Overview: Started in 1989, DR Strings is a company which produces hand-made round core guitar strings. Their process is meticulous, experimental and yields an overall outstanding result. I chose this company for a rebrand assignment while at OSU.
Challenge: Rebrand DR Strings to speak to a modern audience without losing the resonance it's maintained with it's established customer base.
Contributing Position: Graphic Designer
Goal: Convert new players into loyal DR Strings customers without losing the die-hard fans.
This brand commitment matrix was made to pinpoint exactly who DR Strings has been and where they should go with that history in mind. Thinking through Identity, Purpose, Aims, Onlyness, Mores, and Values helped immensely in deciding what the proper direction would be going forward.
This anatomy of the brand loyal customer helped to focus on the end-user. Keeping that target, brand-loyal customer in mind throughout the design process served as consistent focal point. The ultimate question to answer - "would a true DR artist resonate with the feeling of this rebrand?"
This new color palette introduced louder colors to reflect the intense creativity behind the world's only neon guitar string maker.
A new logo package served to marry an obsessive new generation of players while still maintaining an authentic, retro feel. The ultimate goal in mind was creating and communicating a classic, everlasting brand.
The entire rebrand book laid out in full, page by page.