We’ve Rebranded—Top Hat IMC is Now Top Hat

We’re an agency that helps others create meaningful brands. It’s something that we are very passionate about. To us, branding isn’t just a sterile deliverable list—it’s a truly spiritual experience from start to finish.

When you change the brand, everything around it—from what you can hold in your hands to what you view online—needs to respond to that change.

We’ve been there, helping organizations clear out the old mugs from the cupboard. Lighting the match for them to burn their pile of old brochures. You know the drill.

This time around, we’ve cleared out our own mugs from our own cupboard to make way for something new.

Our rebrand better aligns our core with our outward identity. It also replaces the logo we’ve used since first opening our doors back in 2013.

For us this is a colossal milestone and we’re so excited to share it with you after sleepless nights, ridiculous coffee consumption and a whole lot of fun.

Let’s Recap the Past Four Years

Before we explore the rebrand in full, here’s a look at some stats from these four years in business.

A Simplified Name—Top Hat IMC to Just Top Hat

We started off as Top Hat IMC—now we’re just Top Hat.

Backstory: the IMC in our name stood for our core discipline—integrated marketing communications. Real talk? Good idea in a vacuum, but in the real world caused some annoyance.

Some called us Top Hat Inc. The rest wondered endlessly about the IMC. Some may argue the wonderment is a good thing, but we didn’t reflect those sentiments.

A New Visual Identity

Our old logo said the right thing in the wrong way.

Our creative director Aaron Easler took a hands-on approach to the redesign. One day I walked into his office and caught the ideation process in action—a sea of hand-drawn logotypes.

This gave birth to the new look—a hand-lettered logotype that cleverly forms the shape of a top hat.

The new logotype is infinitely legible …

… even when printed at micro sizes.

Reveal Video

We knew the transition from the old to new logo was going to be a big change, especially removing the mustache. Given the elements of the old logo and new logo, we realized we had a great opportunity—to show the transition occurring in a fun way.

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We leaned into the animation talents of Amanda Clegg for a reveal video. This also happens to be scored by Aaron’s brother (is there anything the Easler family can’t do?).

The New Mark Emphasizes Our Design-Centric Approach

Effective design is at the center of everything we do. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing in marketing communications—it has to look good or no one is going to want to look at it.

With out first full-time creative director on board, our new identity exudes creativity and a desire to stand out in a sea of carbon copies.

More Than a Logo

Everything about this new brand identity tells a story.  From the bold typography to the high-contrast color palette to the playful imagery and succinct language, you know you’re walking into a different kind of agency with a bit of class and a lot of sass.

Custom text lock-ups are a visually compelling introduction to pages on this new website and give a nod to some of our favorite pieces of pop culture. These have also made an appearance on new gear and office environmentals.

Quirky hand lettering and hand-drawn icons bolster the brand’s visual vocabulary while giving each of our services a recognizable symbol.

Environmental

The new identity isn’t just print or digital—it’s all around us (thanks to the amazing Joe Brown for these photos).

Thanks to Robert Brown, an amazing neon bender, for the new sign.

A decision tree greets you when you enter the office. It spans 15-feet of wall and is worth visiting to see.

Thank You

Thank you to our amazing clients. Ultimately, we exist for you. This rebrand symbolizes our commitment to our discipline and the values we communicate on a daily basis.