A behind-the-scenes look into Elmwood's new Global Rebrand with CreativePool

This article was first published on CreativePool on 10 June 2025.

When a design agency as established and decorated as Elmwood decides to rebrand, it’s not just about changing logos or colour palettes. It’s about reshaping identity from the inside out. 

Global CEO Daniel Binns and Global ECD Andy Lawrence didn’t set out to refresh Elmwood’s image; they set out to redefine its purpose. What began as a strategic pivot away from a legacy in packaging design became a total transformation into a full-stack experience design powerhouse. 

In this exclusive behind-the-scenes look, they reveal how the new Elmwood (rooted in intentionality, business impact, and bold thinking) came to life.

What was the brief for the rebrand?

We wanted to showcase that Elmwood had shifted from being predominantly seen as a consumer packaging design agency. To being recognized as a full stack experience design consultancy, with dynamic brand world thinking at the heart of the work we do for the world’s leading consumer, corporate and healthcare companies.

How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?

We knew it was critical that this was more than just a refreshed brand identity but an end-to-end transformation of the business. So, we started by working on the “plumbing” of the agency, ensuring we had an aligned vision and culture, expanded capabilities to be able to deliver corporate brand work and experience design across all four studios and the right leadership teams, structure and processes.

As we built out the visual territories, we did a historic appraisal of the Elmwood brand and made sure that we built on the past but set us up for the future. Bringing back the old Elmwood “hot” green was a very intentional act.

Describe the purpose of the brand and its target audience

We had spoken to many of our clients and prospects (CMO’s, heads of brand and marketing and senior design leads) about what it was they needed today from a world class strategic brand design agency.

They were clear that ultimately, they needed to deliver measurable business outcomes with every project they undertook. They needed partners who could provide a level of brand expertise and creative excellence that they couldn’t do themselves, but they also wanted strong collaborators who would work with them to create the right solution.

We wanted to build on our legacy of being the world’s most effective design agency, having won more DBA effectiveness awards than any other shop out there. But bring it into a more holistic story of business impact. 

We also recognized that employees were a critical stakeholder for this and brought them along through the process. We shared initial thoughts, first draft and final work in three major global town hall meetings. 

What was your thinking behind the rebranding solution?

Elmwood has been an entrepreneurial business focused on amazing craft quality for 45 years. We wanted to retain that sense of passion, agile and can-do spirit but bring with it a more considered and polished persona. One that was more intentional.  

We work with some of the biggest and most challenging clients in the world from Mars, Coca-Cola and Unilever, to Shell, Haleon and The CFA Institute. They know us as thoughtful, mature partners capable of leading and challenging them at every level of their business and we want to inject some of that sophistication into our new identity.

The idea of intentionality is clearly reflected in the shape language of the new brand. We were clear that we wanted a more purposeful ‘e’ marque that would reflect the sentiment of our new purpose – cutting through the noise and confusion with bold strikes. 

Did you learn anything new during the project?

I guess a reminder. Never hang on to your first idea and allow things to evolve. We started with an idea centered on ‘Design Better’. That then moved to be ‘Better by Design” which when we shared with the team someone said. I really like that it feels like everything we do is intentional.

We paused and said actually that’s a bigger idea! We then played with “Building brands with intent that are better by design” but quickly realized we were just hanging on to something we initially built, and the most powerful idea was intentionality, hence the final idea of simply “Building Brands With Intent”. 

What was the biggest challenge? How did you overcome it?

It’s always the hardest thing… working on your own identity. The cobblers’ shoes and all that! Client work always takes president. It’s the eternal challenge of keeping it all moving forwards and having enough distance from the business to see objectively and clearly.

What do you hope it achieves for the brand?

We want people to see Elmwood in a new light. An experience design business, working on global consumer, corporate and healthcare brands, crafting exceptional creative work backed by deep strategic rigor. A balance of scrappy and informal but grown up and elegant. Delivering measurable impact for our clients. 

Were there any unexpected insights or discoveries about the brand that emerged during the rebranding process?

One interesting observation was that what didn’t work for many of the more senior members of the team, really resonated with our younger workforce! Learning how to balance the need for change versus grounding in the past was an important part of sharing the work effectively.

How did you ensure that the new brand identity resonated with the brand’s existing audience while also attracting new ones?

An ongoing conversation with clients and internal influencers to ensure we had powerful voices supporting the new work at every step.