Case Studies & Analysis

Target Lost Its Signal

Source: CNN

Target’s “cheap chic” era feels distant. Over-ordering, inflation, and awkward missteps (remember locking up shampoo?) show how easy it is to lose touch. Once loyalty cracks, design alone can’t patch it—it has to be rebuilt from experience outward.

Sports Teams Rebrand Like Netflix

Source: Design Week

From rugby to basketball, clubs are repositioning as entertainment-first. Logos, visuals, and campaigns look more like streaming services than scoreboards. The takeaway: fans don’t just buy tickets; they buy experiences.

A Bookshop Becomes a Brand Beacon

Source: PrintMag

When William Stout Architectural Books modernized its identity, it wasn’t just about polish. It was about storytelling—showing how even a small, niche institution can use design to signal permanence and cultural value in a fleeting market.

One Click, Full Identity

Source: TestingCatalog

Genspark claims it can spit out a “full brand identity” with one click. A milestone in efficiency—or a flattening of culture? It raises the stakes for human designers: our edge is symbolism, taste, and storytelling, not just speed.

Cracker Barrel’s “What Not To Do” Rebrand

Source: PR Daily

Sometimes loyalty isn’t cracked—it’s shattered. Cracker Barrel’s new logo is already being dissected as a case study in misalignment. The lesson? Legacy brands can modernize, but if you sever ties to cultural memory, you lose the core audience you’re trying to hold onto.

Brand loyalty today is less about habit, more about resonance. Fans, consumers, and readers all want to see themselves reflected—not just sold to. For designers, that means our challenge isn’t just inventing new identities, but rethreading fragile cultural trust.

Brand loyalty isn’t dead—it’s changing shape. Where do you see it cracking most: retail, sports, or legacy institutions?

]]> https://workjulian.com/design-pulse-vol-18-brand-loyalty-cracked/feed/ 0 https://workjulian.com/brand-identity-design-news-vol-17/ https://workjulian.com/brand-identity-design-news-vol-17/#respond Tue, 19 Aug 2025 21:36:30 +0000 https://workjulian.com/?p=6821 Design Pulse Vol. 17

This week’s design stories capture a spectrum: from institutions rethinking legacy to brands experimenting with culture and impact. Together, they reveal how design continues to negotiate the space between recognition and reinvention.

RPI Rebrands for Its Next Century

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute embraced a bold new identity, introducing custom letterforms anchored by a generative bar — a flexible device that expands into patterns like Venn diagrams, waveforms, and binary code. It’s a reminder that even historic institutions can evolve without losing their DNA.
? Read more at RPI News

Inside Figma’s Post-IPO Weirdness

Two weeks after going public, Figma is balancing quirky culture with Wall Street scrutiny. Maker Week, crocheted quilts, and doodle-covered walls live alongside the pressures of scale and shareholder expectations. Can the darling of design stay playful in the public markets?
? Read more at The Standard

Design Beyond Awards, Toward Impact

Stocks Taylor Benson has stepped away from design awards, redirecting resources to pro-bono “Good Deeds” projects. The move critiques the industry’s trophy-chasing and reasserts design as a tool for communities rather than juries.
? Read more at Design Week

AI Isn’t Design’s Real Problem

Fast Company argues sameness—not AI—is design’s greatest challenge. Where tools and styles converge into uniformity, AI could paradoxically be the way out, generating difference where human processes fall into repetition.
? Read more at Fast Company

Detroit Eyewear Goes Sustainable with CCS

Detroit-based eyewear brand GODNII partnered with graduates from the College for Creative Studies to prototype a new sustainable collection. Using local materials and recycled waste streams, the project explores how design education and industry can co-author a more ecological future.
? Read more at CCS Detroit

Top Brand Activations at Lollapalooza 2025

This year’s festival showcased more than 30 brand activations, from Venmo lounges and Airbnb perks to Patrón cocktails and Dove beauty labs. At Lollapalooza, the stage belongs as much to brands as it does to musicians.
? Read more at BizBash

Closing Reflection

From universities to IPO tech firms, from studios to festivals, the throughline is clear: design is being asked to hold tradition and experimentation in the same frame. The question isn’t whether design can keep up, but whether it can lead with enough imagination to set the rhythm for culture.

Want to see how these ideas translate into real work?
Explore my portfolio, where I’ve led projects spanning brand identities, visual storytelling, and design systems across industries.

? View my recent projects
? Explore more case studies

Branding Trends 2025: Gen Z’s Raw Visuals, Global Rebrands, and the New Rules of Identity

Brand identity in 2025 is a living organism. It bends, stretches, and sometimes breaks under the pressure of generational shifts, economic realities, and the speed of culture. Across industries—from civic tourism boards to global airlines, luxury brands, and eCommerce startups—the challenge is the same: how to remain relevant without losing what makes you recognizable.

