Heritage paper brand GF Smith recently unveiled its bold new identity, replete with a warm, custom typeface and vivid colour palette, all designed to (literally) put a smile on its customers' faces. Its new logo is a near complete 360 from its last one—from a pristine typographic design on a flat white background to a toothy, winking smiley, animated across vibrant backdrops.

With over 140 years of history, GF Smith has long been a leader in the UK’s paper industry. But legacy alone isn’t enough. The British paper company understands that to remain truly accessible, especially to a younger audience in an increasingly digital world, it must evolve. Enter a bolder, brighter and younger brand positioning, architecture and visual identity by the 'cause-led' branding agency TEMPLO, conceived in earnest to refresh GF Smith’s look, engage viscerally and represent its people.

STIR sat down with Ben Watkinson, global brand director of GF Smith, along with Pali Palavathanan, founder and creative director, and Anoushka Rodda, founder and managing director of TEMPLO, to unpack this pronounced transformation—one that ought to spark polarising reactions online. A key takeaway from the conversation was the rebrand’s focus on the tangible ‘joy’ of paper and how a heritage company can relay that in today’s context through its own identity.

“We are fast-paced, dynamic, fun, joyful—all those things… The visual identity needs to represent who we are as people and what’s in our heart as a business—and we've 100 per cent achieved that,” Watkinson believes.

“Fundamentally, what is paper?” Watkinson asked during the chat, before answering himself: “It is a canvas for incredible ideas.” He points out a fact—many of the world’s most groundbreaking ideas began as words or sketches on paper. Paper as an entity is woven into our earliest memories—crayons energetically dragged across blank sheets, paper boats floating in puddles, handwritten, heartfelt notes of devotion, emotion. Whether it’s a crisp A4 sheet or a humble yellow Post-it, the power of paper to move people still stands. This enduring ‘joy’ in everyday products is at the heart of GF Smith’s rebrand, shaping its new identity that is both "bold and brave; where we are now," Watkinson says, “is celebrating the joy and energy of the world’s most creative material.”

Fundamentally, what is paper? It is a canvas for incredible ideas. – Ben Watkinson, global brand director, GF Smith

As the conversation would convey, the new identity represents a radical shift for GF Smith—not just in design but in perspective. It’s a move from ultra-minimalism to bold, maximalised expression, from restraint to liberation, embracing what Watkinson calls "creativity that stirs emotions." The once understated logo has been replaced with a loudly cheerful, dynamic emblem, reflecting a brand that is not just evolving but actively inviting engagement and joy.

Beyond a Logo: A Brand that Feels like Its People

GF Smith’s last major rebrand was in 2014, and in the decade since, the business, the creative industry and the world at large have evolved in more ways than one. The company, known for its fine papers, understands that it operates in a digital world, making it crucial to strike a balance between the analogue, as custodians of an amazing legacy, and the inevitable requirements of digital accessibility. “We felt that our visual identity, though much loved inside and outside the company and right for GF Smith at the time, no longer reflected who we were as an organisation or as people, and that it was the right time to change, to create a new energy for the brand and, above all else, to look forward to the future,” notes Watkinson.

To realise this, TEMPLO, who have previously worked with the likes of the UN, Amnesty International, Climate Change Committee, the V&A Museum, the British Council, and more, took a holistic approach, digging into the very ethos of GF Smith, instead of coming up with a trendy update. TEMPLO’s rebranding and the research that led to it, extensively explored the brand’s people, its culture, values, purpose and ambitions with an intent to bring all of that to GF Smith’s new visual expression.

“We did not blindly follow this trend of trying to look younger or more energetic; it was to genuinely look under the surface of this incredible company that’s been around for 100+ years—what is the truth of this business and how can we surface that through the brand and its positioning?” Rodda explained.

A New Identity for a New Generation

Aligning with its international growth plans, as well as earmarking a tryst for relevance across groups, the company further pressed for an identity that would cut through the noise, resonate with the creative community, and expand its global reach. More than just a refresh, the rebrand was about embodying the character, community, colour, and creativity that define GF Smith at its core. This is where the animated, omni-directional smiley inserts its presence, a visual representation of GF Smith’s ever-evolving, playful spirit and its belief in (and tagline of) ‘Feel Good Papers’ in tandem with aiming to unearth the ‘gently radical spirit’ that has remained at the core of GF Smith.

“This new identity is allowing far more people to interact with the brand in a more natural, more creative way and get their hands on the product. We don’t want to be an aesthetic, that’s not who we are… This identity had to express how the products and services and the interactions with our brand make you feel,” Watkinson elaborated.

Palavathanan, interestingly, notes that heritage is subjective, something that was taken into strict consideration at the agency when working on the rebrand—everyone interprets it differently. For GF Smith, heritage isn’t about looking back but about building a common creative future. “As creatives, by definition, we should be able to contemplate things that others can’t,” he states.

Paper as a Portal, Canvas and Expression

This new identity reflects a company that is deeply connected to its material but not limited by it. GF Smith’s rebrand has sparked polarising reactions, but for Watkinson, that’s a good thing. “Fearless creativity should stir emotion. If we’re not stirring emotion, then we’re not being creative.” This new identity is opening up GF Smith to a wider audience, making its products more accessible and its brand more engaging.

From its Charitable Trust supporting young creatives to its commitment to sustainability, GF Smith is proving that legacy and progress can go hand in hand, and paper is both a canvas and expression. Rather than simply introducing a new logo or a redesigned identity—whether praised or debated—the true intent of this rebrand is to create something people can genuinely associate with and connect to. It’s about community and forging a link between the brand and its audience of loyal customers and new ones, ensuring that GF Smith’s evolution feels engaging, relatable and rooted in creativity. Aspiring to more than a visual brand refresh, it’s a bold declaration of what’s to come, circling back to GF Smith’s ‘challenger spirit’.

Tap the cover video to watch the full conversation.