Penguin Random House Children’s has unveiled a brand refresh for Peter Rabbit, with a new world-building identity that places Peter front and centre of the world that Beatrix Potter created almost 120 years ago.
The World of Peter Rabbit brand refresh is being launched ahead of the classic character’s 120th birthday campaign in 2022.
The progressive brand identity has been rolled out across social channels and digital platforms and will appear on publishing and licensed product packaging from autumn this year in the UK.
The global launch will begin in parallel with the 120th birthday celebrations next year.
The World of Peter Rabbit is managed by the Owned Brands team within Penguin Random House Children’s, which is responsible for initiating and managing the brand refresh.
“Peter Rabbit has an incredible legacy that resonates with multiple generations all over the world,” commented Izzy Richardson, global Owned Brands director at Penguin Random House Children’s. “We’ve seen the brand evolve through various creative iterations and touchpoints over the course of its 120 year history and, ahead of the birthday milestone, it was important for us to refine and refresh the brand identity, to continue to future-proof the brand for a new generation.
“The result is a subtle and contemporary refresh of our ‘running rabbit’ logo complimented by a new design system that can be used across marketing and promotional touchpoints for the brand. It brings energy and adventure to The World of Peter Rabbit offering our family audience a dynamic and exciting Peter Rabbit experience.”
Design agency CreateFuture lead the project, drawing on early source material to ensure the updated assets continued to reflect the legacy of the brand.
The refreshed logo showcases the iconic Peter Rabbit pose which has been reinterpreted by internationally recognised illustrator Chris Mitchell and now incorporates the title font from the first edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, as well as Beatrix Potter’s signature.
Thomas Merrington, creative director at Penguin Ventures, continued: “Penguin Ventures works with Peter Rabbit licensees on the development and creative approvals across a broad range of product categories from apparel and homewares to toys and experiential activations.
“The fresh new World of Peter Rabbit logo has been incorporated into our fantastic new consumer products packaging and core style guides which will start to roll out at retail from this autumn. The design system provides us with an opportunity to create greater consistency and impact in the promotion and marketing of licensed products, together with publishing, across Peter Rabbit owned digital platforms.”
The brand tool kit also includes a newly developed design system – Hop, Skip, Jump – consisting of three distinct treatments which can be used to target different audience demographics.
Taking inspiration from Beatrix Potter’s animal and insect illustrations, a series of graphic trails has been created to add energy and narrative to static images. ‘Hop’ uses the trails with a soft and muted colour palette, a gentle application for infant sector, while at the other end of the spectrum, ‘Jump’ uses primary colours on clean backgrounds for a high energy, contemporary application.
Dave Ward, creative director at CreateFuture, added: “It was a privilege for CreateFuture to be entrusted with the brand refresh and subsequent toolkit for Peter Rabbit. Striking the balance between heritage and modernity was always going to be challenging, we are very proud of the result and hope the fans are too.”
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