Project Overview

A rebrand for a law firm that doesn't see itself as a traditional law firm. One that spends much of its life dealing with dreamers, inventors, creatives and entrepreneurs. One that needed a brand identity that spoke to this audience.

Organisation

Traffic

Team

Andrew Begg - CEO
Jeremy King - General Manager
Laura Simpson - Account Director/ Strategy Planner
Chris Shurey - Design Director
Rob Quick - Art Director
Steve Benn - Finished Art
Tiger Hongmung - Design Intern
Tony dos Santos - Senior Digital Designer

Project Brief

Australia's very first Intellectual Property Law Firm, established in the 1800's with Australia's first ever patent application proudly displayed in the foyer of their office, needed a rebrand that reflected their DNA and the creative, entrepreneurial spirit of their client base.
As Australia’s oldest IP firm, Davies Collison Cave (DCC) have been a pioneer in intellectual property law in Australia for over 140 years. They have built a commanding reputation in Australia and were one of the first firms to have ventured into the overseas market, representing some of the most well known companies in the world.
DCC had a desire to increase their presence overseas and extend their footprint. Despite their client list and industry awards, they felt like
the brand was outdated and needed an overhaul. DCC brought Traffic on board with the brief to modernise their brand identity and website.

Project Innovation/Need

DCC embraced the notion of creativity, especially on behalf of the clients whose IP is instrumental in shaping existing and future innovations. The strategic brand proposition, 'ensuring brilliance thrives', captures the commitment of DCC in the lives of their clients, team and the industry.
We wanted the brand to visually represent the notion of innovation and harnessing the power of creativity to attract the brightest minds to their community of experts.
Alongside the unique logo mark, we introduced a vibrant colour palette and styled photography treatment to help tap into our target demographic and create a sense of creativity balanced with a level of corporate professionalism sought from law firms.
The corporate identity is more paired back and refined, while the marketing collateral has more flexibility to capture attention and engage in more creative aspects reflecting the crucial role DCC plays in the world, ensuring brilliance thrives.

Design Challenge

Through a process of brand and digital workshops Traffic were able to get a deep understanding of the organisation, brand history, market trends and target audience profiling. While the brand invested heavily in their staff, the industry and their clients, they didn’t invest in their brand and there was a disconnect between their progressive business approach to how they presented in market.
Competitor firms were increasing their marketing presence and presenting in a more contemporary way than the existing DCC identity, leaving them to look out of touch.
Our design team developed an identity that revolved around the notion of the circle. The circle represents the infinite nature of possibilities. It also symbolises working together in unity. The semi circles represent partnership in working towards a shared goal as well as left and right brain thinking, essential for innovation and creativity. Using the semi circles elements created a distinctive, timeless brand mark that elevates the brand and provides a compelling story.

Effectiveness

Given the proud heritage, the internal team were initially reluctant to review the exisiting mark. For them, this was the public face of the brand which enjoyed an enviable reputation in the industry, both locally and internationally. This was to be our toughest audience in convincing them of the merits of refreshing the brand identity.

DCC felt they had strong brand recognition due to the yellow light bulb mark in the exisiting logo. Traffic's design solution allowed the brand to retain the equity of the yellow. The new mark transitioned out of the familiarity of the light bulb to represent 'ideas' and into a new mark that reinforced the brand moniker (DCC) as the go to law firm to protect your ideas,

Upon presenting the concepts, there was universal approval from the principals which then cascading into firm wide approval on the new brand.

To date, the marketing team are working full speed in supplying the updated collateral elements for the team to proudly represent the brand to the clients, the industry and their continual expansion into new markets.