More intense competition has meant that companies have to take new measures to cope on the modern market. Therefore, many companies choose to change their brand in some way. This is called rebranding and is however a risky process. To reduce the risk companies can hire external parties in form of design agencies. The purpose of this study is to investigate which factors that are required to achieve a successful rebranding, when carried out in collaboration with an external agency. The study will do so by asking the question "What are the success factors of a rebranding when carried out in collaboration with an external agency?". To do so the researchers assumed a qualitative case study where semi-­structured interviews have been implemented. The empirical data gathered was then analyzed using theories covering the areas of rebranding, internal marketing, and previous research on the cooperation between agency and company. The conclusions of this study shows that one success factor is found in the fact that agencies has greater experience of rebranding, compared to most companies. Another success factor is the outside perspective agencies add, which enables the companies to see new aspects of their brand. Companies should involve employees in the process to the point of collecting their opinions before the work begins, but the study shows that there should only be a few people involved in the actual rebranding process to achieve good results. The best result is  achieved when all final decisions are made by the company, the agency should only come up with guidelines and suggestions.

Companies are required to have the ability to be attractive because of today's intense market. They have to constantly make sure that their visual elements and graphic profile are related to the current market conditions. Furthermore the market are placing higher demands on how companies expose their brands and quite often the companies have to do a rebrand to keep their brand relevant. To do this, companies often have to hire an external party, such as an external advertising- or media agency. The purpose of this study is to investigate what causes a rebranding and how the external agencys are working with the process. The study also examines which factors the agencies take into account when designing a new visual identity and whether it's important to preserve certain core elements from the previous visual identity. This is investigated based on following questions: "What are the reasons to why a company chooses to do a rebrand?", "What do external agencies take into account when designing a new visual identity?" and "Is it important to maintain graphic elements from the previous visual identity?". To answer the questions, the researchers have applied a qualitative study where semi-structured interviews have been implemented. Theory is based on secondary sources and previous research that deals with the area of rebranding, visual identity and the different elements of identity. The reasons to rebranding can be different. The study also shows that some companies have a visual identity that does not interact with their products or services, which is the reason to rebranding. In summary, the external agencies take into account many of the aspects surrounding the design that are brought up by previous research, but the study also adds new perspectives. / Dagens marknad kräver att företagen behöver ha förmågan att vara attraktiva. Företagen behöver ständigt se till att deras visuella element och grafiska profil förhåller sig till de nuvarande marknadsförutsättningarna. Marknaden ställer högre krav på hur företag exponerar sina varumärken och många gånger behöver företagen genomgå en rebranding för att hålla sitt varumärke relevant. Ofta behöver företag anlita en extern part för att genomföra rebranding, denna hjälp kan i dessa fall komma från en extern reklam- eller mediabyrå. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad som är orsaken till rebranding och hur externa byråer arbetar med processen. Studien undersöker även vilka faktorer byråerna tar hänsyn till i utformande i utformandet av en ny visuell identitet samt om det är viktigt att bevara kärnelement från den tidigare visuella identiteten. Detta genom att utgå från frågeställningarna "Vilka är orsakerna till att ett företag väljer att göra en rebranding av sitt varumärke?", "Vad tar externa byråer hänsyn till vid utformandet av en ny visuell identitet?" samt "Är det viktigt att bevara grafiska element från den tidigare visuella identiteten?". För att besvara frågeställningarna har forskarna tillämpat en kvalitativ studie där intervjuer med utvalda respondenter från tre externa byråer har genomförts. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade och byggde på öppna frågor som möjliggjorde för väl utvecklade svar. Teori grundas på sekundärkällor och tidigare forskning som handlar om området rebranding, visuell identitet och identitetens olika element. Studiens slutsats visar att de externa byråerna arbetar olika med rebranding. Vissa byråer väljer att ta stor hänsyn till det tidigare existerande varumärket medan andra vågar vara helt nytänkande. Orsakerna till rebranding kan vara relativt skilda och studien indikerar på en ytterligare faktor som handlar om att vissa företag har en visuell identitet som inte samverkar med deras produkter eller tjänster. De externa byråerna tar hänsyn till många av de aspekter kring utformandet som tidigare forskning behandlar. Det framkommer även att företagets logotyp ska laddas med värde och behov. Byråerna tillför också idén om att skapa mönster, piktogram och illustrationer, målet med dessa grafiska element är att de ska kunna associeras lika starkt till varumärket som företagets logotyp gör.

