Case Study: National Geographic achieves unified global brand consistency with Brandfolder

Evolving one of the world’s most iconic, recognizable brands National Geographic

National Geographic, one of the world’s most iconic media and exploration brands, faced the challenge of evolving a century‑old visual identity—the famous yellow border—while managing consistent brand use across diverse audiences, products, platforms and a split nonprofit/for‑profit organizational structure. The team needed to protect the mark’s recognizability, clarify when to use “National Geographic” versus “Nat Geo,” and create governance that would work globally across partners and licensees.

To address this, National Geographic hired its first CMO, developed a formal brand book and architecture, and established strict guidelines (including fixed dimensions for the Yellow Icon and rules for framing) while combining in‑house work with agency research and execution. The result is a unified, better‑governed brand that preserves the recognizable yellow identity, provides flexible rules for different media and audiences, streamlines product naming and licensing, and maintains broad, multigenerational appeal.

National Geographic

Christos DeVaris

Creative Director, Brand & Design