Into the future: JOAN Creative’s glinting rebrand readies the agency for its fresh new journey

The act of rebranding can be an intimidating task for any studio, but not for JOAN Creative. When the New York and London-based creative agency, founded by Jaime Robinson and Lisa Clunie in 2016, expanded their focus from advertising and storytelling to also include a production studio and a boutique branding department, they knew they needed a new look to mark their journey. To steer their venture into the world of branding, the agency brought Anjela Freyja into the fold as their Creative Director, who guided the rebrand. When Freyja began untangling the many strands of inspiration that lie at the heart of the agency, there were a lot of ideas to dig into. Firstly, there was the case of the Joans. “There were many stories I wanted to tell through this project – primarily, to honour the many Joans the firm is named after, including Didion, Jett, Miro, Smalls, Armatrading, and of course, Joan of Arc. Their relentless commitment to their creativity inspires us every day.” Secondly, the rebrand also had to capture the agency’s fierce and daring spirit which helps them tackle new challenges through their work. The founders, though, didn’t want to update the wordmark at first, especially because the previous edition felt too close to heart to change. “The previous logo referenced Joan of Arc’s sword, which was particularly important to them,” notes Freyja. So, in making the case for a fresh wordmark, the team ensured to craft a form that honoured this legacy. The updated version keeps the sharpness of the letterforms, including its subtle references to a sword, but pushes the letters closer together to overlap each other, and injects it with a bit of personality, felt in the slant of the ‘J’ and ‘A.’ “The moment they saw it, they knew it was the one and that changing the logo was, in fact, a good idea!” shares Freyja.