How we create and redesign a brand

Creating or redesigning a logo, for SB\Design, never begins with drawing. It begins with understanding what truly needs to change. A logo may feel outdated, inadequate or inefficient, but often the problem does not lie in the logo itself. It may be in the way the brand communicates, in its typography, colors, photography, website, packaging, digital language or in the lack of consistency across its different touchpoints. Before proposing a new form, SB\Design seeks to identify the real dimension of the problem and define the appropriate depth of intervention.

Not every brand needs a new logo. In some cases, the existing design already carries recognition, history and characteristics that should be preserved. The work may consist simply of correcting proportions, spacing, curves, weights, legibility or performance across different scales and digital environments. In other cases, the brand may require a more noticeable evolution, preserving its main recognition codes while simplifying its form and making it more contemporary. There are also situations in which the logo no longer represents the company, its positioning or its ambition and therefore requires a deeper redesign. And there are cases in which the issue goes far beyond the logo and demands a review of the visual identity, brand architecture or even the entire brand strategy.

This is why SB\Design does not start from the assumption that every project must result in a major visual transformation. It starts from the idea of finding the right intervention. Some of the strongest brands in the world have evolved over decades while preserving fundamental elements of recognition. A good redesign does not need to demonstrate how much the designer was able to change. It needs to demonstrate how much could be improved without eliminating what already had value.

This principle is especially important because a logo is an asset. Even when it contains imperfections, it can carry memory, trust and familiarity. The more established the company, the greater the responsibility around any change tends to be. Altering a brand means altering something that customers, employees, suppliers and the market have learned to recognize. The decision to redesign should therefore consider not only aesthetics, but also strategy, history, competitiveness, applications, implementation costs and the risk of losing recognition.

The SB\Design process begins with a diagnosis. We seek to understand the company, its business, audience, market, history, competitors and, above all, the moment it is currently experiencing. The objective is to determine whether the existing brand still represents what the company is today and what it intends to become. We then conduct an assessment of the existing visual universe. We examine the logo and its versions, communication materials, website, social media, presentations, packaging, signage, environments, products and all relevant touchpoints. This analysis allows us to understand not only what is wrong, but also what works and deserves to remain.

From there, we identify the brand’s visual equity. It may be a particular color, a symbol, a shape, a proportion, a typographic drawing, a distinctive characteristic or even an imperfection that has become recognizable over time. This stage is fundamental because redesigning does not mean erasing history. Often, it means discovering what is essential within it.

Only after this diagnosis do we define the scale of the intervention. In some projects, the recommendation may simply be to preserve the logo. In others, we carry out a technical refinement that is almost imperceptible to the public but important for improving drawing quality, legibility and performance. On a larger scale, we may propose a visual evolution while preserving the brand’s DNA. When necessary, we move toward a deeper redesign. And when we realize that the issue lies in the system as a whole, we recommend a broader review of the identity or brand strategy.

This definition happens before the creative stage because it avoids a common situation: redesigning simply because there is an opportunity to redesign. For SB\Design, the process should begin with a more relevant question: what is the smallest intervention capable of producing the evolution this brand truly needs?

Once this direction has been established, the exploration phase begins. This is when we investigate possibilities involving symbol, typography, lettering, proportion, composition and the relationship between the different elements of the signature. The initial objective is not to arrive quickly at a single solution, but to understand the possible territory and find solutions capable of responding to the diagnosis made earlier. Gradually, these possibilities are narrowed down and evaluated not only according to aesthetic criteria, but also by their ability to represent the company, generate recognition, differentiate the brand and perform consistently.

The logo then begins to be tested in the real world. A solution that works perfectly in a presentation may fail in a favicon, an app, a package, a façade or a small screen. For this reason, SB\Design works with different scales and situations throughout the creative process. We test positive and negative versions, monochromatic applications, extreme reductions, large-scale enlargements, digital and printed environments, animation and different surfaces. These tests do not happen only at the end. They are part of the decision-making process itself.

We also evaluate whether the logo has the potential to function within a broader system. An isolated logo solves only a small part of a company’s communication. An identity must be capable of creating consistency across different contexts. For this reason, we observe how the new design can interact with typography, color, photography, motion, iconography, information, interfaces and other brand elements. Even when the contracted scope is only the logo, it is designed with the environment in which it will need to exist in mind.

This distinction is important because many clients come to SB\Design simply asking for a new logo. That is natural. The logo is the most visible manifestation of a brand and often ends up being blamed for a perception of aging or lack of contemporaneity. But sometimes the logo continues to work and what has aged is the entire universe around it. In other cases, the company needs to solve a specific issue at that moment and does not wish or cannot immediately undertake a complete transformation of its identity.

SB\Design understands these circumstances. It is not always necessary to transform everything at once. Budget, time, implementation and internal structure need to be taken into account. A company may have hundreds of packages, stores, façades, uniforms, vehicles, digital systems and commercial materials. A complete change can generate a long and complex process. It is therefore also the role of design to understand the company’s moment and build a solution proportional to the real need.

When the project is specifically a logo project, the deliverable is not treated as the isolated production of a symbol. It involves diagnosis, strategic interpretation, analysis of existing equity, definition of the depth of change, creative exploration, design development, application tests, technical refinement and the organization of the versions required for correct use. Depending on the project, basic relationships involving color, typography, proportion and behavior may also be defined to ensure that the logo remains consistent once it begins to be implemented.

However, during this process we may conclude that the logo alone will not be enough. When that happens, we explain why. If the company has changed its positioning, audience, market, product or business architecture, the issue may be larger. In this scenario, we recommend expanding the project into a visual identity or a more complete brand program. This recommendation does not come from an attempt to increase the scope, but from the need to avoid placing a new signature inside a system that will continue to communicate the same previous problems.

Likewise, we may also conclude that the logo does not need to change. Perhaps the best solution is to preserve the signature and rebuild the visual system around it. Making this decision requires as much responsibility as creating something new. The role of the designer is not necessarily to transform everything, but to identify exactly what needs to be transformed.

SB\Design understands the logo as one of the most important manifestations of a brand, but not as the brand itself. A brand is the result of accumulated perception. Brand strategy defines what the company wants to represent. Identity transforms that intention into a recognizable language. And the logo functions as a signature within that system.

For this reason, creating or redesigning a logo is a process of diagnosis, synthesis and precision. In some projects the transformation will be significant. In others, almost invisible. The scale of change does not determine the quality of the work. What matters is the ability to understand the brand, preserve what has value and transform precisely what has stopped working.

This is how SB\Design, directed by Sandro Bianco, approaches a logo project: not by simply searching for a new form, but by building a solution capable of representing the company’s present, respecting its history and continuing to work as it evolves.