Tiger of Sweden was founded in 1903. It was the first brand in Sweden to offer ready-to-wear mens’ tailoring and now sells mens’, womens’ and childrens’ clothing, with stores in Europe, Canada and South Africa.

Today, the brand launched a new identity designed by Antwerp studio New Archive. Its previous logo, which featured a tiger’s face above a serif word mark, has been replaced with a charming tiger illustration, a new word mark and a reference to the year the company was founded.

Christoffer Lundman, Creative Director at Tiger of Sweden, worked closely with New Archive on the project, and says the brand’s visual identity was in desperate need of an update.

“I did not feel that [the previous logo] looked modern, nor did it in anyway represent our heritage,” he explains. “There were also some issues with the tiger itself. Some people didn’t even see a tiger – they saw a tree or even a deer.”

Lundman put together some reference visuals and initial concepts and invited New Archive over to Stockholm, where Tiger of Sweden is headquartered. He sent the studio on a sightseeing trip around the city to gather inspiration, recommending they visit the City Library, a restaurant at the Royal Opera House and Gunnar Asplund’s City Library.

“All these places are important to me and in away are part of the bigger picture I’m trying to create here at Tiger. We have been part of Swedish culture for more then a century [and] it felt important that the new logo reflected this position.”

Lundman says he wanted the new logo to have “a timelessness”. New Archive and Lundman came across a tiger rampant illustration on a vintage suit in the company’s archive, and decided to update this and use it as the basis for the new identity.

“What we liked with this tiger was that it showed the whole animal – not just its head – in its stride. It felt confident. The new logo needed to connect with our past, and since this was one of the first tigers ever used, it felt natural to do a modern version,” he explains.

New Archive also created a custom logotype after researching Swedish typography. The logo appears in navy against and off-white background and yellow is used as an accent colour in communications. “The colours again refer back to our archive – both navy and yellow were used frequently in [the brand’s] early days,” adds Lundman.

The result is a new visual identity that feels much more contemporary and joined-up. Tiger of Sweden’s old logo had begun to feel a little dated and – as Lundman points out – it didn’t do much to reflect the brand’s heritage. The new logo feels a little more playful and, crucially, is much more recognisable (there’s little chance of consumers mistaking this one for a tree or a deer). There is nothing particularly daring or radical about the branding, but there’s a simplicity and elegance, and it manages to communicate a sense of heritage without looking twee or overly “crafty”.

The rebrand is the first major update to Tiger of Sweden’s logo in 25 years. Alongside collaborating with New Archive, Tiger of Sweden worked with Stockholm studio Bjørk to create a new e-commerce site, and with interior architects Daytrip to develop a new store design concept. A new store at Copenhagen airport will be the first to feature this concept and is due to open by mid-September.

Lundman says Bjørk and Daytrip were given the same creative brief: “We wanted the experience to feel seamless, weather you visit us online or a brick and mortar store. One of the most important aspects was the feeling of lightness and ease. And to be able to tell stories, not just show product.”

Describing the new store, he says: “Light is an important aspect. We have worked a lot with wood, but in an unexpected way. There is a Scandinavian ease to it, but with playful solutions and materials.”