Deliveroo (2023)Copied

Deliveroo's previous identity dated from 2016. Its 2023 update, the first it developed itself, came from its in-house agency Deliveroo Creative after eight months of customer research, and sits on a new positioning: connecting people, businesses and communities through a shared love of food.

The 2016 identity it replaced had been DesignStudio's, which swapped the original kangaroo for the minimal Roo head and introduced the teal, as Creative Review recounted. By 2023 Deliveroo operated in ten markets, and global director of brand and creative Emily Somers said the long research period meant building something all of Deliveroo could be proud of; the team produced over 400 assets to show stakeholders how far the system could stretch.

The research identified three brand codes customers actually recognise: the teal, the Roo head and the wordmark. All three stay. The Roo head is reconsidered rather than redrawn from scratch, and its angles drive the rest of the system. Type is set italic at six degrees, the same angle as the Roo's nose, to suggest movement. The Rooute, a graphic line inspired by the teal route you watch in the app while waiting for food, becomes the main device. Colourful, rounded typographic stickers contrast with the sharp type and the teal, and food photography is brighter. Creative Boom reports more than 400 assets were produced to show stakeholders how far it could stretch.

The new graphic device is called the Rooute, taken from the teal line in the app that tracks a rider from restaurant to door. Global head of creative Paul Hewitt said it showed how much life was left in the brand's most distinctive asset, and told The Drum the guidelines were already improving agency briefs, with Pablo London's campaign the first work made under them. Creative Boom noted the launch came in a year when Deliveroo's performance was struggling as consumers cut back.

Both Creative Bloq and Creative Boom credit Deliveroo's own in-house team.

It is an evolution, not an overhaul, and that is right for a brand whose teal is already a fixture on city streets. Taking a functional detail from the app, the route line, and making it the brand device is the smartest move here: it turns the waiting moment into the identity.