The practice of communication design has developed from a visual-communication service industry into a multi-facetted profession, directly involved with the maintenance and creation of social and cultural capital. The ancestry of communication design has led to its continued perception as a neutral tool for the achievement of communication. This research project aims to investigate the possible contributions of communication design as a practice, if it were to re-align its goals towards supporting and facilitating the community within which it is practiced. This research project is about the communication designer and the communities within which they practice: clients; target markets; companies; managers; neighbourhood groups; groups in a particular place and time; communities of practitioners; and emergent or yet to emerge communities. The project investigates designer agency and the ways for a communication designer to work holistically within communities: being or becoming part of them; working through and with them toward the achievement of communication goals. As much as it is about communicating, it is also about community. It is about designers working as conduits, facilitating and enabling the communities of their practice to find expression. It is about a democratisation of communication design authorship and power. It is about the design process as an educational process - all parts and participants within a design projects' community learning and teaching simultaneously. The research project encompasses a series of component projects, across a range of different media, using a practice-led-research framework and a reflective practitioner methodology as the key investigative tool.

<p>Many design agencies and designers like to see design as a longtime strategic investment for any company. However, knowledge of design as a strategic resource depends on ones professional background and ones knowledge of design as such. It is common today that clients meet design agencies and therefore design with a certain skepticism concerning its role in the company. Within the prodctdevelopment-process the company’s different functions meet. Those are people differing in education, background and knowledge. This fact and the differing visions concerning design lead to gaps within the cooperation between design agency and their client.</p><p>This study’s aim was to explain these gaps from the industrial design agency’s perspective.Especially when the cooperation intends to strengthen the client’s brand through product design. We tried to gain insight in the design agencies’ working-process and their attitude towards cooperation and their clients through case studies. Three design agencies in the greater Stockholm area were chosen and interviews were made in November 2007. The collected data was then mainly analyzed through gap analysis. The study shows that the contact between design agency and the client’s management level</p><p>plays a vital role in preventing the management gap. This gap is a result of differing visions of the design service and can lead to different levels of ambition between the partners. By taking this gap into consideration early on, the design-agency can access important</p><p>information about the client’s company and design can be used efficiently as a strategic resource. In addition to that the project’s brief influences the quality of the cooperation strongly.</p><p>The interpretation of brand values to design features is reason for communication-problems between agency and client. Visualizing of ideas, early prototyping and regular meetings can help minimizing this gap. However, a basic condition for successful brand communication is the client’s internal organization. It is vital that Marketing and Research and Development find a common language in order for the design project to become a success.</p>

Many design agencies and designers like to see design as a longtime strategic investment for any company. However, knowledge of design as a strategic resource depends on ones professional background and ones knowledge of design as such. It is common today that clients meet design agencies and therefore design with a certain skepticism concerning its role in the company. Within the prodctdevelopment-process the company’s different functions meet. Those are people differing in education, background and knowledge. This fact and the differing visions concerning design lead to gaps within the cooperation between design agency and their client. This study’s aim was to explain these gaps from the industrial design agency’s perspective.Especially when the cooperation intends to strengthen the client’s brand through product design. We tried to gain insight in the design agencies’ working-process and their attitude towards cooperation and their clients through case studies. Three design agencies in the greater Stockholm area were chosen and interviews were made in November 2007. The collected data was then mainly analyzed through gap analysis. The study shows that the contact between design agency and the client’s management level plays a vital role in preventing the management gap. This gap is a result of differing visions of the design service and can lead to different levels of ambition between the partners. By taking this gap into consideration early on, the design-agency can access important information about the client’s company and design can be used efficiently as a strategic resource. In addition to that the project’s brief influences the quality of the cooperation strongly. The interpretation of brand values to design features is reason for communication-problems between agency and client. Visualizing of ideas, early prototyping and regular meetings can help minimizing this gap. However, a basic condition for successful brand communication is the client’s internal organization. It is vital that Marketing and Research and Development find a common language in order for the design project to become a success.