How Glasgow’s heritage brands can modernise without losing identity

Glasgow’s legacy is built on craft, character, and community—qualities that remain embedded in its most iconic heritage brands. From textile producers to whisky distilleries, these institutions carry decades, sometimes centuries, of cultural capital. But as design trends evolve and audiences shift, many of these brands are asking: How do we modernise without losing our soul?

The answer lies not in abandoning tradition but reframing it. At G3 Creative, we specialise in helping Scottish brands evolve while staying authentic. The key is brand evolution, not revolution. For example, updating a typeface doesn’t mean discarding history—reimagining it through a contemporary Gaelic type treatment or nodding to Glasgow’s architectural lines can preserve a sense of place.

Modernising also means streamlining brand assets for digital environments without erasing the past. Colour palettes can be softened or made more vibrant to suit new media, and heritage motifs like tartan, maps, or archival logos can be repurposed as secondary brand elements to enrich storytelling.

Take our recent work with a West End textile house: we retained their original crest but introduced a refined, scalable vector version, supported by a clean sans-serif logotype and visual language rooted in Scottish craft.

Heritage branding is not static—it’s a living dialogue between past and present. Glasgow brands can modernise confidently by honouring their legacy while embracing thoughtful, culturally aware design decisions. At G3 Creative, we help you walk that line.