SUSE’s acquisition of Rancher ushers in an innovative new brand

In 2020 SUSE and Rancher joined forces with one shared vision: being known as the leading open source innovator in the world. Entrusted with the challenge of fusing two strong brands, the brand refresh needed to capture the heart and soul of both companies while aligning them to one strong, shared identity.

We formed a distinct and scalable system based on one central purpose: turning our customers into innovation heroes. In essence, it is the power of many coming together to form and shape the industry.

Fusing creativity with neuroscience

We put together an interdisciplinary team of brand strategists, designers and neuroscientists to develop a unique and relevant identity based on the strength, heart & soul of both SUSE and Rancher. To merge the two brands and create something new, something even stronger, something with a concise yet differentiating identity, we analyzed the differences and similarities of both companies – from their business vision, culture and brand promise, to the design, personality and product propositions.

To then capture our new spirit in its truest form, we needed a creative process with a strong rational backbone. Using a neuroscience-based method, we studied our audience, our industry, our competition – and most importantly – ourselves. We then developed a strong strategic springboard based on archetypal theory and translated our findings into implicit core needs that the combined SUSE and Rancher stand for. Having established a solid core for our creative exploration, a team of 8 designers came together to translate the strategy into visual identities while engaging SUSE and Rancher colleagues across departments.

Subsequently, we narrowed down the options to the one that perfectly matched our chosen strategy and differentiated the SUSE brand from others in the industry. We then tested our design assets with an implicit test of association to learn about subjective perceptions, to make sure we stayed true to our brief, and that we were indeed addressing the core needs we initially established.

SUSE Infinity: Expanded horizons to allow customers to innovate everywhere

The refreshed brand is a mix of intelligence, inspiration and fun. Central to the visual identity is the physical extension of shapes, images, and graphics that represent constant innovation, growth, and limitless opportunities made possible by SUSE – balancing change with stability and innovation with performance.

But rather than use words to explain our latest brand, watch our brand launch video and learn more at brand.suse.com.