Evolving a Beloved Brand
Everything BECU does is inspired by its members and employees, who proudly show their love for the brand every day. Founded in 1935 by a group of 18 Boeing factory workers, they’re now over 1 million members strong and growing. In a world where affinity for financial institutions is fading, BECU is a shining example of what’s possible when people and community come first. As a longtime brand strategy partner, we were asked to evolve the identity to modernize the brand to help it stand out and better extend to multiple environments.
Inspired by Past, Present, Future
We set out to create a design that was modern, approachable and timeless, and that could support BECU’s continued expansion and growing presence into digital and physical environments. The scripted “E” of the original logo, created to give special emphasis to Boeing employees, was given equal weight as the other letters to reflect the broader population of Washington state residents that BECU now serves. Our design also gives a nod to its heritage, as shown by the continued use of BECU’s signature red and shape of the logo itself.
Phinney Bischoff is honored to have been part of BECU’s journey and evolution over the last 12 years. We are thrilled to continue our partnership as the new brand takes hold in Puget Sound and beyond.
By investing the time to deeply understand BECU’s values and our people helping people philosophy, Phinney Bischoff successfully created a refreshed brand identity that captures who we are as an organization and our commitment to our members.”
Extending the Brand
To round out the identity, we developed a visual language with an expanded color palette, fresh typography, icon library and an original illustration style that captures the warmth and friendliness of BECU. We also experimented with a range of sample applications to ensure flexibility and ease of use across a range of touchpoints.