Elmwood has designed a new identity for the vehicle and driving assistance company, which seeks to build awareness of its other services.
This article originally appeared in Creative Review.
The AA is known for its roadside recovery and breakdown services, but many people are unaware that it also offers insurance, driving schools, servicing, and repairs.
The AA and design consultancy Elmwood worked together to develop a new strategy to help position it as an “active leader in a changing market”, which has been translated into the brand’s new tagline, Always Ahead.
The new AA logo is a subtle transformation of the previous design. Rather than tearing up the rulebook, the edges have been smoothed and angles gently exaggerated. The lettering informed the creation of a new typeface, AA Sans.
The fundamentals of the palette have remained the same, but with a deeper shade of black, helping the yellow to pop more. A secondary colour palette has been designed around different times of day, reflecting the AA’s round-the-clock care.
The team developed separate frameworks for using pattern, illustration, and photography for the different AA services, to help create distinctions between them. This uplifting visual journey is joined by a new down-to-earth tone of voice, which feels like the biggest shift of all.
The redesign, and a new sonic identity by Sixieme Son, appears in a campaign called It’s OK, I’m with the AA, created by The Gate London, which shows ow the AA can get you out of a jam.
Check out the full case study here.