Big Rapids, MI — Building a Civic Myth

Full article here

Big Rapids, Michigan is confronting a branding problem familiar to many American cities: a fragmented identity scattered across mismatched signage, seals, and marketing materials. City officials are now exploring a secondary logo that would unify its public-facing image while keeping the official seal for government use.

This isn’t just an exercise in graphic design—it’s about civic storytelling. As tourism becomes a larger slice of municipal budgets, cities must craft their own myths. A strong, consistent brand gives residents a sense of pride and makes a place legible to outsiders. In an era of political and cultural division, a cohesive visual identity can become a rare point of shared truth.

Delta — Refining a Century-Old Icon

Full article here

When DixonBaxi took on Delta’s rebrand, the goal wasn’t to replace an icon—it was to give it depth. Motion, light, and perspective now animate the familiar triangular symbol, making it feel less like a static badge and more like a living emblem.

This refinement comes at a time when Delta is proving its resilience. Earlier this year, economic worries clouded the travel outlook. Yet by July, Cirium ranked Delta number one in North American on-time performance. In my previous essay on future design trends, I argued that heritage brands that modernize without erasing their DNA will be best positioned for the next decade. Delta’s approach is exactly that—a case study in evolution, not reinvention.

Longform — Sustainable Fashion with Longevity in Mind

Full article here

New Zealand brand Longform, created by Des Rusk, is redefining what sustainability looks like—not as a seasonal marketing hook, but as a design philosophy. Built on high-quality merino wool garments meant to last a lifetime, the brand’s identity—developed with agency True—leans into restraint. Neutral palettes drawn from Aotearoa’s landscapes, understated typography, and photography that emphasizes texture over trend all reinforce the idea that the best fashion is the kind you keep for decades.

It’s a reminder that in the age of fast content and faster fashion, visual quietness can be a radical choice.

Bombay Sapphire — Measuring Desire

Full article here

In Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Bombay Sapphire hosted a “sensory auction” where guests bid not with money, but with their brainwaves. Working with artist Dan Lam and BBDO New York, the brand used neuroaesthetic technology—eye tracking, galvanic skin response, EEG scans—to determine who had the strongest emotional reaction to a commissioned sculpture.

It’s both a marketing spectacle and a commentary on the future of brand engagement. Instead of guessing what an audience feels, the brand captured proof. Whether or not this kind of data-driven emotional mapping becomes a mainstream branding tool, it raises an important question: what happens when brands can literally see how much you care?

Gen Z — Raw, Chaotic, and Unapologetically Real

Full article here

Gen Z’s approach to visual communication is a rejection of the polished perfection that Millennials chased. Their aesthetic is messy, layered, and immediate—born for the scroll, not the boardroom. They’ve made brands like Crocs and Duolingo cool by embracing imperfection and infusing personality into every touchpoint.

In contrast, older models of branding relied on tightly controlled narratives and immaculate execution. Now, relatability trumps perfection. Fenty Beauty and Spotify Wrapped succeed not just because they look good, but because they feel like they were made with the audience, not for them. For brands unwilling to loosen their grip, this shift will feel threatening. For those willing to adapt, it’s an invitation to rethink authenticity.

California eCommerce — Breaking the Template

Full article here

In California’s competitive online retail scene, templated websites are losing ground. Digital Silk reports a surge in demand for custom web design—mobile-first layouts, ADA compliance, integrated personalization, and bold, distinctive visuals. As eCommerce saturates, differentiation isn’t just about product; it’s about digital architecture.

Custom design is no longer a luxury for big brands—it’s becoming a necessity for anyone who wants to own their narrative in a crowded digital marketplace.

In 2025, branding is less about a fixed logo or a static set of colors and more about building a flexible, culturally aware identity system. From small towns to global giants, from sustainable fashion to neuroaesthetic gin tastings, the most compelling brands are the ones willing to evolve while staying anchored to what makes them unique. The rest risk becoming artifacts of a past that no one remembers—or cares to.most intense emotional connection. The event shows how brands are merging art, science, and experience to deepen emotional engagement.

The world of design is in flux. Digital tools once on the periphery (like Canva) are mainstream, AI-generated content is rising, and brand strategy has shifted from glossy slogans to lived experience. This provokes big questions: What does a “design skill” mean today? How should schools and studios adapt when user behavior, culture, and transparency hold more weight than polished logos? Below, we analyze the latest data and thought leadership to map these changes and what they demand of designers and educators.

Emerging Tools and Skills in Demand

Fast Company’s latest analysis of 176,000 design job listings shows clear shifts in required skills. In graphic-design roles, listings requesting Blender grew +82% year-over-year and those asking for Canva proficiency jumped +72%.

