Executive Briefing
How Herman Miller aced its brand refresh
And how to push a creative project through a big company. Plus: Is Yeti the next great consumer holding company?
By Dan Frommer on Friday, February 9, 2024 at 8:00 am
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It’s rare and refreshing when a legacy company tweaks its visual identity and it just feels right instantly — current, usable, and true to the brand.
A good example of this is the brand refresh that Herman Miller, the 100+ year-old furniture company, just launched.
What’s new is an updated “M” logo and wordmark; new typography; a new expanded color palette; and a detailed guide to Herman Miller’s brand standards that anyone — employees, partners, fans — can access.
The changes are relatively subtle and will take a little while to roll out. (The new logo is already on Instagram and in email newsletters, but not on its homepage.) But they look nice and feel on-brand, which is the point.
(Often, it’s the opposite: A big change to look fresh and modern, or fit a current design trend, or send a message that it’s “different” now — frequently done without care or inspiration. See: American Airlines, Gap, the mid-90s Milwaukee Brewers. And just now, the Finnish design brand Iittala is experiencing a jarring-rebrand backlash.)
Why bother? Brand design is not just aesthetic: Business and marketing needs change, and so design assets and systems must evolve, too.
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Hi, I’m Dan Frommer and this is The New Consumer, a publication about how and why people spend their time and money.
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