Esprit has made contrasting new changes to its visual identity, but you might not even notice them. The renowned fashion label tasked design consultancy Pentagram to rework its famous stenciled logo, adopt an out-of-the-box color palette, and give it a new typeface and its first-ever monogram—and despite major adjustments, the transformation is clean and subtle to reflect “simplicity.”
The project was helmed by Pentagram partner Natasha Jen, who was honored to take on the brand refresh because she “grew up with Esprit,” she told Design Week. Reenvisioning the company’s identity as an adult was “an exciting opportunity” for her, she added.
The new brand identity surrounds Esprit’s values of being “joyful” and “authentic,” along with a new “effortless” appeal it now hopes to embody.
“When you think of effortlessness, it should feel very easy, not too much,” Jen explained. Combining all three elements was the real challenge, she described, as there was now this “hyper-minimalism” aspect to marry with Esprit’s iconic “joyfulness and colorfulness.”
Pentagram started by rethinking Esprit’s signature stenciled typeface, created by graphic designer John Casado in the 1980s. While it had always been depicted in all-caps, Jen got the idea of including lowercase characters to the font family. “We realized it was really effective,” she said, elaborating that, while significant, the addition still honors the original design.
Image via Pentagram
Esprit is known for its colorful personality, and the way Pentagram decided to incorporate “simplicity and effortlessness” to its color scheme was by imagining a palette that works so easily, “a child could get the hang of it.”
However, the team didn’t just pick some core colors and call it a day. Instead, Pentagram considered “two or three” primary hues, expected to change seasonally or to follow trends—such as browns and oranges for fall—and then augmented this ever-changing color scheme by adding direct opposites from the color wheel.
The colors are consistently imagined to appear against white backgrounds with the Esprit logomark “always front and center.” Jen said the “interesting clash” means Esprit will “always have a selection of colors on season,” as well as supporting hues to underscore “interesting color moments.”
Overall, the refresh comes with an added flexibility that allows the branding to be amplified or dialed back based on what it needs to be, all while appearing “effortless, but joyful.”