In other words, 3D modeling and easy-authoring tools are no longer optional extras – they’re now on recruiters’ radar. Likewise, motion design and video skills are spiking (think animated social posts, UI motion, and virtual experiences). Figma and other collaborative UI/UX platforms remain ubiquitous in digital-product roles. And even where job descriptions don’t yet explicitly name generative AI tools, employers signal that savvy with these emerging technologies is expected.

• Canva and DIY Design: Once shunned by “serious” designers, Canva’s ease-of-use has made it a de facto skill for marketers and a prerequisite for many creative teams. Designers are learning to leverage its brand-kit features for consistent social and presentation graphics.
• 3D & Motion: Blender, Cinema 4D, and motion-graphics tools are surging. Blender demand rose 82% – motion artists who can animate in 3D or craft “snackable” social videos are highly prized.
• AI and Automation: Surprisingly, only ~0.4% of listings explicitly ask for AI-tool skills. But many firms quietly assume designers will experiment with Midjourney, ChatGPT, Runway, etc. (Figma’s hiring lead confirms they hire folks “curiously exploring new tools,” including AI.)
• Brand Activation & Experience: Beyond logos and ads, employers seek designers who can activate brands – creating events, interactive web experiences, and social campaigns that spark real engagement.

These trends suggest that “skills for designers” now span agile, cross-disciplinary toolsets. Employers want creatives who can pivot between Photoshop and Figma, sketch a concept and then animate it in Premiere, or who can prompt an AI assistant without losing their design instincts.

Brand Loyalty and Internal Alignment

In a recent Fast Company essay by brand-agency leaders Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger, they declare: “The truth is that brand loyalty is fading… no, a new logo won’t fix it.”

Gone are the days when a clever slogan or badge could unilaterally inspire devotion. Today’s consumers (and employees) demand authenticity: “They want to know what your company actually stands for—and if your actions align with that claim.”

Millennial and Gen Z audiences can instantly fact-check brands; missteps in culture, diversity, or sustainability are broadcast on social media. As the authors note, “the line between internal and external is invisible”: a toxic company culture or broken promise instantly erodes loyalty.

For designers, this means visual identity alone is not enough. The rise of brand activation and experience design reflects a focus on meaningful engagement. The brands still inspiring loyalty (e.g. Trader Joe’s, Costco, Chobani) do so by aligning values and behavior: empowered employees, ethical practices, human-first experiences.

Are Design Schools Keeping Pace?

A separate Fast Company report explored whether design schools are keeping up with rapid industry change.

Historically, academia has struggled to match industry’s breakneck pace. Critics argue there’s still an academia–industry gap: curricula often emphasize timeless craft and theory, but students graduate with limited real-world tech fluency or strategic context.

Some institutions are trying to close that gap. For example, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) boasts numerous STEM-designated design majors and even a UX research BFA developed with Google.

In 2024, SCAD hosted an AI Summit with Google, Netflix, and Gensler to “formalize [AI’s] role in improving design education.”

Their findings emphasize that designers must blend tech savvy with human insight: “AI is a technology for enhancement. The ability to visualize what you want, articulate it… and then recognize that you’ve achieved the desired results is going to be more important than the technical skills.”

Yet not all programs move this quickly. Many design schools still focus on print-era projects or rigid studio exercises. UI/UX bootcamps may teach Figma, but few curricula yet cover AI-led workflows or brand-co-creation strategies.

Design’s Role in a Transparent Culture

Brands are now built with people, not spoken at. Social media and AI have empowered consumers to shape brands as much as companies do. According to a global study by Accenture, 15% of adults will pay more for brands that let them “participate in co-creation.”

For designers, this means facilitating conversation and collaboration. It might involve designing platforms for user-generated content, or visual identities that are easily customized by communities. It means crafting experiences – physical and digital – that reward transparency and user feedback.

When every employee and customer is effectively a brand ambassador (or critic), designers must ask: How do my designs function under scrutiny? Can they be plugged into social dialogue?

Skills and Mindsets for the Future

• Digital Tool Fluency: Be versatile in modern platforms – from Canva and Figma to Blender, After Effects, and AR prototyping tools – and stay curious about new ones.
• Brand and Business Literacy: Understand how design decisions tie into broader goals. Learn basic branding strategy and business metrics.
• Adaptability and Learning Agility: Embrace AI and automation as collaborators, not replacements.
• Ethical and Human-Centered Thinking: Advocate for user privacy, accessibility, and societal impact.
• Communication and Storytelling: Present ideas clearly and persuasively to both design and non-design audiences.
• Collaborative Mindset: Work across disciplines, integrating perspectives from marketing, engineering, and end users.

The future belongs to those who view change as opportunity: who treat new tools as assistants, understand that loyalty is earned through action, and help craft brands that embody authenticity from the inside out.