Deliveroo unveils bold new look

Delivery service Deliveroo has unveiled a new brand identity to drive greater distinction and creative consistency across its 10 local markets.

The new brand identity and guidelines - the first to be developed by Deliveroo since 2016 - were created by in-house creative agency, Deliveroo Creative, who incorporated months of customer research and cross-functional expertise from product, HR, comms, marketing and engineering teams to create the new identity.

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"For the first time since 2016, we have a consistent visual foundation for our creative campaigns. Our new work shows how much life is left in our most distinctive brand asset. Looking afresh and discovering new elements inspired by the Roo head has been a total joy to direct," said Paul Hewitt, global head of creative at Deliveroo Creative. "Proof that sometimes the answer is staring you right in the face (literally). As a creative team, we are now brand guardians, which gives us a new role in the business. But we’re hungry for more and I’m excited to start to bring this work to life to keep Deliveroo looking smoking hot and tasty - around the world,” he said. 

During the process, Deliveroo Creative made over 400 assets to demonstrate to over 26 key stakeholders that this identity can stretch and flex across the breadth of the brand, it said in a statement. 

The Deliveroo Creative team identified four key challenges to be solved. "Firstly, what visual elements of the brand do customers most recognise as Deliveroo? Secondly, how can this work create a more cohesive customer experience from advertising to the Deliveroo app? How does the business’ new brand positioning inspire a visual identity? And, lastly, as Deliveroo continues global growth, how can a new brand identity build a consistent look and feel that drives distinctiveness across such unique markets," it explained. 

The team began by identifying Deliveroo’s brand codes - the distinctive elements that customers most recognise about the brand, - which, according to customer research, were established as the colour teal, the Roo head shape and the Deliveroo wordmark.

A fresh look at the distinctive Roo Head, which remains recognisable all over the world, inspired the entire identity. Building on DesignStudio’s 2016 rebrand, Deliveroo Creative looked at the shape through a completely different lens to give it a fresh look, one which brings Deliveroo’s personality to life and reflects the new brand positioning to connect people, businesses, and communities through a shared love of food.

At the centre of the design system is a new graphic device titled “the Rooute”, Deliveroo said.

"At the outset of the process, the team looked to the Deliveroo app for inspiration. They were inspired by the rider's teal journey line, which appears the moment a customer makes an order and tracks the rider from restaurant to door - this is Deliveroo’s visual expression of connection," it said. 

The Rooute forms a visual reminder of Deliveroo’s brand codes– the colour teal and the angles of the Roo head. As a rule, the graphic motif travels through all creative and has a range of behaviours including usage as a frame, a house for typography and in motion. The angles of the Roo head inspired other elements of the identity, such as the typography which is angled at six degrees - the same angle as the nose of Roo head - and italicised to portray the kinetic nature of Deliveroo’s service.

Deliveroo’s tone and voice which has always been a differentiating part of the brand, was pushed to be even more playful, showing off Deliveroo’s passion for the tastiest food in the neighbourhood.

Personality is key to how Deliveroo shows up and a new set of typographic stickers was created as part of the rebrand. These shapes have been inspired by the imperfect circles that form the eyes in the Roo Head. "The team noticed this little hand-made touch in Deliveroo’s angular visual world. It offers a perfect contrast to the angular elements of the identity, as well as a nod to the handmade nature of our customer journey. From the chefs who hand-make the food, to the rider who hand-delivers it, and the customer who eats it," it said. 

The minimal colour palette of different shades of teal also allowed the new bright, 100-image food photography to stand out.

“Our in-house talent, combined with knowledge of the brand, meant the team were perfectly placed to develop a brand identity - flexible to the needs of the entire global organisation - including our external agency partners. Eight months may seem like a long time, but it meant we could build something that works for everyone and something all of Deliveroo can be proud of," said Emily Somers, global director of brand and creative at Deliveroo Creative. 

The launch comes off the back of a decade of growth for the business and a resulting need to evolve the brand to maintain distinctiveness and a competitive edge globally

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