How does a visual identity come to life? Our methodology step by step

“To create a brand and visual identity, do you just wait for ideas to appear?” Since 2008, we’ve been working on the creation and development of visual identities for companies. We have training and specialization in Design and Branding, and yes, we work with the famous “brand” (also called logo, logotype, or logomark). We know that the world of creation still carries an aura of mystery for many people. And that’s okay; it’s natural for creative processes to spark curiosity.

There’s a widely spread idea that creative projects arise from a sudden spark. That is, you just start the work and, suddenly, inspiration falls from the sky and the solution appears. But the reality is more complex and, at the same time, more interesting. There is no magic formula; every professional has their path, rhythm, and method. Ours, built on experience, study, and practice, is guided by listening, sensitivity, and structure.

In this article, we share the process we follow today to create an authentic, strategic, and passionate visual identity. A process that goes far beyond aesthetics and always begins by deeply understanding the company behind the brand.

Step 1 – Clarity

This first step is part of all of our projects, whether it’s strategy, visual identity, naming, or packaging. As soon as the proposal is approved, the contract signed, and the bureaucratic stuff settled, the most awaited moment arrives: to start the project, in practice. And it all begins with a conversation. If your company has reached this point, you may have a lot of ideas or still be trying to organize what you feel. We know. That’s why we’ve created this first step with so much care. We call this stage “Clarity”, and it starts with a questionnaire designed to help you gather the information we’ll need. If there is already a business plan, it might help, but we leave plenty of space for you to calmly share what you’re experiencing. Your doubts, intentions, your story. It’s in this more open space that the rants, spontaneous details that make a difference come up. Often, these sincere words reveal what your brand needs to show the world.

When we receive the responses to the questionnaire, we often come back with more specific questions, a process we call “exchange of ideas”. This exchange continues until we feel we have a clear vision of your business. Sometimes, this closer look calls for additional data or even further research. Because it’s from this deep, well-fed universe that the most genuine ideas will be born. We’re moved by how people open up at this moment. This sincere sharing is a sign of trust and is essential for the project to start in the right way: with listening, connection, and truth. This is where hearts begin to connect. And, to create brands from heart to heart, as we believe, this is the only possible path.

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Step 2 – Brand Strategy

With everything we’ve learned about your company so far, we begin the analysis work. This is the moment to refine the information, organize the most relevant points, and transform this content into something strategic, clear, and inspiring. We use a Branding tool called brand strategy. From it, we translate what we’ve discovered about your business into an accessible, structured, and meaningful language. It’s like building, together, the foundation of your brand: solid, true, and ready to support everything that will follow.

In this process, we organize everything we’ve discovered into three key points that form the strategic plan of your brand. The Brand Heart is where the deepest fundamentals reside: your company’s purpose, its vision for the future, its values, and the essence that drives it. The Brand World is where we map the audiences your company connects with, the differentiators that make it unique, the environment it’s part of, its star product, and other elements. And the Brand Manifesto is the sensitive synthesis of all of this: a powerful text, carefully reviewed so that every word resonates, inspires trust, and truthfully reflects who your company is. And there’s more: from this deep dive, the creative concept is born, a central idea that will guide the creation of the visual identity. It’s the link between the plan and the aesthetics, ensuring your brand is not only beautiful but also full of meaning.

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Lúcida Letra (which translates literally to ‘Lucid Letter’) is a publishing house dedicated to the Buddhist universe that approached us to create its Beloved Brand. During the strategy phase, we dove into the content the company publishes, the best-selling books, the topics that attract the most interest, and, of course, the people who read these books with so much care. Based on this information, we were able to build a strategy aligned with the essence of Lúcida Letra. Among the defined points, it became clear that their purpose is “to connect people to sources of wisdom and Buddhist teachings, strengthening the Brazilian Sangha”. This direction was essential to guide all the subsequent steps of the project, from the visual to the language, a work that was later recognized on the shortlist of the 9th edition of the Latin American Design Awards, in the Rebranding category.

