Circular Logistics
When I designed the website for Circular Logistics, I got fascinated by their mission to reduce waste in logistics. The company creates reusable transport boxes for large goods, helping businesses move products more sustainably. After the website launch, we began exploring a new brand identity before the project was paused for internal reasons. I chose to continue it as a personal design study, using my insights from the collaboration to explore how sustainability can be expressed through clear, consistent design.
Laying the Foundation
Before creating anything visual, I wanted to understand what Circular Logistics truly represents and why it matters. I revisited my earlier research and began with a brand essence board, starting with a free essence dump to capture first ideas and associations. From there, I built a brand pyramid and defined the mission, vision, and values to establish a clear direction.
Brand Essence Exercises
This early phase helped me see the bigger picture. It ensured that every visual choice reflected the company’s deeper purpose. By first grounding the brand in meaning, I could later design with much more clarity and intention.
Giving the Brand a Personality
With the foundation in place, I began shaping how the brand should feel and communicate. I experimented with ways to translate its values into emotion, using tools like moodboards and personality scales, while also learning about the target audience and finding ways to connect with them.
Brand Personality and Positioning Exercises
This step made the brand come alive in my mind and helped me humanize a technical topic like logistics. My goal was to develop a brand personality that feels modern and confident, yet still relatable and grounded in everyday responsibility.
Understanding the Landscape
I wanted to see where Circular Logistics fits among others in its field. By studying competitors' visual identities, I could identify what was already working and what was missing.
Brand Competition Analysis
The research showed that most direct competitors looked efficient and functional but lacked distinctiveness. One indirect competitor (RE-ZIP) stood out with a more modern and approachable style, revealing space for a fresher perspective in the industry. But none of them placed real emphasis on innovation, which became the gap I wanted to fill.
Designing the Verbal Identity
A strong identity also depends on how a brand speaks. I created a tone-of-voice guide to define how Circular Logistics should sound. For me, design and language go hand in hand, as the words shape how visuals feel. One highlight was the cocktail party exercise, where I imagined the brand as a person. It helped me create a voice that feels confident and passionate about innovation and sustainability.
Verbal Identity Exercises
Designing the Visual Identity
With the strategy and tone in place, I was ready to bring everything together visually. I started sketching ideas in my notebook, exploring shapes that could capture the essence of the brand. I iterated through multiple rounds of feedback with peers and the client, refining the concept until it felt right.
Logo Design Process
The final logo grew out of this back-and-forth process. Two leaf-like forms create a circular motion and a subtle “C” in the negative space. The leaves represent growth and renewal, while the circular form symbolizes the circular economy. I also created the color palette and typography system, where I chose natural greens and neutral tones paired with a clean sans-serif typeface.
Visual Mockups
Once the core elements were defined, I tested them across mockups like packaging, banners, and communication materials. I paired the visuals with the tone-of-voice examples I had developed earlier to see how both systems worked together. That was the first moment everything clicked :)
Testing and Reflection
To understand how people perceive the brand identity, I conducted a visual appeal test with 12 participants. Each person was shown the brand kit and asked to select words that best described it.
Brand Evaluation: Visual Appeal Test
The participants described the brand as friendly, professional, trustworthy and sustainable, which perfectly aligned with the intended direction. This confirmed that the design clearly communicated its message. The feedback validated the early strategic choices and showed that a well-defined foundation is essential for cohesive brand design.
Outcome
The final result was a 16-page brand book defining brand essence, tone, and visual identity. It provides a consistent framework for future communication.
Brand Book: Circular Logistics
Reflection
Coming from a UX background, I had always thought that brand design was mostly about visuals, something more aesthetic than strategic. Working on this project changed that view. It showed me how much strategy, storytelling, and empathy go into creating a brand that truly communicates what a company stands for. It also made me realize how much branding and UX overlap as both aim to make complex ideas feel simple.
