Matt Redway

Beyond the Logo: Rethinking Game Branding to Keep Pace with a Rapidly Evolving Marketplace

Game branding is more than just a logo paired with key art— it’s a bridge between the world you’ve built and the players you want to reach. . This talk explores how game branding has evolved alongside the industry, where it’s kept pace, and where it’s fallen behind.

Drawing from our work creating visual identities for PlayStation titles, we’ll share the strategies and creative principles that drive our approach. From why some logos resonate more than others to how custom fonts can save money while enhancing brand character, we’ll offer insights that are both practical and inspiring.

We’ll examine how subtle visual changes can shift a message, how to make limited budgets work harder, and—critically—how to design identity systems that strike the right balance between consistency and creative flexibility. You'll see how branding can act as a bridge between a game’s narrative and its audience, cutting through visual noise to leave a lasting impression.

Whether you're building a brand from scratch or refining an existing one, you’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of how thoughtful, adaptable branding systems can elevate your game and build lasting audience connection.

Session Takeaway

• Games have evolved from finite experiences to ongoing, perpetual content machines, as have their purchasing conditions
• Branding for these must also evolve—to become multi-sensory, cross-platform, and immersive identity systems, built to support the myriad types of content that exist within the modern gaming sphere.
• Building branding elements piecemeal wastes time and money. Instead, think holistically from the start and connect everything from trailer to logo to UI.
• Flexible identity systems are the future. Introducing our concept of flexibility scales to measure the inherent level of flexibility within your design system.

Session speakers