Redesigning the Indonesian National Electric Company (PLN)
PT. Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is a state-owned company that becomes one of the most famous brands in Indonesia. It has been serving the Indonesian people by installing, expanding and providing electricity services for more than six decades. PT. PLN is the biggest and only electrical distribution company in Indonesia.
Its logo has been used since the 1950s and never changed since then. The company still uses the logo for decades while other state-owned companies have been through visual identity changes to adapt to the new challenges and competition. The fact that the company does not have major competitor might become one of the factors that drive the company to do nothing about its branding.
Take PT. Telkom for the example. PT Telkom is the first, biggest and oldest telecommunication company in Indonesia. It was owned by the government and has been semi-privatized since the mid-1990s. Since the dawn of the internet and mobile communications, the company feels the urge to win the competition with other similar companies.
In order to increase its brand awareness and bring a fresh, sustainable and strong brand for the company, it is time for the company to re-introduce its new logo. I didn’t say that the logo is bad, actually, it is one of the best state-owned company logos in Indonesia. It is clean, simple and easily recognized and has been part of many Indonesian lives for decades.
I came up with an idea to redesign PT PLN logo and bring simplicity, fresh look and modern image for the company. I did a research about its logo and its meaning. I decided to not go far from the original concept and maintaining its colors and symbolism.
Given the popularity of a modern, minimalist look, many leading brands are moving towards a cleaner design aesthetic. I preserved the three main elements: the red lightning bolt, yellow color, and three blue streams, and then I simplified those elements to a cleaner design with less distraction and removed the overlapping layers.
This way, the brand new logo should be able to be easily recognized, easily applied in many forms and create a strong and long-lasting brand for the company as well as injecting the new spirit for the people working in the company.
