In 2023 BNY Mellon approached VSA in search of an evolved brand system that could convey their bold innovative spirit while still recognizing their 238-year history as a storied and trusted institutional bank. At the time, they wanted to keep their logo and a handful of legacy brand elements, but introduce new ones that would allow a wide range of communication. I led the creation of this new brand, and worked closely with the client to develop it into a robust system that served the many needs of the business.
At the heart of this evolution is the prominent use of the typeface Druk Bold as well as a bespoke outlined version designed by Commercial Type. We also developed a highly flexible color palette built around pairing dark cool colors with bright warm colors, a conceit that then influenced a custom treatment for photography as well. The result is a system that can appear quite formal when necessary and at other times highly expressive, but always with the authority and dynamism befitting their offering. Upon delivery of the evolved system, I also led the design of their 2023 annual report.
Design team included Adam Augustyn, Tracee Hartley, and Phillip del Moral.
