Global Rebrand (Lumen)
Lumen is Human. That’s the mantra that connects the various global teams that comprise Lumen Technologies. It’s the principle that guides our company culture, directs our dealings with customers, and inspires the work of our creative team. And much like humans desire to bring their own unique flavor to the world, so did our company. As a tech company, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of blue brands, so we decided to dive deep into who we are, name it, own it, and create a bold, brave, and authentic new identity that makes us more human. We launched a refreshed brand identity that is unlike any other B2B brand out there. We did it all in house, working with our partners at Neuro-Insight and Quadrant Strategies to reimagine the aging Fortune 500 brand into something bold, energizing, and customer-focused.
We relied on neuroscience from our third party partners, using data to guide each step of this process. From vision casting to multiple rounds of creative testing, we followed the data, striving specifically for emotional connection and memorable impact. Letting the data lead was effective. Our new positioning is 64% more memorable than our previous positioning, and our visual identity is up to 27% more effective than our competition when it comes to driving consideration.
This initiative required countless creatives across the entire in-house team. We each applied our unique superpowers while collaborating towards one collective goal. We dreamed big and worked courageously, running fast and hard to reintroduce our brand as bolder, brighter, and most importantly—more human.
COLOR
Competitive analysis showed us that blue was the trending color in the tech space, so we decided to flip the script and jump to the other side of the color wheel. We chose to lead with vibrant, warm colors that showcased our personality and warmth for our customers. Again, this decision was based on neuro-analytical insights from our third party partners. The science showed us that this color palette attracted attention and inspired action in the brain.
Primary Color Palette
Gradients
Secondary Color Palette
PHOTOGRAPHY TREATMENTS
Hero Portraiture
This photography style is intentionally designed to boost long-term memorability and help draw focus to the hero in their environment. It engages the brain to complete the picture, thus boosting engagement and brand recall.
Supporting Imagery
While our hero portraiture is built from original content, our supporting imagery combines stock photography with stylized treatments. Shapes are used to draw attention to the customer, specifically to the emotion being expressed.
ICONS
Minimal. Scalable. Geometric. These were the principles that guided our iconography style. Since these assets are designed to assist the flow and organization of content throughout various touchpoints, they needed to be easily digestible. We built clean, simple pieces and used color to indicate hierarchy. Our primary icon set, intended to depict key pieces of content, is rendered in a vibrant gradient from our primary color palette. Our secondary set, meant to represent supporting content, is rendered in muted tones from our secondary color palette. Finally, our tertiary icon set is provided to support the primary and secondary set, specifically in diagrams and infographics when information branches beyond two tiers.
PRIMARY ICON SET
SECONDARY ICON SET
TERTIARY ICON SET
WEB PAGES
The Lumen website is where everything came together onto the same stage, working as a collective design system to tell our new brand story. Through meticulous orchestration of color, iconography, and stylized imagery, we launched a new set of hero pages that communicate our fully revamped personality.
TEAM CREDITS
-
Design Team Contributors
Autumn Cole, Kristi Behl, Lindsey Lane, Syl Wendelin, Lori Faiola, Ana Rivas, Stephen Dunlap, Victoria Skovran
-
Design Team Leaders
Brady Hendrickson (Design Manager)
Ted Kusio (Web Design Manager)
Gail Weidle (Art Director)
Tracy Zahn (Art Director)
Heather Fletcher (Art Director)
-
Creative Team Leaders
David Ashton (Associate Creative Director)
Brant Rios (Associate Creative Director)
Moria Fredrickson (Senior Creative Director)
John McLeary (Sr. Manager, Brand)
Carla Kennedy (Lead Brand Manager)
Christina Hartje (UX Manager)
David Steffenson (Copy Manager)
Brad Arender (Senior Lead Marketing Manager)
Megan Mitchell (Content Lead, Brand)
-
Agency Partners
Neuro-Insights
Quadrant Strategies
-
Additional Contributors
Christopher Ransom, Devon Hanavan, Amira Thapa, Eva Dunlap, Taylor Duncan, Blythe Howard-Chou, Chris Chiabotti and Christen Minnick