brand refresh

BOB VILA

Brand Strategy

Industrial Design

Branding & Identity

Packaging Design

Bob Vila is one of the pioneers in the Home Improvement Media market. After starting his career in TV with This Old House in 1979 and spearheading a variety of TV shows, launching Books and DIY-centric ventures, he is truly an icon. 

But with an explosive growth of DIY / Home Improvement content both on TV and online over the last 20+ years, Bob Vila has lost the recognition he once enjoyed, especially among a younger customer segment. Endorsed home improvement products no longer had the status they once enjoyed, as most products are ubiquitous, and there is very little differentiation in quality and price.

We were approached to help reinvigorate the brand and identity and help with design and implementation across product and packaging touchpoints.

Strategy

We formulated a new Brand Architecture as a basis for future growth of the Bob Vila Brand. By creating a multi-tiered brand segmentation, we provided for more diverse and relevant product platforms in a heavily populated and fickle market place. This set the foundation for targeted product and media development for new customer segments and product categories, as well as help re-invigorate existing customer base. It also allowed for smaller, more innovative products to be developed for more specialized distribution channels, reflecting a changed retail economy.

Identity

For the identity design we leveraged the iconic image of Bob himself and created a more timeless representation. Using “Vila” as the common basis for the sub-brand naming, we increased the separation from Bob Vila the Person to Vila the Brand, allowing for increased flexibility for the Brands to grow independently. Using a bold, easily recognizable font with a “construction” feel for the logotype set the tone for an updated brand feel that would also appeal to a younger generation. We created a comprehensive style guide for the identity applications, color palettes and packaging style guidelines to be used for future development. Excerpts shown below.

Packaging

Translating the identity into packaging designs for all tiers, we demonstrated how we can build individual brand expressions, whilst maintaining a master brand look and feel.