SGN Games, a global mobile gaming publisher based in Los Angeles, was starting to rethink its brand’s identity. The company, headed by MySpace’s co-founder and ex-CEO Chris DeWolfe, had some serious accomplishments under its belt and was growing fast.

Their growing portfolio of games was generating hundreds of millions of dollars, had been downloaded more than 800 million times, played by millions every day, and had occupied highly enviable spots in the top-grossing charts of Apple’s and Google’s all-important online app stores. But at the same time, the gaming studio’s leaders had begun feeling that the three-letter corporate-sounding acronym they’d been using as a brand was no longer in sync with their core products: these beautifully-crafted, engaging, and multi-hued mobile games. Think Cookie Jam, Panda Pop, Genies and Gems, Marvel Avengers Academy, and Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, among titles. Games that have been played more than 25 billion times.

Working together, we found a way to visually communicate new images of SGN — now Jam City — one that reflected the playful yet successful culture of the newly reimagined company. It started with Josh Brooks, Jam City’s SVP of Marketing, one of the most creative executives with whom we’ve ever worked. Josh walked into the meeting with an album of stickers — as in his, and ripped straight outta the 80s! Puffy stickers, smelly stickers, glitter: you get the point. These were the primary spark for the re-branding, and we were in love with the project immediately. We knew we had to create something timeless, not timely, that would also be hip yet also serious and accessible. Balance, we knew, would be incredibly important for our deliverables. Closely collaborating with the executives, we put SGN’s visual and even tactile identity through a total rethink. Josh was particularly helpful, guiding us through the process, giving us direction and feedback to make sure we were on track. Using inspiration from our initial meetings, we worked to make a logo and creatives that rethought the brand anew, imagining Jam City as both a place and also an activity. (For the company, Jam isn’t just a nod to some of its most successful games — Cookie Jam and Juice Jam — but also the term its developers use to describe how they come together to create something greater than themselves while improvising).

Our work with Jam City’s rebrand ranged from videos to merchandise (we’re obsessed with the line green fanny packs and puffy sticker packs we created), a new website, new patterns, and designs, and also branded audio — a new venture for us. All icons were drawn by hand, giving the brand this warm and human look. We’re honored to have been a part of Jam City’s enormously successful rebrand, and we wish them continued success. When it came to our graphic design work, we had the opportunity to create an adult coloring book from start to finish. From custom illustrations to the characters and other elements of the game, we put our creative spin on it all. The idea behind this item was to create an interactive experience with the audience offline, using another more 3D version of a childlike activity to connect people to their brand.