The Verdict: Wolff Olins reimagines Lloyds
About the work
British banking group Lloyds was determined to transform itself into a digital-first, future-fit brand following the appointment of Suresh Balaji as chief marketing officer last year. It called on global brand consultancy Wolff Olins to engineer a radical redesign of the Lloyds brand experience.
This was achieved by retaining the bank’s core purpose of ‘Helping Britain Prosper,’ while the new positioning, ‘Lloyds moves everyone forward,’ was crafted from the insight that many Brits feel like prosperity is still a ‘pipe dream.’ Applicable across both B2C and B2B, Wolff Olins hopes this will help direct Lloyds teams developing future products and services.
The revised design system itself was created around ‘The Cancara Philosophy’ – named after the iconic black horse that became a staple of its brand identity. Wolff Olins even consulted an equine expert to ensure the horse’s anatomy and movements were accurate to reality. The belief is this motion design system can bring Lloyds’ digital customer experiences to life.
Elsewhere, the brand consultancy incorporated a customised GT Ultra type into the fold. Its distinctly British look was inspired by early 20th century fonts, while the bolder colour palette deliberately evokes the nation’s green landscape.
The brand update went hand in hand with the company’s biggest-ever multi-channel campaign, also created by Wolff Olins with the help of adam&eveDDB and Zenith. The campaign marked the launch of its reimagined customer app, which utilises the updated brand identity.
Suresh Balaji, group chief marketing officer at Lloyds Banking Group, says, “Modern brand building is more than advertising. A brand is the sum total of all experiences and using design principles across the customer ecosystem is a non-negotiable for us. Our aim has been to take our stable, strong and traditional brands and make them even more timeless by applying our ‘Experience-led-brand’ principles.”
Tom Carey, senior creative director at Wolff Olins, adds, "We worked closely with the Lloyds Design teams to make the brand more flexible, expressive and effective – and we're all excited to see it come to life. Tonally, that sense of Britishness has been brought to the fore and with it a touch of humour. It’s still the Lloyds we know and love, but redesigned for the future: bolder, wilder and with a charming British twist."
Becky King, creative director, Dragon Rouge
I think this identity system makes a brilliant link to everything we have in our memory about Lloyds and brings it stylishly into the modern world. Who doesn’t remember their local Lloyds bank and its architectural stature, like something from Mary Poppins? Or the beautiful horse galloping across the beach?
The overall experience captures that strength and finesse, feeling totally appropriate – as if it always should’ve been. A gentle nod to heritage but moving them on with familiarity and added boldness: like Cancara herself.
Whilst there aren’t any major surprises it all manages to feel fresh, agile and full of moments
of delight. The assets are quintessentially British – more fashion than stuffy, financial services style: photography with its contemporary edge, captures the imperfect but authentic aspect of everyday Britain, a less uptight font and a strong, cheeky tone of voice.
It’s the motion that excites me most. Not the horse itself being animated but the inspiration from its equine language for the principles of everything else. The gallop. The flick. You get the idea. How to make a simple bank card more exciting and give unique character to a brand. It’s classy with an edge and I do love it.
Bernie Shaw-Binns, managing director, Brand Oath
Straight up, I love this.
Everything I appreciate in a brand refresh/relaunch seems to be there; a strong, pragmatic and intelligent positioning strategy providing a fresh perspective in a changing sector. A commitment to authenticity regarding the anatomical detail of the motion of the horse. Beautifully executed craft in the iconic illustration and wordmark. Sensitive yet bold update to the colour palate and gorgeous copywriting.
A perfectly balanced combination embracing heritage with an almost intangible but unmistakable contemporary feel.
The burden of responsibility in handling one of Britain’s icons could have led many to play safe, but it feels like the team at Wolff Olins simply embraced the pressure and smashed it.
A fascinating comparison to Jaguar’s approach, time will tell which one stands the test of time, but my money is with the bank (apologies).
Mike Smith, creative director, Clout Branding
The design strategy strikes a fine balance between honouring heritage and appealing to a more tech-savvy audience. While it’s not a dramatic visual overhaul, the refinements – such as the streamlined logo, shorter name, motion behaviours, brighter greens, imagery and updated tone of voice – inject a modern, youthful energy. This is especially evident on social media.
The careful treatment of the iconic black horse, alongside the familiar and reassuring deep green, ensures continuity and preserves the brand’s heritage. It’s refreshing to see, especially in an era where so many iconic brands feel compelled to abandon their roots in pursuit of modernity.
I applaud the work. It’s strategically sound and beautifully crafted. That said, my one hesitation lies with some of the illustrative styles. They’re undeniably on-trend. Does the overall identity risk feeling dated sooner than it should?
Diggory Gordon, creative director, Nixon Design
In a post-Jaguar-rebrand world, it feels odd to consider a rebrand that largely slipped under the radar compared to the vitriol Jaguar endured – but here we are! The Lloyds Bank rebrand firmly re-established Wolff Olins for me, with their repositioning of one of the UK’s oldest banks.
What stood out most was their emphasis on motion, grounded in the brand’s core symbol – the black stallion. The canters, flicks and personality shine through. While the app could use improvement on a business level, I’ve been impressed by the execution across their touchpoints.
My main criticism lies with the Burberry-esque, art-directed mockups. Some feel like an attempt to force trendiness at the last minute, at total odds with their actual customers. The white sports socks on a housing estate washing line, for example, feel out of touch with the living, breathing banking customer. Having used Lloyds at a business level for years, I see potential though… It may not fully resonate yet, but given time, I might just be persuaded to wear those socks.
This article was taken from Transform magazine Q1, 2025. You can subscribe to the print edition here.
