Michigan First's rebrand needed to capture what the credit union actually offers members — loans, wealth management, mortgages — through a single unifying idea: a unique, personal banking experience. That experience angle became the foundation for a lifestyle-driven visual brand, one built to let members picture what their own financial life could look like banking with Michigan First, rather than just listing products.
Visually, the rebrand leaned on the credit union's existing brand history to keep it familiar to members, while still elevating it to compete with local competitors. Colors pulled from the logo, mobile app, and branch interiors became the primary and secondary palette — a deliberate move to stand apart from the sea of brightly colored credit unions in the market. Typography paired Helvetica Neue (in use in the logo since 2001) with Gravity, chosen for its familiarity from smartphone apps and interfaces, and the chevron motif running through the new brand ties directly back to the diamond-and-chevron shapes in the original logo.
Handling the rebrand internally rather than through an outside agency saved Michigan First more than $2 million, while still delivering an identity distinctive enough to compete with other credit unions across the state. "Experience Banking Undefined" became the line that carried the new brand out to members, tying the visual and strategic work together into a single message the whole campaign could stand on.