PORTFOLIO
PHOEBE SPRINGETT
BRAND REFRESH - 2024
DBL BRAND REFRESH
A complete identity overhaul for a 10-year-old L&D brand, new logo variant, colour system, tone of voice, website copy, and a fully coordinated content launch, delivered in four months with no paid advertising.
+35%
social engagament
+12%
website traffic
12%
average engagament
4MO
concept to launch
THE BRIEF
A DECADE-OLD BRAND READY FOR CHANGE
Development Beyond Learning (DBL) is a learning and development consultancy operating across three global offices, London, Sydney, and Singapore. Their brand had served them for ten years, but in a fast-moving L&D market, it no longer reflected the forward-thinking, people-first organisation they had become.
The brief was to refresh the entire brand identity, not just the logo, but the visual language, tone of voice, website, and all marketing collateral, in a way that would meaningfully increase market relevance and engagement.
"A brand ten years old in an industry moving this fast isn't just dated, it's a barrier to growth. We needed to make DBL look and sound like the organisation it already was."
OBJECTIVES
Increase market relevance and brand engagement; refresh visual identity, tone of voice, and digital presence; coordinate a cohesive brand launch across all channels.
CONSTRAINTS
Budget was primarily allocated to website development, zero paid advertising spend. Four months from first brief to public launch.
MY ROLE
In-room contributor to brand strategy, colour system, and tone of voice. Sole creator of all marketing assets, social posts, sales sheets, branded collateral, email templates, event materials, and the coordinated launch content calendar
TRANSFORMATION
BEFORE & AFTER
The visual shift tells the story more clearly than words. On the left: a Squarespace site with a clean but flat identity, minimal colour, cautious typography, and a brand that blended into its category. On the right: a confident, energetic new presence built around a bold three-colour system and a clear editorial voice.
COLOUR IDENTITY
THE COLOUR SYSTEM
One of my direct contributions during brand development was input on the colour naming framework. Each colour was given a personality archetype, a name that communicated not just a hex code but an intention, making the guidelines immediately usable for anyone creating content.
One of my direct contributions during brand development was input on the colour naming framework. Each colour was given a personality archetype, a name that communicated not just a hex code but an intention, making the guidelines immediately usable for anyone creating content.
STRATEGY AND EXECUTION
HOW WE LAUNCHED IT
THE APPROACH
With no paid media budget, the entire launch had to be built around a coordinated organic moment, social, email, and the website going live in alignment, with enough content pre-built to sustain momentum through the first month.
I developed the full content calendar and coordinated all asset delivery with the external web development team, ensuring that when the new site went live, every touchpoint, LinkedIn, email, sales collateral, reflected the new brand consistently from day one.
Collaborated on brand guidelines, colour naming, and tone of voice in strategy sessions
Created the teaser graphic announcing the rebrand across social channels
Rebuilt all social templates and post designs to match the new visual language
Redesigned email templates and all sales enablement materials
Built a full launch content calendar, 30+ assets across social, email, and events
Coordinated launch timing to align website go-live with social and email release
BRAND ASSETS
THE WORK
A selection of assets from the rebrand, the brand guidelines palette, the website before and after, and the brand collateral sheet showing the new identity applied across business cards, stationery, and global office presence.
THE RESULT
WHAT IT DELIVERED
+35%
social engagament
Uplift in social engagement within the first three months post-launch, driven by brand-consistent content and an audience responding to a more confident, energetic visual identity
12%
average engagament
Campaign-wide average across all social content during the launch window, above industry benchmarks for B2B L&D
+12%
website traffic
Month-on-month traffic increase following the new site launch, a direct indicator of improved brand discoverability and social referral traffic
average CTR
5%
Across social posts and email campaigns, strong performance for organic-only activity with zero paid media support
1,024
average impression per post
Consistent reach across the launch period, with no paid amplification, driven entirely by content quality and brand clarity
+4%
follower growth
Organic follower growth across LinkedIn in the post-launch period, a meaningful indicator of brand credibility improvement
5
leads generated
New business enquiries directly attributable to the rebrand period, with 18 attendees at the associated event activation
"The rebrand shifted how DBL presented itself to the market, not just visually, but in the confidence of its messaging. A 35% engagement uplift with zero paid spend is a strong signal that the new brand resonated. The work proved that a well-coordinated, strategically grounded rebrand can create commercial momentum without a media budget."