DigiKey
From cult classic distributor to global e-commerce leader
Those who know, know DigiKey.
For the past 50 years, DigiKey has grown into a brand beloved by its customers and partners. Known for its exceptional service, superior offering, and cult-like affinity within the design engineer community, it leads the pack when it comes to the sale of electronic components for prototyping and design. From garage tinkerers to Apple R&D and beyond—if you need a component, you go to DigiKey.
Progress by design
Company leadership knew that legacy brand perceptions were a headwind. To grow its offering in the U.S. and internationally, it needed to expand with service offerings across e-commerce and logistics. And it needed to evolve its brand in a way that would support these aspirations.
Our stakeholder and customer research revealed the core strengths we needed to pull through the brand evolution. This included DigiKey’s strong relationships with suppliers, customers and partners, its specialized expertise and its culture centered around going above and beyond. With that, we crafted a brand purpose that acted as a manifestation of these attributes but also showed that they are greater than the sum of their parts: accelerating progress for every designer, buyer and builder.
A brand experience grounded in the language familiar to designers and engineers
The new visual identity had to solve a key tension: how do we evolve to look like a modern supplier and distributor, while still paying homage to DigiKey’s legacy? The answer lay in understanding how the identity could speak the community’s technical language in a sophisticated way. We created an entire visual language steeped in a modern take on the components DigiKey is known for—contacts and housings, bytes, bolts, and more—to express DigiKey’s technical expertise and the reliability its customers count on. The tagline, We Get Technical, accompanies the logo and accomplishes critical goals: it speaks to DigiKey’s expertise, celebrates its role as a member of the community, and provides a rallying cry for customers who proudly own their technical abilities.
The tagline—We Get Technical—accompanies the logo and accomplishes critical goals: it speaks to DigiKey’s expertise, celebrates its role as a member of the community, and provides a rallying cry for customers who proudly own their technical abilities.
With the foundation of DigiKey’s branding laid into place, we crafted a voice to ensure every communication stays true to the affable expertise of DigiKey’s employee community. We rooted the voice in the persona of the Eye-Level Expert, a character whose humble confidence is complemented by a friendly, open and attentive attitude. This unaffected, straight-shooting communication style makes it possible to talk about highly technical subject matter while retaining the humanity that has always been at the company’s core.
It’s all led to a bold, fresh identity for DigiKey—one that brings the brand’s most enduring qualities to the surface, while firmly positioning them towards a future of growth and possibility.
“For 50 years, DigiKey’s focus has centered on accelerating progress for every engineer, designer and builder. Our updated look and feel reflects that inspirational progress, our leadership position in the industry and our commitment to digital experiences and solutions that move goods and ideas forward.”
