Brands need to be reimagined for the digital age. They need to evolve and speak to a new generation of consumers without eroding their identity.

So, what goes into reimagining a brand’s visual identity? Recently, Pepsi unveiled a new logo and visual identity led by Mauro Porcini, PepsiCo’s Chief Design Officer. The idea was to delve deep into the brand’s heritage and aspirations for the future.  

“As a brand that’s on the world stage and interacts with millions of people every day, it’s important for us to revisit our look periodically to ensure we are resonating at the pulse of culture with fans,” says Karim El Fiqi, senior vice president and CMO at PepsiCo AMESA.

But what drives such a creative process? At the core lies a human-centric approach to design. Porcini, instrumental in fostering a culture of design thinking within Pepsi since 2012, set out to create a new visual identity capable of resonating with consumers personally. 

“Drawing inspiration from Pepsi’s iconic legacy, designers infused the new logo with a bold and modern aesthetic, reflecting the brand’s unwavering energy and optimism,” El Fiqi adds. 

The new visual identity contains a bold typography, an energetic color palette, and a unified logomark to solidify Pepsi’s brand presence across various touchpoints.

One standout feature of the new identity is black, paying homage to Pepsi Zero Sugar. Furthermore, introducing the “Pulse” – a design element – enables Pepsi to adapt and customize its appearance to diverse settings and partnerships.

“Guided by the principle of resonating at the pulse of culture with fans and responding to the beat of culture, the design captures the essence of Pepsi’s dynamic presence in the world, reflecting the pulse of immersive worlds,” says El Fiqi. 

The rebrand draws equally from the brand’s deep roots in history with a glimpse of its vision of the future.

“In approaching the new design, we asked ourselves: how do we take everything we love about Pepsi and its past and create something transcendent? The new logo and visual identity borrow equity from our history, with a modern reinterpretation, to signal our bold vision for the future,” El Fiqi says.

As Pepsi rolled out its new brand identity worldwide, it marked a visual transformation, which El Fiqi says is a manifesto for an “authentic humanistic approach” to innovation. “It aims to create personal and social value first and financial and economic value afterward.”

The key to world-changing innovation, according to El Fiqi, is to put “people first – not only the people we innovate for but also the people who lead the innovation process.”

Furthermore, by leveraging partnerships and events like the Saudi Pro League and MDL Beast, Pepsi aims to remain at the cusp of culturally dynamic events, portraying its identity as a relevant brand capable of resonating with regional audiences. 

Overall, Pepsi’s new visual identity represents a leap forward, setting the stage for a new chapter in its history.