B2B visual branding has a reputation for playing it safe – clean, corporate and all too often, a little beige. But does it really have to look that way? In this publication, we explore the brands pushing beyond the expected: how B2B can be bold without losing credibility, what B2C can teach us about standing out, and how AI can both unlock new creative possibilities and make brands feel more generic. So, how can we turn beige into fuchsia and make standing out feel believable?
Here are six principles we discussed at our recent event:
Artificial intelligence is changing what’s possible in creativity, making it faster and easier to produce content than ever before. But while AI has undoubtedly raised the floor, it hasn’t necessarily raised the ceiling. The real opportunity is knowing where technology adds value and where human judgement, craft and imagination still need to lead.
IBM and Adobe’s Catch Fishy AI campaign demonstrates this balance. Created for the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, it used AI-generated goldfish to represent common risks associated with the technology, from bias and hallucinations to missing data. Built around the message ‘Trust What You Create’, the campaign cleverly used AI to explain the problems AI itself can create. The technology served the idea, rather than
replacing it.
Contrast this with Gucci’s use of AI-generated imagery to promote its Milan Fashion Week show. For a luxury brand built on creativity, desirability and Italian craftsmanship, the decision attracted criticism because it risked removing the very qualities that make the brand valuable.
Gorilla Glue offers a more playful example, using AI to bring a giant gorilla into its advertising. By bringing its established proposition of gorilla strength to life in an unexpected way, technology allowed the brand to create something that wouldn’t have been possible in reality.
The brands that use AI most effectively won’t be those that let it do everything. They’ll be the ones that use it to take strong ideas further while protecting the human judgement, intuition and originality that make creativity distinctive.
B2B brands have a tendency to look and sound remarkably similar. Across many sectors, the same visual conventions, language and design approaches are repeated in the name of professionalism. But when everyone follows the same rules, being professional can quickly become being invisible.
Brand positioning consultant Louis Grenier explored this in a study of 100 B2B companies, concluding that 80% were ‘beige as f**k’. While many had invested in the expected elements of branding, far fewer had developed a genuinely distinctive positioning or human identity. Only one company reached the highest category for distinctiveness: cybersecurity business Wiz.
In a sector traditionally associated with dark, serious and threatening imagery, Wiz created a brand world full of optimism, humour and playfulness. Its distinctive visual identity makes cybersecurity feel more approachable without compromising credibility. Rather than following category conventions, Wiz chose to challenge them.
Financial technology company Brex took a similarly confident approach, moving from an angular, technical identity to something softer, warmer and closer to a premium consumer brand. This personality extends into everyday communications, where confident typography and layouts make even case studies and social content feel distinctive.
But standing out doesn’t always mean being louder. Law firm Shoosmiths uses carefully curated imagery and elegant typography to create a restrained yet recognisable identity that communicates precision, confidence and thoughtful consideration.
Distinctiveness isn’t about making every B2B brand brighter or more playful. It’s about finding an expression that feels genuinely your own. Fuchsia isn’t a look; it’s an attitude.
Creativity in brand communication is often treated as something that happens after the message has been written. But even the most beautiful visual identity will struggle to make an impact if what a brand is saying sounds exactly like everyone else. The message itself needs to be part of the creative thinking.
Research from McKinsey highlights the commercial importance of this, identifying a disconnect between the messages B2B businesses communicate and what their customers actually value. With brand messaging playing a significant role in marketing return on investment, there is a real opportunity to make language more distinctive and memorable.
Air Up demonstrates this through playful lines such as ‘Water. Now more than wet’ and ‘It’s so strawberry, it’s bananas’. Its confident, conversational language, combined with distinctive typography, gives the brand a recognisable personality without relying on imagery to do all the work.
Monzo takes this further by embedding its brand name into the language of its category. Its ‘Making Monzo’ campaign replaces the word ‘money’ with ‘Monzo’, turning something familiar into something ownable. The brand isn’t simply sitting alongside the message; it has become the message.
The same thinking works in B2B. Digital operating partner ASAY uses bold typography and direct, uncompromising language to communicate its expertise and personality. Its careers message, ‘Work the way you’re wired’, immediately establishes an attitude without resorting to familiar corporate recruitment language.
