Established in 1989, Novabase is the leading company in IT services, consulting, and implementation. It has 2,000 employees and revenues of over 292 million Euros. A hybrid of companies like IBM, Accenture, and EDS as our Portuguese tipster explained. Self-admittedly "Big in Portugal, but small in the world" Novabase is looking to expand its presence and recognition around the world. This month they introduced a new identity designed by Lisboa-based Albuquerque.
Brand video.
Footage of unveiling. Skip to 1:30 for the real fireworks. Literally.
It's unfortunate that the new logo is such an incomprehensible eyesore — actually, the logo might be an eyesore — because the rest of the identity is quite delightful. The illustrations, the colors, the pace of the animation all have a very nice retro quality but with a contemporary flair. Even if the illustrations are mostly abstract, they manage to convey a company making all kinds of connections and actively engaging in business. Back to the logo… although it's supposed to be just an "N" it certainly reads as "No" which is not a good thing, but let's assume that most people just see an "N," then what are we supposed to make of that giant wart? Is it an eye? A portal? An incubator of red eggs? The transition from sharp-edges to a hand-drawn effect within the "N" is not contrasting enough, so it almost looks like someone pulled the wrong bezier curves. The wordmark somehow also feels odd and not so well integrated with the icon.
Folder and business cards (where each person draws their own version of the logo).
Set of icons to represent their vision.
The logo makes just a little more sense when seen in the context of the whole system, which is much more engaging and interesting than the logo itself. The whimsical style is a rarity in big corporations so it's nice to see some of it start to seep into corporate identity.
Thanks to Manuel de Freitas for the tip.
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