Evolving the UPS brand

Design Management Review, Spring 2004 by Bloomenkranz, Larry

When it was designed in 1961, the corporate identity was a compelling symbol for UPS. In the intervening decades, however, things had changed-dramatically! The company was significantly larger, a leader in a diverse spectrum of interrelated businesses, and publicly traded. In this context, Larry Bloomenkranz details the rationale, the research, and the meaning of the company's most recent brand developments.

Some members of the design community are still shocked: the very idea of tampering with the work of that industry icon, Paul Rand! Especially when it was one of Rand's best-known creations of corporate identity that was being revised-the UPS logo.

Of course, that decision wasn't made lightly. Hundreds of concepts were reviewed by senior UPS management. Still, the thought of changing the old shield sent shivers up the spines of many longtime UPSers, who could draw the famous bow-tied package logo in their sleep. To see the sheer pain that crossed the faces of some, you would think we'd suggested painting the trucks pink, or having the drivers wear plaid uniforms.

But this was, and still is, much more than a logo change. And once employees, and even design experts, understood the meaning behind the change, they began to calm down. As it should be with any corporate identity change, the business strategy and evolution of the company led the graphic design.

So if you're a Rand enthusiast (as most of us are), and if you were shocked by the March 2003 press release announcing UPS's logo change, I hope to put you at ease. be assured, no change at UPS is implemented simply for the sake of change, and that also applies to our brand mark. In fact, the change is the result of nearly two years of extensive research and the consulting expertise of FutureBrand Worldwide, which helped to develop a look and a design system that reflect the expanding vision and capabilities of the modern UPS.

The need for change

No doubt about it-the Rand design served UPS extremely well, and for more than 40 years. However, it no longer fully expressed the company's capabilities. In fact it was quite limiting, when you consider how the company has grown.

In 1961, when it adopted Rand's work, UPS did not even provide service to all 50 US states. Today, our 360,000 employees serve more than 200 countries and territories. This $33.5 billion global entity delivers an average of 13.6 million packages each day (with daily volumes exceeding 20 million during the holidays). Our customers total 8 million on any given day. In fact, UPS carries about 5 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States, and 2 percent of the world's GDP, in our package delivery system alone.

While this growth is phenomenal, the UPS brand was still synonymous with ground delivery by trucks, at least in the United States. Few know that we have also built the eleventh-largest airline in the world, with which we deliver 2 million packages and documents each day. In fact, UPS Airlines still stands as the largest, fastest airline startup in FAA history.

The development of extensive supply chain services has also meant additional growth over the past 10 years. In a period of 3 years, the company made more than 25 strategic acquisitions to expand its capabilities, primarily in this area. This enabled UPS-via its UPS Supply Chain Solutions unit-to provide freight services for not only ground and air but also for ocean and rail, in all regions of the world.

UPS Supply Chain Solutions also established UPS as a world leader in the strategic design, planning, and management of large distribution networks. In addition to its logistics, distribution, fulfillment, and freight services, this unit enables companies to extend across borders through its international trade, freight forwarding, and customs brokerage services. It has amassed the world's most extensive service parts logistics operation, which provides for the quick replacement or repair of high-tech equipment. But we don't just transport the equipment somewhere else to be repaired. UPS Supply Chain Solutions actually operates its own repair facilities near the UPS Worldport global air hub in Louisville, Kentucky.

Speaking of high-tech, the company's association with US ground delivery also posed the challenge of energizing the brand to reflect the technological capabilities the company had developed since the mid 1980s. The drivers of the 1960s depended on a clipboard and pencil to maintain records; today they rely on handheld computers developed by UPS. These are interconnected with our global data system-the world's largest private DB-2 database. This massive technological infrastructure has enabled UPS to become the technology leader of its industry, with innovations in supply-chain visibility second to none, and powerful online productivity and self-service shipping tools that speed the movement of customers' information and funds, as well as their packages.

The financial services portion of this complex equation is one of the biggest surprises many encounter as they learn more about UPS. But after all, UPS is in a unique and enviable position between literally millions of buyers and sellers each day. Fortunately, we have developed and maintained a very trusted role in that relationship. For years, UPS has been the broker of funds through the basic Collect On Delivery (COD) service, which is still a common form of payment today. But as we developed an advanced tracking system for packages, we realized that this opened the door for us to provide visibility for the funds relating to the goods in transit. As these services evolved, so did the idea for a financial services arm of the company.