Featured cases

Case: Morgan Stanley 2006


2006


2001
THE STORY

"We're back on track. We got a little fancy there, for a while; it's time now to return to our authentic roots, set aside our differences, and pull the team together."  This is the implied message that returning CEO John Mack is sending with this very discrete and essentially internally-focused  rebranding.

After a period of corporate turmoil, this is a regrounding in Morgan Stanley's "the quiet company" heritage, refocusing on performance rather than self-promotion (which the logo's triangle was felt to represent).  Carbone Smolan, who had been quietly working on design of event and communication graphics, were well placed to see the needs and the solutions.

For designers it's a particularly interesting case,  for (1) the subtlety of the letterforms redesign, felt but not seen, and (2) the sometimes greater impact of a new visual system, on priority audiences, than of a new logo. Tony Spaeth


CREDITS

Design: Carbone Smolan


CASE INFO

Submitted by: Tony Spaeth, 31/10/2006
Status: Estimated by Tony Spaeth
Category: General Financial
Country (HQ): United States


MATRIX DATA

DRIVERS

  

TOOLS

Strategic driver: 70%   
Change internal culture
  Enhance pride & confidence
 30%  x  Identifier tactics: Logo change: Wordmark-dominant
    x  Identity system elements: Visual system: Graphic devices
    x  Identity system elements: Visual system: Palette
Change internal culture
  Refresh & redirect competitive energy
 30%  x  Identifier tactics: Logo change: Wordmark-dominant
    x  Identity system elements: Visual system: Graphic devices
    x  Identity system elements: Visual system: Palette
Change internal culture
  Transfer affiliation from unit to parent
 10%  x  Identifier tactics: Logo change: Wordmark-dominant
    x  Identity system elements: Unit signature system: Monolithic
    
Functional driver: 30%   
Design weakness
  Increase visual strength/quality
 30%  x  Identifier tactics: Logo change: Wordmark-dominant
    x  Identity system elements: Visual system: Graphic devices
    x  Identity system elements: Visual system: Palette