Situation – rough around the edges
Kemin’s logo had served the company well since it was created in 1961, at the company’s birth, but its age was showing by 1999. The type was outdated and the whole execution had softened and degraded from decades of copying and reproducing long before digital files ever arrived.
Strategy – update the market to represent the current Kemin
After one failed attempt with an outside design firm, the new logo emerged after several conversations about brand mark evolution with Kemin president Chris Nelson and other company leaders. By choosing a modern sans serif font and a ring that paid homage to the original mark, I developed a logo treatment that was approved by R.W. Nelson himself, the patriarch of the company that had grown into an international force in the food and agriculture markets.
Results – clean, contemporary look
The logo has been in use for more than a decade on products, buildings, vehicles and marketing materials in dozens of countries across the globe.
What made it work?
It was contemporary
It reflected the heritage of the original mark and the direction the company was moving
It was simple enough to work in many different cultures
