New look for AMEinfo.com courtesy of local brand and communications agency Rufus Leonard

The 1.65 million online readers of AMEinfo.com have been given a revitalised online experience courtesy of independent brand and communication agency Rufus Leonard.

Rufus Leonard work as a marketing communications agency for companies such as Lloyds TSB Dubai as well as Group Brand development Partner for Lloyds TSB UK, as well as established brands online.

It was through the agency's accolades and achievements in online branding that AMEinfo.com, the largest information and business news portal in the Middle East, approached Rufus Leonard with the challenge of a brand logo refresh.

As the AMEinfo.com logo is already widely recognised, the agency was reluctant to give it a complete overhaul and so a cleaner, more modern identity has been created that still retains AMEinfo.com's respected design roots.

The brief to Rufus Leonard was evolution not revolution when looking at the identity of AMEinfo.com. The creative team wanted to create a new marque that was inspired by the typography of the existing identity, and now, the typography has been hand crafted and drawn specifically with AMEinfo.com in mind. The use of a Times New Roman for the 'info' part of the logo adds a level of trust and authority and the colours have been modernised throughout by adding in subtle gradient blends.

"The new logo and site design is part of our commitment to developing AMEinfo.com, ensuring that we remain the leading business news portal in the region," said Caroline Whyatt, Portal Manager of AMEinfo.com.

"The logo update has been as a response to current and future user and advertisers' needs."

Rufus Leonard worked closely with the internal online design team to advise not only on the brand identity, but also the visual hierarchy of the website, and the result is a revitalised home page with a powerful new search engine fuelling the back end of the site.

"It has been a great opportunity for us to work with such an established brand like AMEinfo.com and be given the opportunity to demonstrate our digital expertise without straying too far from the brand's core values," said Richard Bowcott, Regional Head of Rufus Leonard Middle East.