PAGE, the German creative industry magazine, wrote about our rebrand for IBB Ventures.
It made us think. About what actually makes a branding project work. Not in theory, but in practice.
The Challenge: Two Identities, One Brand
For context: IBB Ventures backs Berlin’s most ambitious start-ups — but it’s also an entity of IBB group, a public banking group. A profit-oriented VC fund and a public institution at the same time. Two identities, one brand.
That came with restrictions for us. The logo couldn’t be touched. The group CI couldn’t be ignored. And yet the result had to feel unmistakably its own.
In the article, we talk about the four things that made it work.
1. Restrictions Are a Gift
A fixed logo and a locked-in color system sound like limitations. They’re actually a gift. They forced precision, and forced us to build around that unmovable brand DNA.
Too many options can lead to decision paralysis. We didn’t have that problem.
2. Restraint Reads as Confidence
We didn’t touch the logo. We didn’t reinvent the palette. Instead, we reweighted it: more black, more of the group’s own secondary colors, and one color — a turquoise — tweaked for accessibility.
The boldest moves in this project were quite often the smallest ones.
3. Address the Tension, Don’t Paper Over It
A rebrand should address a tension if it exists — not hide it. IBB Ventures is a profit-oriented VC fund and a public institution at the same time. Instead of picking a side, we built a system that could hold both without diluting either.
4. Bold Doesn’t Mean Drastic
Bold design work doesn’t have to come from drastic decisions. The sum of a lot of small tweaks in the details made this one work — across brand design, website, presentation templates, and merchandise.
Did It Work? Ask the Client.
This is the feedback we received from IBB Ventures’ side — and it’s now our benchmark for where results can go when humans human together:
“In Very Good Looking we found a partner who was genuinely willing to engage with our DNA as a publicly funded VC and sparring partner for founders. The results speak to what’s possible when both sides actually listen.” — Katrin Robeck, Managing Partner, IBB Ventures
Making the space that good things need to grow, and ending up creating work that delivers on strategic goals. Together.
You can read the full PAGE feature here. (It’s in German. You have been warned.)
