Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, known internationally as Dräger, is a medical and safety technology company headquartered in Lübeck, Germany. The company’s visual identity is built around a typographic wordmark, with the brand name as the central element. Dräger’s corporate design underwent a significant relaunch in 2023 under the design concept “Breathe,” developed in collaboration with the brand consultancy MetaDesign [1].
Design and History
The current iteration of Dräger’s corporate design traces its roots to a design system developed in the 1980s by Rolf Müller, a partner of the renowned designer Otl Aicher [2]. In the years leading up to the 2023 relaunch, the agency Heisters & Partner was entrusted with the complete relaunch development of this existing design system. The redesign of the logo itself was deliberately mild, consisting only of a new digitization and a precise digital substructure, rather than a fundamental change to the mark [2].
In May 2023, Dräger introduced its new corporate design concept, “Breathe,” developed with MetaDesign. This relaunch came after nearly 40 years and was optimized for digital applications, with the goal of creating a unified brand experience across Dräger’s different business areas [1]. The project was recognized with a German Design Award in the Brand Design category, with the jury noting its clearly structured design system that is both consistent and flexible [3].
Meaning and Symbolism
The “Breathe” concept is rooted in the company’s core purpose. According to Arne Schmidt, Creative Director at MetaDesign, breathing was the connecting element between Dräger’s two business areas: both its medical and safety technology allow people to breathe or to breathe a sigh of relief in their daily lives. The concept treats breathing as a synonym for life itself, making it an integral part of the brand’s presentation [1].
The relaunch also introduced a new color strategy. Alongside the established Dräger colors of dark blue and white, a new brand color of light blue was added to mark important operating and interaction elements and to set visual accents [1]. The new design also gives more space to emotional messages and authentic imagery, reflecting both beautiful and challenging moments of life [1].
Typography and Design
As part of the 2023 relaunch, Dräger’s typography and colors were specifically optimized for digital applications [1]. The new design system was also intended to enable clear user guidance across digital interfaces [1]. The logo redesign itself was kept minimal, limited to a new digitization and precise digital substructure of the existing wordmark [2].
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