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Step 3 – Inspiration Board

Now that we’ve deeply understood your company and organized everything into a clear brand strategy, it’s time to start translating this essence into visual language. But still in a conceptual way, according to the creative concept established earlier in a free and sensitive manner. We create an inspiration board with everything that, in our view, resonates with what the brand represents. We use Pinterest as the main tool for this process, but the content goes far beyond brands: we gather colors, shapes, words, feelings, videos, sounds, photos, drawings, places, textures, everything that can help us capture and express your brand’s universe.

This board with thousands of images is only possible because there’s a well-defined strategic foundation. If all we knew was the company’s name and what it sells, for example, we’d probably be faced with a blank canvas, that feeling of “I don’t know where to start”. But since we’ve already dove deep, understanding what the company believes in, how it thinks, what it feels, what makes it different, we now have the right ingredients to create authentic visual connections. Important: up until now, we haven’t started sketching yet. There’s no defined visual identity, no draft. We’re still in the creative concept field, refining sensitivity and preparing the ground for visual ideas to be born with truth.

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In the visual identity project for Coletivo Revoança, one detail immediately caught our attention: all the partners were from Northeastern Brazil. This significant point guided us throughout the creation of the inspiration board, a phase full of listening and sensitivity. The brand strategy spoke about a “scientific and poetic perspective”, which opened up space for visual references blending roots and freedom. Vibrant colors, flowers, and fruits typical of the Northeast were included in this board. Since “Revoança” comes from the word “revoada”, which in English means “the flight of a flock”, symbolizing collective movement, freedom, and growth, we also incorporated symbolic elements representing the liberation of thought, such as open cages, birds, eyes, and heads. It was from this rich collection of images and feelings that the Beloved Brand of Coletivo Revoança was born, selected for the 14th Brazilian Design Biennial 2024 in the Identity & Spirit of the Brand category.

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Step 4 – Exploring visual identity alternatives

We’ve reached one of the most exciting moments in the process: the beginning of your brand’s visual expression. After diving into your company’s story, organizing everything into a clear strategy with a creative concept, and building a meaningful inspiration board, we begin creating possibilities. Everything we’ve gathered so far becomes fuel. The brand strategy, our greatest ally, is reread, explored, and unfolded word by word. With each reading, we search for ideas, sensations, and possible forms of expression. We revisit the creative concept and put it to the test. It’s an exercise in translating the verbal into the visual. And the inspiration board stays with us as a compass, one that we continue to enrich throughout the creative process.

This is the point where we finally put pencil to paper. We begin sketching shapes, exploring color combinations, icons and graphic elements, textures, typographic styles, and more. Everything is explored with freedom. Pencils, pens, inks, digital tools, any medium can help capture a glimpse of what this brand can become. And here’s a golden rule: every idea must be connected to the strategy. Even those that seem too bold or perhaps too simple at first glance. This is the time to experiment, to generate possibilities, to let creativity flow, without losing sight of the creative concept. The more alternatives we have, the greater the chance we’ll discover something truly special.

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Step 5 – Choosing a direction

After exploring several visual possibilities, it’s time to make choices. At this stage, we meet internally to carefully review everything we’ve created and decide which visual direction most powerfully and authentically expresses your brand strategy and creative concept. It’s a phase that calls for both sensitivity and analysis. We evaluate which characteristics stand out in each proposal, what best represents the brand’s essence, and, most importantly: what sets your company apart in the market.

Among so many alternatives, we look for the one that not only moves us emotionally but also positions the brand with clarity. This decision doesn’t limit the creative process, quite the opposite. Choosing a path allows us to go deeper, test, refine. We begin to explore real-world applications: how would this identity work on a business card? On a package? On social media? Ideas start to be put to the test, bringing fresh energy to the project. It’s when everything starts to take shape and come to life.

