INcredibles—a series of events focused on in-house creative, issues, and topics—presented a brand refresh story at Thrivent Financial’s Minneapolis Corporate Center on January 19, 2015. About 60 people attended to hear from an organization that recently refreshed their brand and also the design firm that helped them.

Susan Zima (Director, Brand and Creative Services), Josh McCaffrey (Manager, Writing & Design) and Amy Huth (Senior Marketing Specialist, Brand Management) from Thrivent Financial shared their experiences, along with Aaron Keller (Managing Principal) and Greg Brose (Art Director) from Capsule. They talked about what it took to develop and launch a brand refresh and their partnership during this process.

For an organization that implemented a new brand only twelve years ago, why did Thrivent go through a brand refresh now? They talked a little about the history that led to this change. They explained the process of what it took to develop a new logo and tagline, as well as a new visual design system – what they were trying to accomplish, what considerations were at stake and how they were sure it would be well received. They even explained how they finished this process under budget.

Once the visual system was complete, how did Thrivent roll out the refreshed brand to its members and prospective members – its employees and financial representatives? Susan, Josh, and Amy talked about their implementation process and how their in-house designers have embraced the refreshed brand.

The presentation lasted an hour with a very engaging Q&A segment afterwards for thirty minutes.
Many thanks to our five presenters and to Thrivent Financial for hosting the event. And thank you to The Creative Group for sponsoring this event.

Presenters:
Susan Zima – Director, Brand and Creative Services at Thrivent Financial
Josh McCaffrey – Manager, Writing & Design at Thrivent Financial
Amy Huth – Senior Marketing Specialist at Thrivent Financial
Aaron Keller – Managing Principal at Capsule
Greg Brose – Art Director at Capsule

About Thrivent Financial
Thrivent Financial is a financial services organization that helps Christians be wise with money and live generously. For more than a century we’ve helped our nearly 2.4 million member-owners make wise money choices that reflect their values, and we provide opportunities for them to be even more generous where they live, work and worship.

About Capsule
Capsule is a design firm. We design moments to create a brand experience. This means we design logos, packaging, displays, retail environments, brochures, websites, social conversations, signage and mobile environments while considering the desired customer experience. Our mission is to create an emotional bond between your brand and an audience by designing an engaging conversation.

Post written by Amanda Sagstetter, AIGA member, In-House Designers Committee Chair

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Photos by Jay Larson

Contact Leadership

Emily McLaughlin
Emily McLaughlin
Director of Communications
Emily is a graphic designer and creative director based in Saint Paul, MN. She passionate about the potential for design to cultivate collaboration and cleave opportunities. As Communications Director of AIGA Minnesota, her emphasis is on supporting and engaging the design community while kindling new connections.