Meet Logi: Logitech Rebrands With New Name, Logo

Even tech companies aim to look younger than their age. Well, at least that's the case for Logitech, a consumer electronics marketer getting its first facelift since its 1981 founding. The mouse and keyboard maker is rolling out a new name, logo and products, with an emphasis on design, all in the name of modernization. The rebranding effort, kickstarted by CEO Bracken Darrell, will be unveiled to the public today, including a revamped logo and shortened name, Logi. New merchandise will appear on shelves as soon as next week, followed by a redesigned website, which is set to go live by September. "If we were going to reinvent the company, redefine the company and move away from being a company that is defined around PCs, the brand needed a serious overhaul," said Alastair Curtis, the company's first chief design officer, who joined the company two years ago. Saying goodbye to tech In an industry full of startups, renaming a brand comes with a certain set of risks, particularly since the 34-year-old company is dropping "tech" from its name. But arguing that "more and more technology needs to be invisible," Mr. Curtis said, "with that recognition, technology is becoming knitted into the everyday fabric of our lives, and it just felt natural to actually mirror that with our name." As the relationship between consumers and brands continues to grow, the new name is also meant to present a more human side of the brand to users. Dropping "tech" makes it seem like "you're interacting with a person more than a corporation," he added. The design was the brainchild of Rodrigo Castaneda, head of brand experience for Logi, who was charged with creating a "simple, confident and iconic" logo, according to the company. Hoping to create a timeless logo, Mr. Castaneda worked in tandem with DesignStudio, a brand and design agency based in the U.K that is also responsible for the Airbnb logo. (The Airbnb logo got a lot of attention last year on social media for what some pundits claimed was a resemblance to female body parts). The Logi logo is "as close as you can get to a symbol with letter forms. It's quite abstract, but it's typographically correct," Mr. Castaneda said. "We had a lot of debate about the ear of the 'G.' There was a temptation to make it be a tangent with the circle, but that wouldn't make the 'G' typographically correct, so we also want to be respectful of the letter form." Along with a new logo, Logi is taking a multi-color approach to product packaging. Staying away from a traditional color scheme, the company is introducing multiple hues into the brand palette in order to reflect that the company is a multi-category brand with products ranging from keyboards to speakers. Apple, Nike and ... Logi? Logi, which spent only $95,000 last year on U.S. measured media according to Kantar Media, has no plans for an advertising campaign to introduce the rebranding to consumers, besides an amplification of social media. But the company will invest in point-of-sale displays with retail partners like Walmart and Best Buy. Even without an ad campaign, the company hopes the design-led approach will boost Logi's image and market share. "We want Logi to be mentioned in the same guise as Apple and Nike and like all those other companies," said Mr. Curtis. "I think our ambition is to put Logitech and Logi in the same space. It's a lofty goal and we know it's super ambitious, but I think we have the ability over the next five years to change people's perceptions of what Logi is." Kelly Musgrave, a former social media manager for Logitech, who left the company in December, thinks that the rebranding is an appropriate business move. "It's necessary to stay relevant and with the times," Ms. Musgrave said. "While I was there, Bracken made a lot of internal changes to keep the company fresh – from the hire of Alastair to the way products are developed. In my opinion, it all makes sense. "

Meet Logi: Logitech Rebrands With New Name, Logo

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