Why we’re rebranding our own agency

Queue the tale as old as time of a branding agency pouring all of their time and efforts into other people's brands and neglecting their own. *We're waving* 

Way way waaaaay back in 2016, when Off Grid was starting to grow legs beyond our lunch break chats, we needed a logo, stat. We'd started talking about ourselves, but it didn't feel real without a brand. There were certain elements about the agency that we knew we wanted - such as the way we worked, the fact we weren't city-based and that we could be free and more nomadic in our approach - but our brand, our design style, our clients, there were all still big blank pages of opportunity that we figured we'd establish along the way (not what your average business course or plan might tell you!) 

The name came naturally to us. I'd like to say we conducted a detailed and complex naming process - but if memory serves, we were walking around the Northern Quarter in Manchester on our lunch break, on our way to get a splendid jacket potato from the Soup Kitchen when the name was formed. 

We knew that we physically wanted to be off-grid - fed up with the busy, congested city life, and starting an agency beyond the realms of a city was a big deal back then. We even did an interview with Creative Boom about it. Sally and I also had a similar style of design - less constricted and rule-led and quite free and creative - so we also liked the idea of our work being 'off grid' - not being constrained or hindered by conforming to the norm. 

With the name sorted, we set about designing the brand. We knew that the 'lifestyle' of Off Grid was going to be a key part of it, with imagery and video to lead the way. We therefore wanted a simple and paired back brand. Something distinctive, honest, and not too fussy. Playing around with shapes and our favourite fonts we ended with a mark that felt like us, with a simple monochrome palette that leaned on the imagery. 

Over the years, the mark has stood the test of time, but (breaking our own rules) without actual brand guidelines and real exploration, our palette, icons, and fonts have continually evolved and changed being created through need rather than real consideration. 

That all leads us to where we are now. As a business and as people, we have changed a lot over the last 7 years. Is our brand still serving us? Is it still relevant? Does it speak of who we are now? Is it working hard enough? Does it need a full rebrand or just a rework? 

Over the next few months, we're going to work through our own branding process, doing what we do with our clients, and we'll take you with us. Let’s see where we end up!