Along with the upgrade to our core system and services, you’ll notice that we’re in the process of updating our identity. Why?
In 2018, our team went through the process of solidifying our mission and core values. We went back to our roots, recalling that Drake Bank was founded by local entrepreneurs driven to help others succeed. These 70+ entrepreneurs invested their own money to fund our bank’s first loans. They believed, as we still do today, that when individuals and small businesses succeed, the entire community thrives.
This founding principle came to light in our newly defined Drake Bank mission:
We are dedicated financial professionals
working together with our clients and our community
to discover, earn, and build a better future.
With our mission in hand, we began evaluating all aspects of our business starting from the inside out. We took a hard look at our identity, with the understanding that our brand should serve as a beacon of our mission and the unique value we provide to our community. When we weighed our current logo against these criteria, we saw that it fell short. We also acknowledged how disconnected it was from the iconic Drake sign on the top of the building where the bank was founded and is still located in today.
So, we embarked on a formal branding process taking inspiration from our original logo, our newly solidified mission, and the building in which we reside, and we landed on the new logo below.
We see this new brand mark as a modernization of the original logo. The font and colors tie to the iconic sign on the top of our building while the insignia shines a light on our mission and values.
- The overlapping letters of the insignia demonstrate the synergies achieved by working together
- The arcs show growth and progress toward a better future
- The oversized B signifies that we go beyond typical banking services to provide more value to our customers and our community
The Drake building design and the new brand mark are both derived from the Bauhaus movement, which is known for simple geometric forms that focus on functionality. You’ll see this mantra of simplicity and functionality guiding all elements of our identity going forward.
These changes to our brand identity are only the first steps in our efforts to broaden the awareness and impact of Drake Bank. You’ll see updates on our website and in social media, changes in our services and the customer experience, all with the intent of more purposefully fulfilling our mission.
We are grateful to be on this journey with our customers and our community and look forward to hearing your thoughts as the new branding rolls out.
