Why legacy brand projects are the hardest
When you're building a brand from scratch, the blank canvas is terrifying but freeing. When you're evolving a brand that's 20, 30, or 50 years old, the canvas is full — and some of what's on it is load-bearing. Remove the wrong element and the whole structure can feel like it's collapsed. Keep the wrong element and the brand never escapes its past.
Step one: audit what actually matters
Not all brand equity is created equal. Some elements carry genuine emotional value — customers recognize them, associate them with positive experiences, and would notice their absence. Others are just familiar because they've been there forever. The job is to separate the two. We do this through a combination of stakeholder interviews, customer research, and competitive landscape mapping.
The "respect and elevate" principle
Once you know what's load-bearing, the strategy is simple: respect it, then elevate it. Don't replace the icon — refine it. Don't abandon the color — find a more sophisticated expression of it. Don't drop the brand voice — make it sharper. Every legacy element that stays should stay intentionally, and feel better for having been touched.
Managing internal resistance
The biggest obstacle in legacy rebrand work isn't the design — it's the humans. Long-tenured employees, founders, board members. People who have personal relationships with the brand as it is. The solution is process transparency and early involvement. Show your work. Explain your reasoning. Get key stakeholders in the room before you're ready to present, not after.
“The goal isn't to make a legacy brand look modern. It's to make it look like itself — but better.”
Zack Shubkagel Rovella
Brand strategist and creative director. Founder of Brand Zhuzh.