America's Best Known Performance Fabrics Brand Debuts New Identity
2008.10.21
America's best known performance fabrics brand - Sunbrella® - is undergoing a brand identity update including the introduction of a new logo. The goal is to acknowledge Sunbrella's rich, 50-year heritage while reflecting a continuing focus on innovation and enhanced styling for today's consumers.
The new Sunbrella logo features a more contemporary look, reflective of the brand's evolution as a performance fabric with a sense of style for outside and inside the home, as well as boating and many other applications. Sunbrella's distinctive yellow, red and blue umbrella has morphed into a stylized umbrella, symbolizing the trust and the protective qualities long associated with the Sunbrella brand.
The type face for the new Sunbrella's logo is updated with a cleaner, more contemporary look. The logo utilizes a new signature color - a contemporary deep orange that conveys the brand's growth in fashion forward styling.
"When the previous logo was introduced, Sunbrella fabrics were primarily solid colors and broad stripes for outdoor applications in awnings, marine and patio furniture," said Hal Hunnicutt, vice president of marketing for Glen Raven Custom Fabrics, the makers of Sunbrella fabrics.
"Sunbrella has progressed dramatically during the past decade not only in performance enhancements, but also in sophisticated styling that includes jacquards, chenille, velvet and sheers, along with innovative new looks for awning fabrics," he said. "Because Sunbrella is such a well known brand, we wanted to retain elements of the brand that people are so familiar with and trust, yet give the identity a refresh that better reflects where Sunbrella is today and where it's headed for the future."
The new brand identity is debuting during the IFAI Expo, a leading trade event scheduled for late October in Charlotte, N.C. Glen Raven will also unveil 28 new awning styles - its most extensive new introduction of awning fabrics ever - along with details concerning significant performance enhancements and an extended warranty.
"There could not be a better time to unveil a new logo and brand identity for Sunbrella than this year's Expo," Hunnicutt said. "The new awning and marine fabrics, breakthrough performance enhancements and warranty extension all signify that the Sunbrella brand is stronger than ever before. We are deeply committed to supporting our industry, and the new brand identity offers just the right balance of our heritage, with an intense focus on the future."
The new brand identity will be phased into various marketing elements over the next several months, including advertising, Web site, packaging and collateral materials.
