Services
- Art Direction
- Brand Identity
- Brand System
- Creative Direction
- Graphic Design
- Logo
- Packaging
Credits
Photography: courtesy of Bassike and Pierre Toussaint
BRIEF
To evolve the Bassike brand in line with its strategic future direction—engaging emerging audiences while retaining its loyal customer base.
The rebrand needed to build on Bassike’s existing strength and utilitarian heritage while refining and reinvigorating the brand—and its storytelling—for a new generation. The original DNA remains intact through product design and values: fashion-led, androgynous, menswear-influenced, with space for moments of subversion.
There was an opportunity to redefine the iconic black dot to enhance distinctiveness and ownership while creating space for new assets to emerge. The result would be a holistic design system with broad application across all touchpoints—implemented with confidence—alongside a renewed energy that allows Bassike’s aesthetic sensibility and storytelling to evolve with existing customers and connect with a broader, emerging audience.
RESPONSE
Our approach to the Bassike logotype was a subtle evolution—shifting from lowercase to uppercase (with sentence case introduced outside the logotype) and transitioning from a geometric to a grotesk typeface. These adjustments preserved the integrity and systematic simplicity of the original brand.
The strength of the black dot brand mark, despite its ubiquity and use by larger brands, lies in its simplicity. A defining moment in the process occurred while walking through Melbourne’s Emporium, where we spotted a bag moving down the central staircase. The impact of the circle as a supergraphic was undeniable. While Bassike doesn’t have the mass appeal of mainstream brands, it resonates with the right audience and draws in the aesthetic eye. The design challenge was to introduce an element of ownership to the dot shape, without compromising its pure form.
In branding, intellectual property and ownership are critical. Trademarks, copyrights, and proprietary marks typically define a brand’s visual language—but a circle defies these conventions. Our response was a monogram: a bracketed B anchoring the circle, drawing from both its own form and the Bassike logotype. Positioned at the bottom corner of the existing shape, it establishes a new visual element—sitting between symbol and logotype, and existing independently or locking up with the logotype to create a distinct arrangement.
OUTCOME
Armed with this cohesive trio of elements and some supporting typefaces, we undertook an extensive brand overhaul, applying the new brand system and assets across labels, collateral, packaging, signage and in-store applications. The rebrand culminates in a comprehensive brand guidelines document, handed over to Bassike’s in-house design team to inform all content moving forward.
Through minimal intervention, the purity of the original brand has been strengthened and reinvigorated to promote ease of consistent application and output. The iconic dot, maintained and anchored by the new monogram, becomes a distinctive and ownable asset, without compromising on its utilitarian and minimal attitude. Typographic choices promote a more functional visual language and are implemented through a considered, cohesive brand system.