Beth Burka Brand Designer Illustrator Beth Burka Product Designer
Beth Burka Brand Designer Illustrator Beth Burka Product Designer
Beth Burka Brand Designer Illustrator Beth Burka Product Designer
Brand refresh
Brand refresh
About
Wärtsilä is a global leader in marine and energy technology. Following its new company strategy in 2022, the brand needed to evolve alongside it.
Wärtsilä is a global leader in marine and energy technology. Following its new company strategy in 2022, the brand needed to evolve alongside it.
Goal
Uplift and enhance the existing identity rather than rebrand, and add the elements needed for the company's expanding communication needs.
Uplift and enhance the existing identity rather than rebrand, and add the elements needed for the company’s expanding communication needs.
Role
Key visual designer in the identity refresh, working with the Wärtsilä brand team.
Key visual designer in the identity refresh, working with the Wärtsilä brand team.
Deliverables
Typography, Colour system, Grid, Iconography, Guidelines
Typography, Colour system, Grid, Iconography, Guidelines
The challenge
The identity hadn't kept pace with the company
The identity hadn’t kept pace with the company
It no longer reflected the scale or ambition of the business. The accent orange was often misused across the palette, and the logo lacked accessibility for the new product platforms.
It no longer reflected the scale or ambition of the business. The accent orange was often misused across the palette, and the logo lacked accessibility for the new product platforms.
My role
My role
I worked closely with the brand team to define and roll out the refreshed identity across digital and traditional touchpoints. As key visual designer, I shaped the visual evolution of the identity: refining the logo variant, rebuilding the colour and type foundations, and defining clear guidelines for the new visual presence. Throughout, I aligned on design direction with the wider brand team and tested applications across real business use cases.
I worked closely with the brand team to define and roll out the refreshed identity across digital and traditional touchpoints. As key visual designer, I shaped the visual evolution of the identity: refining the logo variant, rebuilding the colour and type foundations, and defining clear guidelines for the new visual presence. Throughout, I aligned on design direction with the wider brand team and tested applications across real business use cases.
Where we started
The identity before the refresh
The identity before the refresh
Helvetica Neue as the brand typeface, a palette where the accent orange was often misused, and an industrial, sharp-edged icon set.
The brief
What needed to change
What needed to change
Following the 2022 company strategy, the identity no longer reflected the scale or ambition of the business.
Following the 2022 company strategy, the identity no longer reflected the scale or ambition of the business.
The work
An evolution, not a rebrand
An evolution, not a rebrand
Four parts of the identity were refreshed to support the company's expanding communication needs, keeping what worked and introducing what was missing.
Four parts of the identity were refreshed to support the company’s expanding communication needs, keeping what worked and introducing what was missing.
01 · Typography
A contemporary voice in Noto Sans
A contemporary voice in Noto Sans
A new typeface, Noto Sans, replaced the previous system typeface across brand materials, bringing a more contemporary and distinctive voice to the brand's written communication. Noto Sans is an open-source font that reduces the licensing issues we had with the previous brand typeface, Helvetica Neue.
A new typeface, Noto Sans, replaced the previous system typeface across brand materials, bringing a more contemporary and distinctive voice to the brand’s written communication. Noto Sans is an open-source font that reduces the licensing issues we had with the previous brand typeface, Helvetica Neue.
02 · Colour system
Uplifted primaries, plus an infographic palette
Uplifted primaries, plus an infographic palette
The primary colours were kept largely intact but uplifted in tone and application. A new infographic palette added supporting colours for product identification, colour-coded results and data visualisation, without diluting the primary palette's role as the face of the brand.
The primary colours were kept largely intact but uplifted in tone and application. A new infographic palette added supporting colours for product identification, colour-coded results and data visualisation, without diluting the primary palette’s role as the face of the brand.
03 · Grid system
Omnigrid, softened
Omnigrid, softened
The existing structural grid, Omnigrid, kept its core format with one key update: corners softened from sharp to rounded, bringing it in line with the refreshed identity.
The existing structural grid, Omnigrid, kept its core format with one key update: corners softened from sharp to rounded, bringing it in line with the refreshed identity.
04 · Iconography
Lighter, more approachable icons
Lighter, more approachable icons
The icon set moved from an industrial, sharp-edged and bulky style to a lighter, more approachable one with subtle curvature, while keeping Wärtsilä's technical, engineering-driven character.
The icon set moved from an industrial, sharp-edged and bulky style to a lighter, more approachable one with subtle curvature, while keeping Wärtsilä’s technical, engineering-driven character.
Guideline
The refreshed brand, in a guideline
The refreshed brand, in a guideline
Impact
A rich history, still willing to evolve
A rich history, still willing to evolve
The refresh translated Wärtsilä's 2022 strategy into a closer visual alignment with where the industry stands today, giving both digital and print presence a more current look and feel. I owned its rollout across marketing materials in 16+ regions, and ran global brand trainings that reduced guideline and trademark violations. More broadly, it sent a clear message: a business with a rich history, still willing to evolve and stay open.
The refresh translated Wärtsilä’s 2022 strategy into a closer visual alignment with where the industry stands today, giving both digital and print presence a more current look and feel. I owned its rollout across marketing materials in 16+ regions, and ran global brand trainings that reduced guideline and trademark violations. More broadly, it sent a clear message: a business with a rich history, still willing to evolve and stay open.
Couldn't have made it without you
Couldn’t have made it without you
Annelie Sundfors, Jennifer Carp, Marianna Vento, Virva Äimälä, André Snåre, Kaj Forsström, Ritva Seppänen
Annelie Sundfors, Jennifer Carp, Marianna Vento, Virva Äimälä, André Snåre, Kaj Forsström, Ritva Seppänen