Project Overview

The previous U.S. Bank brand system was limited in scope and largely flat, offering little flexibility to support diverse campaigns while maintaining strong brand recognition. After working within these tight constraints for several years, I was excited to contribute to a comprehensive brand refresh.

Our goal was to elevate the brand with a more sophisticated and distinguished visual language—positioning U.S. Bank as a confident, established national contender while introducing a heightened sense of luxury to better resonate with wealth and investment audiences.

By expanding the color palette to include a broader range of blues—from light and airy to deep and rich—and introducing gradients, modern patterns, and a toolkit of ownable design assets inspired by the U.S. Bank shield, we created a luminous, refined visual system. This refreshed approach preserves the equity and recognition of the previous brand while providing greater flexibility for creative expression. The result is a cohesive, ownable system that feels both elevated and enduring—designed to stay fresh, consistent, and relevant as the brand continues to evolve.

Creative Approach

As principal designer on the brand refresh, partnering closely with the Executive Creative Director and a team of designers, I helped shape a sophisticated, modern brand system built for flexibility, longevity, and scale. The goal was to create an ownable visual language that could evolve across campaigns while strengthening brand recognition over time.

The refreshed system is anchored in the U.S. Bank shield and introduces a strong typographic approach as a primary visual driver—replacing the previous brand’s reliance on illustration. Typography, paired with refined details from the shield, is expressed through patterns, iconography, and luminous, layered backgrounds. An expanded palette of blues—ranging from light and approachable to deep and rich—combined with gradients and modern design elements, added depth and dimension while maintaining a cohesive foundation.

A key component of the work included co‑art directing a large‑scale commercial photoshoot to establish a robust, enterprise‑wide image library. The resulting photography defined a more human, intentional visual narrative aligned with the refreshed brand.

A distinct expression was also developed for Wealth, allowing it to stand confidently on its own while retaining the core visual language of the consumer brand. This included an expanded palette of rich, jewel‑tone greens that elevated the Wealth identity while reinforcing its connection to the broader system. The result is a flexible, scalable brand framework already supporting fresh, dynamic work across digital and physical experiences—bringing the brand to life in cohesive and meaningful ways.