The cycling community clubs together in Laka’s new identity
Ragged Edge has unveiled its timely rebrand for the cyclist insurer Laka amid the coronavirus cycling boom, eschewing negative perceptions of insurance brands for a colourful and community-focused aesthetic
With the news that the UK government is investing an extra £250 million in cycle lanes to encourage more people to commute by bike post-pandemic, it seems like there’s never been a better time to get into cycling.
Founded in 2017, insurance company Laka is already well-loved among the cycling community for its novel approach to the insurance model, relying on a community-based system where its customers work as a collective to share the cost of claims that actually happen, rather than ones that might happen.
“When we club together, everybody stands to benefit. And that very simple idea is what this brand is built from. Clubbing together reflects its insurance model. It speaks to the shared passion of everyone in the cycling community. And it gives Laka the opportunity to expand into any product, for any collective of people,” says Max Ottignon, co-founder of Ragged Edge, the agency behind the insurer’s new identity.
Following a successful seed round, the company enlisted Ragged Edge to develop a new brand identity that could communicate its mission of collective cover for cyclists in the UK and Europe, along with setting the company up to develop other insurance products in the future.
While work on the project began before the pandemic took hold, the agency was midway through the process when lockdown commenced, forcing the team to adapt its launch strategy and deal with the practicalities of socially distanced photoshoots and signing off approvals over Zoom.
The end result is certainly fresher and more fun than your average insurance company’s branding. Bold portraiture photography heroes the collective’s diverse group of members, landscape-like patterns are inspired by mud, sweat and tears from a ride, and a palette of strong team colours ties the identity together.
One of the most distinctive elements of the new branding is its positive tone of voice, complete with a tagline that is intended to be a rallying cry for bike nerds and cycling newbies alike: ‘mess with one of us, mess with all of us’.