The opportunity for B2B brands isn’t simply to make existing messages look more interesting. It’s to recognise that their expertise, knowledge and point of view are already valuable creative assets. The challenge is to express them in a way that feels unmistakably their own.
B2C is known for pushing creativity further, often with bigger budgets and a different perspective. So it’s always interesting to look at what B2C is doing to see what B2B could learn from it, and here we’re going to focus on two themes.
The first is about celebrating heritage in a contemporary way.
The rebrand for Italian biscotti maker Antonio Mattei uses the blue string that has featured on its packaging since 1858 as the foundation for a distinctive visual identity. Blue becomes the hero colour, while elegant linear illustrations represent the string and the fluidity of human connection. The result balances heritage with a fresh, modern approach.
St Paul’s Cathedral takes a similarly thoughtful approach. Its identity draws on typographic details from the Cathedral’s library and the tradition of stone carving. Combined with a carefully chosen typeface and warm, welcoming messaging, the result feels rooted in history but entirely relevant today.
The second theme is about spreading a little joy, something we could all use at the moment.
Telstra’s ‘App O’Clock’ campaign used playful mini-animations to announce daily app deals. The humour is understated, but the effect is immediate: it makes you smile.
Sometimes joy can just be a simple observation. The identity for the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Barcelona portrays open books as colourful flowers that are then repeated, cropped, and scattered over applications representing the blooming of culture.
Hermès take a different approach to pushing products whilst demonstrating they’re a brand that values craftsmanship. They regularly commission artists to bring a whimsical, unexpected touch to their website and social media. The use of illustration is varied and distinctly human, without relying on one style or artist.
B2B creativity doesn’t always mean being louder or more radical. It can learn from B2C and find fresh perspectives on what makes a brand distinctive, or simply bring a little more personality and joy to the everyday.
In a world increasingly filled with AI-generated content, the value of human creativity feels more important than ever.
The deliberately scratchy, energetic promotional posters for New York’s Public Theater demonstrate the power of work that feels unmistakably handmade. Apple TV takes a different approach, creating a cinematic film of its logo using glass and coloured light. Meticulously crafted by hand, it shows how the making of an object can be as compelling as the finished result.
Sometimes, the most powerful creative idea is also the simplest. The identity for Brazilian film directors’ association ABDC draws on the familiar visual language of film clapperboards. It’s a clever observation that demonstrates the value of human insight.
Dove has championed real beauty for more than two decades. Although Dove has pledged never to use AI-generated women in its ads, recognising that AI can produce narrow stereotypes, it has developed a playbook to help people create more diverse and realistic representations of beauty. While focused on beauty, the principles apply equally to B2B.
There are many ways to inject a bit of humanity into communications. The opportunity for B2B brands is to use technology without losing the human insight, craft and originality that make creative work distinctive.
Learning from B2C is inspiring, but it takes a leap. So it’s good to look at who’s doing it well in B2B.
WSP’s rebrand combines a distinctive, engineered logo with confident use of red, striking imagery and bold graphic treatments. What really stands out, though, is its approach to thought leadership. Films featuring different speakers bring its vision and expertise to life in a compelling, human way, while varied film styles demonstrate the flexibility of the brand.
Accenture has always presented itself with confidence and has evolved both its message and visual identity without wholesale change. Its focus on reinvention has allowed it to stay fresh and relevant while maintaining continuity.
Freshfields’ recent rebrand also demonstrates the power of consistency. Cohesive homepage headlines reinforce its messaging, while a bold logo, unexpected colour palette, distinctive modern serif typeface and understated F-shaped graphic create a confident, recognisable identity.
B2B brands need to work for the long term, and whether they evolve like Accenture or change more comprehensively, every element needs to be considered. By combining a clear sense of identity with creative confidence, they can reflect who they are and challenge expectations without losing what makes them distinctive.
Great B2B branding isn’t about following trends or borrowing ideas for the sake of it. It’s about understanding what makes a brand distinctive and finding creative ways to bring that to life. Whether it’s learning from B2C’s creative ambition, embracing the human touch or challenging conventions, the opportunity is to be more confident, more considered and more memorable. In a world where AI makes it easier than ever to produce content, originality and authenticity are what will help brands stand out.
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B2B brand building: how to invest in brand alongside tactical marketing, and win colleagues’ support for work that is harder to measure
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