Discover. Define. Develop. Deliver. A new brand, done our way.

“I’d like to introduce you to Perago. These guys aren’t like ‘real’ consultants.”

I didn’t expect to hear these words from someone who’d chosen us as a partner as they introduced us to leaders across their organisation. 

I was a few weeks into my time with Perago. Luckily, I had already begun speaking to other people the team had supported, asking them (with my designer’s head on) about their perceptions of the company.  

Being introduced as non-typical consultants told me we were on the same page. 

I was digging a little deeper – a brand audit. 

This little insight into the company I’d just joined was fascinating. The more I learned and heard, the more I felt that Perago’s existing brand no longer portrayed the things that people actually liked about working with us. I felt things needed to be different, but I was mindful that this industry and the work were new to me, and I was not the voice of our users. 

I wanted to hear, in more detail, what people we worked closely with as a company thought of us: clients, partners and professional collaborators. I held several workshops (both internally and externally) to settle on three attributes for the Perago brand:  

— Collaborative

— Honest/Human and  

— Relatable/Approachable

The evaluation, paired with the attributes, informed the three directions for the brand presented in the first round of ideation. We knew industry clichés to avoid, opportunities to explore, and elements to recommend. 

The majority of really positive feedback revolved around ‘the Perago people’, how easy it is to work with us, and how everybody you encounter is relatable and honest. We need to keep this and try to highlight it even more in the new brand image. 

I also discovered that the ‘Welshness’ of Perago is also a valuable and essential asset – feedback has shown that people like that we operate in Wales and are driven to make a better Wales. 

Death of a dragon 

From the start of this work, the dragon icon that Perago has used for the last seven years or so has polarised opinion. As a small company that focused on delivering to clients, developing our services, and building our network, the dragon was more of a logo that served the company well. 

Some wanted to keep it because it reminded us of where the company started, some were open to other ideas, and some absolutely didn’t see it as part of the future brand. Part of the feedback showed that people found it too literal and that the dragon itself was maybe more ‘just a logo’ rather than representing who we are, the way we do things, and how we work.

Others found it too literal in representing Wales, whilst others felt it had a more oriental theme. This confusion and blurriness about what the dragon represented meant its fate was sealed – it died shortly after. 

Why now?  

Is there ever a right time to consider the development of a brand? Perhaps not, but anyone who’s been through similar will know it’s usually not something that can be planned but more a feeling that something should change. 

We recently moved into a great new central Swansea office. We’re also doubling in size from where we are now, and with a fantastically diverse pipeline of work, we certainly felt that now was the right time to develop our brand to signify this next chapter in our company’s growth.

What’s next? 

While our new visual brand is launching today across our social media and our fantastic new website, we’re really looking forward to 2024, when we’ll be supercharging our ‘to do’ lists with a whole new range of events, capabilities, projects, and opportunities that we will be offering with our new team, offices, and brand.