Branding agency in Porto: Branding and visual identity
A brand isn't a logo. It's what people feel when they see one.
We do branding for brands that want to change their skin without losing their soul. From strategy to the full visual system, we work out of Vila Nova de Gaia for clients across Portugal, from Casa da Música to Transportes Metropolitanos do Porto.
How we build a brand
We start by listening. We talk to the people who make the decisions and to the people who work with the brand every day, we look at the competition and at what the audience says. The result is a short, clear positioning that becomes the yardstick for every decision that follows.
Only then do we design. We present different creative routes, choose one with you and develop it into the full system: logo, typography, palette, grids and the applications the brand really uses. At the end you get brand guidelines and files ready for your team and your suppliers.
What we look for in a branding project
We like brands with a history and brands that are still writing theirs. At Palacete Severo, the golden ratio and the Fibonacci spiral already present in the building led to an abstract “S” and a type system that sits between classic and contemporary. For Code, rounded shapes and a red palette designed for digital brought the brand closer to the people who wear it.
Our own rebrand, in 2025, made it into Marketeer with a line that sums up how we think: our adolescence was over. A brand can grow up without losing its edge.
What we do
- Brand strategy
- Positioning, territory, tone of voice and narrative. The groundwork that says what the brand stands for and how it speaks, before anything gets designed.
- Visual identity
- Logo, typography, colour, grids, iconography and usage rules, brought together in brand guidelines your team will actually use.
- Rebranding
- For brands that have grown faster than their image. We keep what has value and change the rest, as we did for Code and Palacete Severo.
- Naming and taglines
- Names, taglines and key messages. For CdAN, the line "A tradition shaped by the hands of a people" became the starting point for the whole project narrative.
- Systems and applications
- Signage, packaging, digital, merchandise and everything that takes the brand beyond the guidelines.
Work in this area
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between branding and visual identity?
Branding is the whole job of building a brand: what it stands for, who it talks to, how it behaves. Visual identity is the part you see (logo, colours, typography, imagery), and it only works well when it rests on a clear strategy.
When does a rebrand make sense?
When the brand has stopped telling the right story. That happens after a change in business or audience, when the image has aged, or when the identity can no longer cope with the channels the brand needs to be in, digital above all.
Does a rebrand mean changing everything?
No. Often the right answer is to evolve rather than start from scratch. For Casa da Música's 20th anniversary we built on the spirit of Stefan Sagmeister's original identity instead of replacing it.
Do you only work with brands from Porto?
No. We are based in Vila Nova de Gaia, but we work with brands from all over Portugal and abroad, such as Xiaomi, Super Bock, Sonae MC and Time Out Market.