lg2 Celebrates the Creative Process with DeSerres

How do you redesign a 110-year-old company that’s been rebranded several times over and get something new and fresh?

DeSerres, one of Canada’s leading art supplies stores, tapped lg2 to take on the task. And the creative agency had a lot of ground to cover, starting with DeSerres’s early days as a hardware store in Montreal to becoming a chain of over 30 stores across Canada (see the logo progression below).

lg2 refreshed the logo and brand identity, shifting the focus to “inspiring creative freedom.” Instead of highlighting the final artistic product, they are focusing on the creative process instead. “With this change, we are investing in a transformation that better meets the tastes and aspirations of our clientele. Ask any creative person and they will tell you that the process is often more fruitful than the actual result,” says Marc DeSerres, president of DeSerres, in a release.

The new identity includes customized letterheads, envelopes and business cards, a logo in Sharp Grotesk typeface, a promotional video and tote bags. The new wordmark features the original DeSerres red paint palette, reimagined using four different mediums—pencil, paint, marker and spray paint. The palette itself is more artistic, emulating the swipe of a paintbrush, to illustrate the variety of products that DeSerres offers.

“Every detail was designed to illustrate the importance of bringing creativity to people’s lives, from the logo, which embodies the creative act, to the choice of products in-store that are selected to spark inspiration and creativity,” notes Pénélope Fournier, partner and general manager of lg2 Montreal.

The campaign will be rolled out on all social media platforms, private-label products and DeSerres’ transactional website. Along with the rebrand, DeSerres plans to install creative spaces into its stores, allowing for customers to test products and learn new techniques. —Sabrina Gamrot