Refreshing a Recognized Dental Brand Without Starting Over
Smile Rooms had been building recognition for seven years when the group approached me for a rebrand. The brief was clear: keep the smiling symbol people already knew, but build a more complete visual system around it for a multi-location private dental brand.
Client
Smile Rooms Group
Sector
Private Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentistry, Healthcare, Multi-Location Services
Main Market
UK
Timeframe
2023–2024 · Rebrand, brand guidelines and rollout direction
Engagement
Rebrand, Brand identity system, Multi-location brand architecture, Content direction, Website direction
What I created
Rebrand and logo suite, Location-specific logo system, Color and typography system, 36-page brand guidelines, Stationery and print direction, Photography art direction, Social media direction, Selected Canva templates, Website direction and responsive concepts
The situation
Smile Rooms already had recognition and a distinctive smile mark. The opportunity was to develop everything around it: a more versatile logo family, clearer location logic, a refined color and typography system, practical print rules, photography and social direction, and website concepts that could carry the brand into its next phase without making it feel unfamiliar.
The problem
Smile Rooms did not need a completely new identity. The challenge was continuity. The recognizable smile mark had to remain, while the wider brand needed enough structure and flexibility to work across multiple locations, print materials, photography, social content and digital applications. Rather than redesign for the sake of novelty, I built a fuller system around the element the client wanted to keep.
What the brand needed
The rebrand needed to preserve familiarity while giving Smile Rooms a much more complete system around the smile mark people already knew.
Keep the recognizable smiling symbol while refining the surrounding logo family.
Create location-specific logo logic without turning each clinic into a separate brand.
Define a clearer color, typography and layout system for print and digital use.
Set photography and social-media direction that future content specialists could follow.
Extend the identity into selected templates, stationery and website direction without changing the core character of the brand.
What was built
Preserving recognition
The smile symbol was the non-negotiable. I kept it as the central recognizable element, then refined the rest of the logo system around it. The final suite included the main combination mark, a square secondary format, a horizontal logotype, clear-space rules and usage constraints.
Building multi-location logic
Smile Rooms needed one identity that could work across several locations. I created a consistent location naming and logo structure, including the separate Reading Smiles treatment, so local applications could vary without breaking the wider brand family.
Defining the visual system
The new system introduced a more deliberate palette built around Raisin Black, Pine Tree, Platinum and Tuscany, supported by secondary colors for wider applications. Josefin Sans became the core type family, with hierarchy rules, an 8-column layout grid and practical standards for print and digital materials.
Photography and social direction
I developed photography guidance, model direction, image treatments, social content principles and examples so the identity could be applied beyond the original brand book. The goal was not to make every future post myself, but to give future specialists a visual reference they could work from consistently.
Website direction
I also developed responsive website direction showing how the new identity could translate across desktop, tablet and mobile. This work was delivered as brand and UX direction rather than a full website build.
Rollout tools
Selected Canva templates, stationery and print applications extended the system into practical day-to-day use. These were supporting tools rather than the core of the rebrand, but they demonstrated how the identity could move from guidelines into real communication.
The result
The finished project gave Smile Rooms a fuller brand system without discarding the element people already recognized.
The smile mark remained central while the surrounding logo family became more versatile.
Location-specific applications were brought into one documented structure.
Color, typography, layout, print, photography and social guidance were defined in one 36-page brand manual.
The system was designed to be usable by future content and marketing specialists, not dependent on a single designer for every application.
Website work established a clear visual direction without overstating the scope as a full implementation.
The strongest outcome is continuity: Smile Rooms could refresh a seven-year-old brand, keep what people already knew, and give the wider identity much more structure for future use.
"I found Mariya after reviewing hundreds of profiles from agencies and freelancers. Immediately not just the quality but the variety of her projects stood out. We wanted to refresh our brand after 7 years, and Mariya created something that not only looked both fresh and timeless, there was so much thought into not alienating those familiar with us already. Working with Mariya has been a joy, she not only captures the essence of your brand, but goes above and beyond to really understand your future goals, the practical applications of each element. The final result is a brand that not only reflects your values and looks world class, it resonates with potential clients and increases engagement."
Jai D.
Smile Rooms