Lay’s Global Redesign
Lay’s is one of the most recognized brands in the world, spanning 100+ markets and hundreds of products.
Over time, the system had become fragmented — with regional adaptations and inconsistent execution eroding the clarity of a global icon. At the same time, the brand was losing relevance with consumers, as private label, premium, and regional competitors gained share.
We re-established Lay’s as a unified, modern brand system — designed to reconnect emotionally with consumers while scaling across a highly complex global portfolio.
The system reintroduced appetite appeal and humanity into the brand, while creating a disciplined framework capable of scaling across markets, languages, and product variations.
My Role
Led the global redesign of Lay’s — delivering the first major packaging update in over a decade and establishing a comprehensive visual identity system across the full portfolio.
Oversaw development of a scalable global toolkit and partnered with regional teams and a global design council to ensure long-term consistency, brand stewardship, and evolution.
Core Identity.
A refined visual architecture created consistency across a highly complex portfolio.
A radiating ring structure centered the Lay’s logo as a focal point, creating a recognizable framework across all SKUs.
Ingredients were composed within this system to reinforce appetite appeal and clarity, driving a stronger and more unified shelf presence globally, while refined color systems improved navigation and differentiation across flavors.
Food & Appetite Appeal.
A more natural, contemporary food language strengthened emotional connection.
The system moved away from overly stylized imagery toward a more authentic expression — emphasizing texture, variation, and real-world context.
This shift aligned the brand with evolving consumer expectations around quality and “realness.”
Modernizing Iconic Assets.
Core brand elements were evolved for clarity, flexibility, and global consistency.
The Lay’s logo was redrawn and extended across a highly complex global naming system — including bilingual lockups, regional naming conventions, and multiple writing systems such as Cyrillic, Arabic, Thai, and Chinese.
The result was a more cohesive and flexible identity system that maintained iconic equity across markets while improving consistency at global scale.
Designed for Scale.
A flexible system enabled consistency across markets without sacrificing local relevance.
Complete regional portfolios — including highly localized systems in markets like China — demonstrated how the framework could flex culturally while maintaining a cohesive global brand presence.
Regional Expression.
The system enabled regional sub-brands, limited time offerings, and culturally specific expressions within a unified global framework.
The identity was designed to flex across regional innovation platforms and market-specific storytelling — supporting everything from localized flavor systems to seasonal and limited-edition launches.
While expressions varied across regions and consumer needs, the core architecture maintained consistency and recognizability at a global scale.
Brand Extension.
The visual identity system scaled across retail, digital and brand environments.
Core assets and principles scaled across retail, digital, out-of-home, and brand environments — ensuring consistency across consumer touchpoints while allowing the identity to evolve beyond the shelf.
The result was a more cohesive and recognizable global presence across both product and experience.
Brand Stewardship.
A global design council ensured long-term consistency and evolution.
Working across marketing, legal, and regional teams, the council established clear ownership of the brand system — enabling disciplined execution while supporting ongoing innovation.
Impact
Re-established Lay’s as a globally consistent and recognizable brand system
Unified a highly fragmented portfolio into a cohesive visual identity
Enabled a scalable execution across 100+ markets and hundreds of products
Created a flexible framework supporting regional expression and innovation
Strengthened long-term brand stewardship through a centralized system and council
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