Cat How, Founder & Executive Creative Director at How Studio, recently took on the challenge of rebranding a beloved British icon: The Wombles. With the characters celebrating their 50th anniversary, the brief was to refresh their look and bring them into the digital age.

This exciting project involved reviving the nostalgic charm of the original characters while making them relevant for a modern audience. In this interview, Cat shares her creative process, from brainstorming at Wombles Headquarters to the re-illustration of the characters, and reveals what it was like to work on such a cherished piece of British pop culture.

What was the brief for the rebrand?

The Wombles were back! The brief was that now they were celebrating 50 years on screen, they needed a rebrand and a refresh to bring them into the digital age.

How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?

Really well! There was so much source material that we had a lot to go with. We then thrashed out ideas at Wombles Headquarters with their team there - everything was done in person, it was great.

Describe the purpose of the brand and its target audience

The purpose of the rebrand was to make the Wombles more accessible to a contemporary audience and to digitize their offering. We also needed to re-draw and re-create the characters again so they could be added to merch.

What was your thinking behind the rebranding solution?

Keep the charm of the old, while updating it to feel glossy and new.

Did you learn anything new during the project?

That there are a lot more Womble characters than we ever knew existed!

What kit/tools/software were used to create it?

Figma, After Effects, blender, photoshop.

What details are you most proud of any why?

The illustrated characters - for their personality and charm. They still feel like the characters from the 70s, but are still modern and have individual quirks.

What visual influences fuelled your solution?

We took 100% inspiration from the incredibly rich back catalogue that the Wombles team provided us.

Can you share any behind-the-scenes anecdotes or memorable moments from the rebranding project?

No Wombles were harmed in the creation of this project.

What would you do differently if you could do it over again?

It would be great to have a crack at the website! I think it’s still on the cards, but had to be delayed. Maybe next year?