OnePlus

Refining a brand for global ambitions

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In the seven years since launching their first ‘flagship killer’ smartphone in 2013, OnePlus has taken the category by storm by delivering the best product at the best price. 

Dubbed ‘the phone for those in the know,’ OnePlus had reached cult-brand status among media outlets and the tech community. Their next biggest ambition? To break through in the US market dominated by two big (and loved) behemoths. 

To compete, OnePlus had to create a powerful brand that would stay authentic to its devoted fan base while allowing it to attract a new profile of consumers. Interbrand was excited to partner with OnePlus to create a truly global brand, recognizing that with the commoditization of the mobile industry, it was an opportune moment for a brand-led company to break through. 

We went back to the core of their DNA to find what had won the hearts of so many to begin with. We identified, OnePlus’ bold ambitions has an infectious power – it empowers members of their community to have bold ambitions as well. This is also coupled with the fact that their high-performance products actually fuel the lifestyle it takes to achieve their ambitions.

The change definitely reflects OnePlus personality and the personality of the loyal OnePlus community. It contains a boldness that has a clear signal that OnePlus has a different point of view, while maintaining a sense of restraint that aligns to the importance above all to the product craft.

Mike Knaggs
Senior Creative Director, Interbrand

The youthful and energetic quality of the value proposition opened up possibilities to push the creative articulation of the brand. Working with the OnePlus design team, we introduced a flexible and motion-based font system, a secondary palette of bright, yet fresh colors and lifestyle photography that pushes against a category that is still product-focused in their imagery. 

The full vision of this rebrand comes to life with the launch of their latest phone, OnePlus 8, which launched on April 14th, 2020.

OnePlus branded packaging

We’re excited to collaborate with Interbrand to help prepare our brand for our next phase of growth. We believe that Interbrand’s experience in brand development will enable us to share our vision with more consumers across the world.

Carl Pei
Founder, OnePlus