Certain characters have withstood the test of time. Although they are few and far between, everyone and their mothers and their grandmothers grew up with Peter Rabbit.
The iconic rabbit has been a cherished storybook character for 120 years, and to celebrate his birthday, Penguin Random House has refreshed the beloved bunny so he can continue warming the hearts of children the world over.
Because the Peter Rabbit brand has been around for over 100 years, changing the rabbit’s iconic characteristics or features wouldn’t make sense. Instead, the new branding system imagined by creative consultancy CreateFuture updated the running rabbit depiction in the logo so that Peter can be recognizable throughout his many iterations, primarily when digital.
As stated on CreateFuture’s website, “Alongside the internationally renowned logo craftsman Chris Mitchell, we evolved the nostalgic illustration and elevated the legal mark, bringing the ‘Running Rabbit’ into the 21st Century while remaining true to its roots. The iconic blue jacket is the consistent visual element and a recognizable symbol of the brand: a mark of quality, heritage and a seal of authenticity.”
Peter Rabbit is known for being a mischievous character, so the brand introduced a universal design system that will guide future creatives along the way. To do so, there were three energy levels created, including “hop,” “skip,” and “jump.” Each of the three actions gets broken down, so “hop” has a minimal variation with animals and pastels as the lead. “Skip” starts to introduce more vibrant colors and designs, and “jump” is more forceful with a wide range of colors, various character depictions, and motion lines.
The brand introduced these actions to depict Peter across all applications without worrying about size or format. And while the branding identity might have been revamped, Peter Rabbit himself is still the charming character in the quirky blue jacket that we were raised to love, despite his sometimes naughty side.
Furthermore, CreateFuture created a fresh, content-heavy digital world on PeterRabbit.com. Serving as a community for parents and children to peruse, learn and relate to the brand, for businesses to advertise products, and as a basis for future e-commerce possibilities.
Peter Rabbit might have a new feel, but the brand’s core is still the same that generations grew up with, and that should be a lesson for longtime properties wanting to become more current with the digital age without diminishing the core of the brand.
