National Geographic
Brand Strategy and Architecture: James Wu for Gretel
Design System: Gretel
Studio Tomo’s Founder and Managing Director, James Wu, was hired by Gretel to help lead the brand strategy and architecture for National Geographic. Over the years, the iconic brand had embraced a decentralized approach to brand governance, resulting in teams having autonomy over the naming of new products and programs and the creation of logos without any rules or guidance. While each team’s sub-brands leveraged the iconic “yellow portal,” there was little else tying their brands together. Our approach to streamlining their brand architecture and to protect it from future dilution was to embrace a “One Purpose. One Brand.” ethos with a simplified structure for developing sub-brands and clear guardrails and guidelines for naming and logo creation. The work has resulted in a unification of the organization’s sub-brands, pouring greater equity into the beloved parent brand and all it stands for.
Check out Gretel’s full case study to learn more.
“James was the lead strategist at Gretel during the rebrand of National Geographic. It was a complex process, involving many different lines of business, a wide range of stakeholders, and a strong brand recognition that was, for the most part, stuck in the past. Probably because of these challenges, it became one of my favorite projects in my entire career and this is in part connected to people like James who put his heart and soul into the project, came up with great insights and fresh new perspectives, and was always playing a calming role in the room. I can not recommend James enough for strategy projects, and I am happy for the lucky brands and agencies who will hire him.”
— Emanuele Madeddu, EVP Global Brand Marketing Strategy
“James is a seasoned strategic thinker who has the rare ability to create clarity from complexity. We worked together on brand strategy and brand architecture for National Geographic. James was a steady hand (and mind) throughout the project and the resulting work has helped to focus, modernize and unify one of the world’s most beloved brands.”
— Ryan Moore, Partner & Executive Creative Director, Gretel