[ View all threads ](/blog) **Evolving a Brand** People Already Love - Copy to Clipboard - [ Share blog post via Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://bonfirered.com/markdownify/node/99) - [ Share blog post via X ](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Evolving%20a%20Brand%20People%20Already%20Love%0A&url=https://bonfirered.com/markdownify/node/99) - [ Share blog post via LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://bonfirered.com/markdownify/node/99) Branding 30 Jul 2026 4 min read ![Portrait of Brent Presley, Design Director.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_1_small/public/2026-07/brent-website-portrait.jpg.webp?h=e6c8fb48&itok=kJZRjuEz)By [Brent Presley](/brent-presley) Design Director, Bonfire Red - Copy to Clipboard - [ Share blog post via Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://bonfirered.com/markdownify/node/99) - [ Share blog post via X ](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Evolving%20a%20Brand%20People%20Already%20Love%0A&url=https://bonfirered.com/markdownify/node/99) - [ Share blog post via LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://bonfirered.com/markdownify/node/99) ![Boundless Logo](/sites/default/files/styles/4_3_medium/public/2026-08/boundless-brand-refresh-9_0.png.webp?h=349ecbbc&itok=nCREZYJP) #### Evolving Boundless: notes from a project that mattered more than most There’s a unique challenge that comes with reimagining a brand people already love. Boundless came to us as a brand with real history and real connection to the community they serve. A few years back, we had the opportunity to redesign the Boundless website, updating their tech stack and modernizing the user experience. That project taught us a lot about how the brand actually works day to day — but we never got our hands on the core identity itself: the logo, the type, the language. So when Boundless was acquired by Merakey and came back to us to evolve their brand, it felt like unfinished business, in a good way. It was time to close the loop and tie it all together, from identity and brand elements to web. ![Before and after of Boundless logo refresh.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/boundless-brand-refresh-2.png) #### The hard part wasn't design, it was figuring out the relationship Boundless was joining the Merakey family, and the real question wasn't "how do we make this look good" — it was "what does it mean to be part of something bigger without losing what people already love about you." As their first acquisition, Merakey gave runway for Boundless to set the precedent — the first of hopefully many organizations joining them. So whatever we figured out here wasn't just for Boundless. It was going to set the pattern for how this works going forward. We landed on an endorsement line — "Merakey USA Regional Affiliate" — that sits underneath the Boundless logo as part of the lockup. It says "you're part of something" without saying "you're not your own thing anymore." ![4 Boundless logo concepts](/sites/default/files/inline-images/boundless-brand-refresh-6.png) #### The logo: evolve it, don't replace it After an exhaustive exploration of what Boundless could be, it became more evident that this needed to be an evolutionary approach that paid homage to what was, while propelling Boundless into a new era. Enter the Empowered B. We looked at more dramatic directions, but honestly, the right call was obvious once we sat with it — evolve it, don't replace it. We kept the overlapping construction and the legacy letterforms hidden inside it — an I, a D, and a D for intellectual and developmental disabilities. We opened up the letterform and softened the edges, which was partly a nod to how open the Merakey identity is, and partly just... it needed a little more air. Then came the brand architecture — this is where I really geek out. Building the spacing off the widths of the letterforms in "Boundless," dialing the overall thickness, working out the vertical lockups, and solving the reverse-out problem. We also brightened the whole color palette and pulled a couple of Merakey's colors in, so the two brands feel like they're actually related instead of just sitting next to each other. With a multi-color mark, a one-color translation gets tricky fast. We explored it thoroughly, including references to the legacy brand that used an outlined approach, then made the confident call: a solid, one-color version for clarity and impact. Sometimes the disciplined answer is the best one. ![Cover of Boundless Brand Identity Guidelines](/sites/default/files/inline-images/boundless-brand-refresh-3.png)![Boundless Brand color palette with Pantone, CMYK, RGB color breakdowns.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/boundless-brand-refresh-4.png)![Boundless logo architecture.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/boundless-brand-refresh-5.png)#### This wasn't a solo project, not even close I was hands-on the whole way through, but I want to be really clear that this moved as fast as it did because of the people around me. Designer Anne Knellinger was in the weeds with me on the logo exploration, the font digging, the color work, building out the brand guide — we passed pieces back and forth in true collaboration. Senior Copywriter Hallie Gebel led our copy direction, and honestly the work there is some of the most important in the whole project. So much of how Boundless talks about the people it serves was living in people's heads and nowhere else. Hallie was there to make sure we were writing about the disabled community respectfully. The guide ends with "when in doubt, ask," and that's not a throwaway line. That's kind of the whole philosophy. And Project Manager Noelle Bartley kept us all on track — twice-weekly client check-ins, a 24-hour feedback loop that kept momentum going the entire time, and hype person for our internal team. The client's team showed up for every single call even while they were clearly buried in everything else the acquisition was throwing at them. That doesn't happen without someone building the right conditions for it. ![Front and back of Boundless flyer design.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/boundless-brand-refresh-7.png)![Boundless brand usage examples, including tote bag, shirt, hoodie, hat, and signage.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/boundless-brand-refresh-8_0.png) #### The small moments that made it Some of my favorite memories from this one are the little ones. Narrowing in to Alan Sans as an emphasis typeface after it came in as a genuine late curveball — an idea floated almost offhand — and finding exactly the right job for it in big stats and headlines. Landing on a new Boundless Teal that aligned perfectly with Bubbles the mascot's costume. Watching a flyer go from a crammed one-sheet to something that could finally breathe. Building the toolbox of icons, shapes, and patterns that'll keep everything cohesive long after we've handed it off. ## What I'm Taking Away 1. I loved the old brand for what it was and what it has meant to the community. But I'm proud of the new one, and even more proud of how we got there — mostly by knowing when to hold back and when to actually go for something. Four weeks is a tight timeline for this kind of work, and it only felt doable because of the team, not despite the timeline. 2. Boundless does work that matters. Getting to help them carry that into this next chapter — and finally tie it back to work we did years ago — was a good one. 3. To Anne, Hallie, Noelle, and everyone who touched this — thank you. This one was ours. ![Portrait of Brent Presley, Design Director.](/sites/default/files/styles/3_4_medium/public/2026-07/brent-website-portrait.jpg.webp?h=5cb5aecf&itok=QWuxtz9m) ## About the Author With 20+ years in the design world, Brent has a knack for leading with intent and designing with an empathetic approach. [View Brent Presley's bio here.](/brent-presley)