When an company specialising in esports advertising must rebrand itself, the stakes are notably excessive. Your viewers is the gatekeeper of authenticity. They’ll spot company posturing from a mile away. They’re those who’ve watched numerous manufacturers try—and fail—to look relatable by clumsy memes and compelled references.
So when Fellowkids determined it was time for a brand new visible id, the problem wasn’t nearly aesthetics. It was about proving that the company genuinely understood fandom, moderately than merely exploiting it.
The ensuing rebrand, created by Studio Kiln, manages one thing more and more uncommon in up to date branding: it treats fandom tradition as one thing price celebrating by itself phrases, moderately than as a shopper section to be focused and monetised. The id would not attempt to converse to followers: it speaks as one, and that distinction issues enormously.
Central character
On the centre of the rebrand sits the Fellowkid, a hooded character that features concurrently as emblem, mascot and bodily object.
The hoodie is a deliberate alternative. In gaming and esports communities, the hoodie features as greater than sensible clothes. It is a sign of id and belonging, a visible shorthand for the tradition itself. By grounding their total id round this garment, Fellowkids acknowledges one thing elementary about their viewers.
The character’s design, too, speaks volumes. Moderately than a static mascot, the Fellowkid is expressive and modular: it shifts by totally different moods and expressions, permitting the model itself to maneuver with the emotional tenor of its neighborhood.
When followers have a good time, the Fellowkid celebrates. Once they commiserate, so does their model. This would possibly sound like a small factor, but it surely’s a rejection of the company model voice that calls for consistency above all else. Fellowkids is saying that authenticity generally means fluctuation, responsiveness and emotional honesty.
Visible language
The visible language surrounding the Fellowkid reinforces this method. The general aesthetic is unapologetically Y2K-inspired, drawing on nostalgia from gaming tradition: the brilliant colors of early console video games, the visible chaos of a devoted gamer’s room, the colourful design language of collectable toys.
There’s nothing stylish or aspirational about it. As a substitute, it is intentionally rooted within the particular visible reminiscence of the communities Fellowkids serves. The typography is expressive moderately than company, the color palette is daring and saturated, and your entire system is designed to really feel alive.
What’s inspiring, too, is how this id has been engineered as a versatile platform. Too many rebrand tasks prioritise a unified, rigorously managed model expression; the type of inflexible system that makes designers’ jobs simpler however makes manufacturers really feel sterile and defensive. Fellowkids went the other way.
The modular visible system has been explicitly designed to assist the group construct displays, merchandise and social property with ease and character. In different phrases, the id is not designed for management however to be used, adaptation, and the type of genuine expression that resonates with inventive communities.
Bodily kind
Equally noteworthy is the choice to increase the model into bodily kind as a collectable vinyl artwork toy. This is not a token merchandise spinoff tacked onto the rebrand as an afterthought. As a substitute, it represents a elementary fact about fandom tradition: followers do not simply wish to have interaction with manufacturers, they wish to personal a chunk of them.
The broader context issues right here, too. For the uninitiated, “Fellowkids” references the “How do you do, fellow children?” meme, which is a joke about companies trying and failing to look relatable. On this gentle, the identify will be seen as a sly wink; an acknowledgement that the company understands the vital eye turned on inauthentic model behaviour. They’re basically saying: we all know you are sceptical, and that scepticism is warranted. However we’re totally different as a result of we truly perceive this tradition from the within.
Moderately than positioning themselves as consultants making an attempt to “decode” an viewers, then, Fellowkids presents itself as a peer: somebody who’s a part of the tradition, not observing it from a distance.
Key takeaways
There are a number of classes right here. First, that genuine visible id cannot be divorced from an genuine understanding of tradition. On this case, the Y2K aesthetic works for Fellowkids as a result of it is rooted in real neighborhood reminiscence, not as a result of Y2K is stylish.
Second, that flexibility and modulation usually really feel extra genuine than inflexible consistency. A model that may shift with its neighborhood’s temper will really feel extra alive than one which insists on excellent uniformity.
Third, extending a model id into bodily, collectable types will be extra significant than conventional merchandise if it is built-in into the general model philosophy, moderately than handled as a separate income stream.
Lastly, the Fellowkids rebrand additionally demonstrates one thing vital about up to date model technique: audiences more and more worth honesty about what a model is and what it is making an attempt to do. Moderately than pretending to be one thing they don’t seem to be, Fellowkids has explicitly positioned itself as a cultural participant moderately than an exterior observer.
That is danger: it leaves them open to expenses of inauthenticity in the event that they fail to ship. But it surely’s the one method that is prone to work with audiences this sceptical and this savvy.
General, that is an try and construct a model that behaves just like the tradition it serves moderately than merely advertising to it. So whether or not you are rebranding an company or constructing an id for a shopper model, that is price taking note of.