In the visual identity project for Cozinha do Pudim (which translates literally to ‘Pudding Kitchen’, referring to a famous Brazilian dessert), everything began with a feeling: nostalgia. Something sweet, warm, and evocative of the most cherished memories around the table. We wanted the brand to evoke exactly that sensation. The “azulejo” (Portuguese tile) was the chosen symbo, an element deeply rooted in Brazilian kitchens and with Portuguese origins, just like the “pudim” itself. But the word azulejo opens many visual possibilities, and that’s where the process of sharpening our vision began. Within this concept, we drew specific paths, tested different compositions, and refined each detail. We were after something expressive and cohesive. Little by little, the identity began to take shape. At the center of the tile, we placed a stylized ‘pudim’, surrounded by shades of blue that immediately evoke the tile. To complement it, the dessert’s characteristic yellow added the perfect contrast, forming, together with other elements, the Beloved Brand of Cozinha do Pudim.

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Step 6 – The visual identity is born!

We’ve arrived at a very special moment in the process: the presentation of your company’s visual identity. It’s time to see everything take shape, full of color, meaning, and expression. But more than that, it’s time to feel. Around here, we often hear heartfelt reactions like: “I wasn’t expecting this result!”, “It turned out so much better than I imagined”, or “I would’ve never thought of this color, but it fits the brand perfectly!”. These responses show that we’ve achieved something truly precious: translating feelings and ideas into words, images, and visual symbols. Our wish is that you also feel this emotion, that moment of seeing your company truly represented, recognizing yourself in every detail. That you look at the new brand and think, “This is my company. This is what I want to show the world.”

Of course, there might be some adjustments along the way: maybe a color didn’t evoke the right emotion, or a word from the strategy needs to be refined and that’s okay! These changes are a natural part of the process. We move forward with care and openness, so the final result is a faithful reflection of what your brand wants to communicate. It’s also important to share this new identity with people who already know your brand: clients, partners, and your team. Hearing their impressions can bring valuable insights. A visual identity is meant to touch hearts, but also to communicate clearly. And sometimes, an outside perspective confirms what your heart already felt. Once the brand is approved, we move on to a more technical phase: organizing every file with precision and care. We prepare versions for print, digital use, social media, everything your brand needs to live in the world with beauty, consistency, and intention.

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At Afinello, a clinic specializing in cognitive stimulation, the visual identity had to express something very delicate: the reconnection with balance and self-esteem. The central idea was already present in the name we created, inspired by the verb “to tune”, and it expanded into the creation of a musical-inspired symbol, a sign resembling an asterisk, which in sheet music indicates the moment to release the sustain pedal. This symbol represents the fine-tuning that happens in therapy, with shapes that suggest movement and transformation. The illustrations were inspired by games and activities from the sessions, bringing lightness and visual stimulation. This is how the Beloved Brand of Afinello was born with warmth, purpose, and a joyful touch.

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Conclusion: How is a visual identity born?

These are the steps we walk through, with you, to create a visual identity filled with authenticity. Of course, there are many other details we take care of along the way, but this overview already gives you a glimpse into how a Beloved Brand is born here. It all starts with clarity because without it, no step can move forward safely. Then, we shape the heart of your brand with the right words: we craft a strategy that’s thoughtful, meaningful, and emotionally grounded. With this solid foundation, we build a moodboard that goes far beyond visual references. It’s made of feelings, ideas, places, textures, sounds, and colors. That’s where the very first creative paths begin to sprout.

Next, we choose the most promising direction and develop it with care, until we reach the moment of presentation. When the proposal is approved, and we can feel your excitement all the way from here, we move on to the final touches: file organization, applications, and a complete delivery, ready for your brand to live in the world. And when that moment arrives, we feel the sweet sense of a job well done. But if it seems like the brand’s role ends there… not at all! It’s just beginning. Because a Beloved Brand is alive. And it’s your daily care, your presence, your unique way of communicating that will keep it beating, creating true connections, touching hearts, and making it clear to the people who matter: this company has something special.

Did you enjoy learning more about how our process works? If you want to talk more or have any questions, just write us at: [email protected]. Does your business want to captivate the people who need what you do the most? Request a proposal.