Charata Automotores
Modernizing a well-known local brand without losing the customers who built it.
2023
Timeline
Graphic Designer
Role
The Problem
Updating a well-known local brand risks alienating loyal customers who feel ownership over the original identity. The brief was to modernize without breaking that trust: a full redesign would have felt like a rejection of the brand's history.
The Challenge
Updating a well-known local brand always risks alienating the existing customer base who feel ownership over the original identity. The brief was to modernize, but not so much that regulars wouldn't recognize it. Instead of a full redesign, I treated it as an evolution: kept the core brand color (red), abstracted the charata bird into a clean geometric mark, and updated the typography to something that scales properly across digital and physical touchpoints. Existing customers would recognize the DNA; new customers would see a contemporary dealership.
Goals
Local identity
The idea was to represent the charata, the local bird that gives its name to the town, connecting it with the city.
Simplicity
The simplicity of the design provides a sense of seriousness and security. The clarity and elegance of the isotype convey reliability and solidity, fundamental qualities in the automotive world.
Color palette
This color palette reflects a balanced combination of elegance, professionalism, passion and reliability, key elements in the automotive industry.
Background
We sought to update the agency's identity, modernize it and stand out from the competition while maintaining the agency's core identity.
My Role & Approach
I led the full brand evolution: audited the existing identity to identify what carried recognition, defined the evolution strategy (what stays, what changes), redesigned the mark and identity system, and rolled it out across all dealership touchpoints.
Process
01. Brand Audit
Reviewed the existing identity and documented what elements carried brand recognition with existing customers. The key question: what do loyal clients associate with this brand, and what can change without breaking that connection.
"Talking to loyal customers first wasn't just research; it was brand risk management."
02. Evolution Strategy
Defined the redesign as an evolution, not a revolution. The decision: keep the core color DNA (red), abstract the charata bird into a geometric mark, and update typography for digital scalability.
"Calling it an evolution, not a redesign, wasn't semantics. It shaped every decision that followed: what's sacred, what can change."
03. Mark & Identity Redesign
Abstracted the charata bird into a clean geometric symbol. Refined the color palette and updated the typographic system to ensure clean rendering across vehicle listings, signage, and digital channels.
"Abstracting the bird into a geometric mark was the key move: readable at any size, modern in any medium."
04. System Rollout
Applied the updated identity across all touchpoints: physical dealership signage, printed materials, vehicle listings, and digital presence, validating legibility and brand consistency at every scale.
"Testing at vehicle-listing scale revealed problems that Figma artboards never would."
Outcome
What shipped is a refreshed brand identity that preserves the dealership's core recognition (red color DNA, local bird mark) while bringing it into the digital age. Existing customers recognize the evolution; new customers see a contemporary dealership.
Tools
