Hello. This is Realworld. Realworld has returned with a new brand image. What do you think? It might feel unfamiliar for now. Brand renewal is a process that requires extensive consideration and a long journey. But why did Realworld decide to renew its brand just three years after creating its existing logo? Let us take you through that process step by step.
We've structured Realworld's brand renewal story in an interview format, and this article was created with the participation of designer Kim Hee-su from the Design Solution team, who led Realworld's brand renewal.
Q. What was the reason behind Realworld's brand renewal?
A. Actually, we went through two different logos before the current one you know. When Realworld first came into the world, the entire company had only 6 employees, and it was a time when a truly small number of people worked together like a team, focusing on a single project. After going through a transitional period and regaining some stability, Realworld began its full-scale branding in 2020.
In 2020, as the company grew, we realized the importance of branding. Experts from various fields - planners, designers, and operations teams - came together to firmly establish Realworld's identity. After countless deliberations and discussions, Realworld adopted the vision of being 'everyone's playground.' Our role was to connect people, play, and spaces. Compared to today's Realworld, it was a modest ambition, but it was Realworld's first step.
Then in 2023, during the three years everyone worked frantically, many things changed at Realworld. We began offline space business that we couldn't have imagined before, developed a nationwide treasure hunt system, and our app evolved significantly. And unlike before when we had to run around looking for clients, now many people know about Realworld and contact us first. In this regard, we can feel that Realworld has 'grown.'
Along with joy, team members began to have concerns. Realworld was growing like this, but the branding of 'everyone's playground' felt like too small an ambition to contain us. 'If we feel this way now, will it be okay in the future?' We were continuously striving to accomplish more, but our past branding was holding us back. So we boldly decided to rebrand Realworld.
Q. What aspects of the existing logo needed improvement?
A. Improvement was needed because what Realworld wanted to show had changed. To understand more specifically what we needed to improve, we conducted a company-wide survey. We encouraged all 50 team members to participate in identifying problems and improvements with the existing Realworld branding and logo, and what to maintain, so we could understand the direction we needed to go.
We also wanted to identify the visual problems with the existing logo. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat - we needed to first understand what we had to fix, right? Realworld wanted to provide new and enjoyable experiences to people of various age groups and genders. However, our previous logo was round and colorful, focusing on the 'playground' keyword. This led to criticism that it looked like a brand targeting children.
Also, the symbol had four different colors, so when we placed the logo on any design, at least one color would get lost. To solve these various issues and leap forward with a new mindset, Realworld began its rebranding!
Q. Please explain the brand renewal process.
A. In conducting 'branding,' step 0 is identifying problems with the current situation, as I mentioned above. Then, the real visible beginning is establishing the 'brand value platform.'
Various members participated to determine Realworld's vision (what we want to become), mission (what we need to do to achieve our vision), and core values (our unique differentiated values). We went through an ideation process where we freely wrote things that come to mind when thinking of 'Realworld' on sticky notes, then grouped and categorized keywords with similar characteristics.
Through this process, we could grasp Realworld's direction at a glance. After conducting the same work three times, we organized one word and one sentence that could express us. Although we wanted to include many keywords, we tried to keep only what was truly 'core.'
So let me introduce the first part of Realworld's organized brand value platform - our vision!
Realworld aims to stand tall as Korea's best playable content platform. To achieve this vision, we must fulfill our mission for both players and creators, and connecting them with the world. To accomplish this mission, Realworld will run forward while promoting our unique values.
▼ Continued in the 'Logo Design' section. ▼