How do you modernize a 50-year-old pet store chain without erasing five decades of family trust?
Pet store branding Ljubljana presented a delicate challenge: modernizing five decades of family heritage without losing customer trust. We transformed Zoocity’s established identity into contemporary pet store branding that speaks to today’s pet parents while honoring 50 years of family values.
Client: Zoocity
The brief
When Zoocity launched in 1974, pets lived in backyards, not bedrooms. The Varda family built their reputation on caring values, but the visual language felt frozen in time while their customers evolved into dedicated pet parents who needed different solutions.
The design
We built a wordmark that literally centers pets in the conversation through custom lettering that balances warmth with retail credibility. The typography system and bold color palette cut through contemporary pet retail noise while preserving the family story that made Zoocity trusted for five decades.
Outcome
The rebrand positions Zoocity as both heritage expert and modern pet specialist, connecting fifty years of trust with today’s pet-loving families.
Brand identity · Logo design · Typography · Packaging · Signage · Marketing materials
Fifty years of pet care compressed into letters that put animals first.
The Why started with a timing problem: Zoocity built trust when pets lived outside, but their customers now treat animals like family members. The What became a wordmark that literally nests “ZOO” inside custom letterforms, making the animal connection unavoidable. The How required surgical precision — we kept the name recognition but rebuilt the visual weight distribution. Each letter carries more geometric confidence than the previous identity while maintaining the approachable warmth that three generations of Ljubljana pet owners recognize.
The Values demanded we respect both heritage and evolution simultaneously. I designed the letterforms to feel substantial without being corporate, friendly without being childish. The Design centers on that nested “ZOO” — not as a clever trick but as functional hierarchy. When pet parents see this mark, they read “zoo” first, “city” second, which mirrors how they think about pet stores now. The Story writes itself: a family business that grew up alongside its customers, still caring about animals but speaking their contemporary language.
