Samsung Mobile’s brand platform idea of “Meaningful progress comes from daring to defy barriers” was the inspiration for our VIS to express Samsung’s heritage of innovation and its audience’s core beliefs.

We stripped down the identity to its definitive core assets - the logo, color, and typeface - and used these consistently throughout. For a more premium approach, we made the logo and backgrounds neutral (black or white) and began to use the blue brand color with purpose, bringing it to life through illustration, photography, and animation.

The visual identity became a springboard for prolific creativity across a variety of campaigns: Rio Summer Olympics, Galaxy Note 7, Winter Holidays, Cannes and Galaxy S8. Each initiative featured Samsung Mobile products as the anchor of the story, and the identity used visual wit to bring warmth and humanity to the idea of defying barriers.

With the VIS being used as a guideline for agencies around the world, Samsung Mobile started to see the global impact immediately. The brand value grew 14% in one year, according to Interbrand data. Despite a recall of its previous handset, pre-order sales of the most recent product, the Galaxy S8, have broken all-time records. The brand is shifting from a functional brand, known for products and features, to an emotional, premium brand.