCIL continues to be both enjoyable and productive. Our rebrand to PKF Smith Cooper was completed quickly, skilfully and with real attention to the brief.
“Getting something like this right on the first pass felt a real triumph. It enabled us to successfully move our corporate identity forward without losing a link to our historic logo. If done unsuccessfully, that wouldn’t have been the case.”
Image Update
A new suite of commissioned photography was also part of the job. In this case, creating a consistent set of portraits from across the business – across their many offices. They varied from quite formal corporate headshots to more informal workplace-style images, all helping tell the story of the business and its people.
