The Archive
Why we renamed and rebranded the agency
Authors: Ed Garrett & Issy Cheung | Circa 5 minute read
On the 1st of October 2023, our agency, previously known as Garrett Creative, underwent a transformation and became The Discourse. It’s been a journey to say the least! We had already changed a lot over the previous 2 years since our last visual refresh, but we’d been so busy creating, writing, listening and learning that we didn’t have the headspace or time to properly re-evaluate our brand and the business.
When we finally did, and in reality it was a 12-18 month process, we realised that while our mission and ethos to use design as a force for good has stood the test of time, our understanding of the value we add and the problems we solve has very much evolved so our focus shifted, ever so slightly.
Renaming and rebranding is an immense decision, and not one ever to be taken lightly. It took months of spirited debate and roughly two hundred hours of design work, not to mention multiple naming concepts and URLs that will never see the light of day, before we arrived at a name and brand identity that everyone was on board with. To give you an insight into how we navigated the process and the elements to consider if you are walking this path yourself, we have compiled some of the thinking and key takeaways from our experience…
We’d outgrown our existing brand
To begin with, our agency is bigger than Garrett (sorry Ed, but it’s true). Since our journey started, our team, knowledge and capability has grown extensively. So much had changed that our brand and website needed a serious overhaul to better reflect our vision and how far we had evolved as an agency.
We take immense pride in our work and the clients we support, so it was about time our own brand and digital platforms reflected the quality of what we’re doing for other people. We always emphasise to our clients the importance of good first impressions. However, with our previous branding, we weren’t communicating the full extent of our potential. We’ve undertaken various design projects for clients over the years and witnessed first hand the transformational impact it has. It was therefore time to invest the same level of care and attention (well, nearly) into ourselves and prepare the ground for what lies ahead.
We developed our expertise
As a team we’ve learnt a lot over the last 6 years. Our creative and strategic work has fine tuned our skills within branding, website and UX design, and content marketing. Not only have we been able to develop our craft doing work that we love, but our understanding of where we add value, the problems we solve and the sectors that we’re passionate about has now reached new heights.
So, as we move forward, committing to a handful core sectors allows us to deepen our knowledge and unpick a variety of sector-specific challenges – putting us in the position to be a truly expert-led business both in design and the organisations we support. We’ve also developed a discovery service so we can assist individuals and organisations at the very beginning of their journeys, and work collaboratively to design the perfect solutions for the problems that they face.
Future proofing
Our new visual identity, website and content strategy not only represents who we are right now, but also who we intend to become over the next five years. The redesign process has given us the space we needed for self reflection, allowing us to assess our current position in the world and chart a course toward our vision for the future.
In doing so, we’ve crafted a brand that honours our history whilst also creating a platform which will enable us to achieve our future aspirations. In addition to showcasing the qualities of our team and our work more effectively, our new business and brand will undoubtedly be a huge source of inspiration, forge new relationships with mission locked organisations, and attract serious creative talent that will propel us forward at speed.
Levelling up
In the last 6 years, and since Ed first founded the business to make a better life for himself and the people around him, we’ve evolved from a couple of freelancers who would work for anyone willing to pay them, to a group of expert creative thinkers, designers, illustrators, writers and project managers. Our mission to use our time and energy as a force for good in the world has more clarity now than ever, and by enabling changemakers like you to transform this planet, we believe we’ll leave it in a better shape than when we found it.
So it’s time to level up! The only way we’re going to have the impact that we all want to make, is by reaching more people, growing the organisation beyond our wonderful home city of Bristol, and establishing a financially sustainable business that is capable of supporting those that need it the most, and the others who are ready to be at their best.
Conclusion
This journey wouldn’t have been possible with the incredible people, businesses and charities that we’ve met along the way, so we hope you share our enthusiasm for the rebrand as you’ve all played a huge part in it.
At The Discourse, we have been designing incredible brand identities, websites and content marketing campaigns for well over 5 years, we’ve proven that organisations that embrace brand, the web and content are more successful over the long term. Our clients typically spend from £5k to £20k on brand strategy and design, website projects range from £5k to £20k depending on size and functionality.
If any elements of this article resonate with you, then it may be the right time to consider your own rebrand or a visual refresh. After undergoing this process ourselves we are eager to share our insights and advice with those in similar situations. It can be a fascinating yet daunting process, so please reach out with any questions and know that you’re in expert hands.
With warm regards, everyone at The Discourse.
