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With the recent acquisition of Candian company Inco, CVRD (Companhia Vale do Rio Doce) has become the world’s second largest mining company, named Vale — even if, colloquially, it was already referred to as such to shorten the mouthful. While the legal name stays the same, this name change is more of a pruning of the original name — leaving us with the portuguese word for valley. And of course with a new name comes a new logo.
By promoting its positioning and values — the quality of its products, ethics and social and environmental responsibility, the effort to contribute for the development of employees and the communities where it acts as well as the commitment to sustainable development — the company intends to differentiate itself in the mining market.
The project does not consider changing the name of the company, but reinforces the word “Vale”, unifying its use in all markets where it operates. The idea is to encourage all business units to abandon the expressions “Companhia Vale do Rio Doce”, “Rio Doce” or the acronym CVRD.
In public communications, it will highlight the fact that Vale produces essential ingredients for daily life, supplying, with its iron ore production, the raw material for several products like computers, watches or stoves. This way, the Vale brand will be closer to people.
— Vale Press Release
Under this initiative, Inco will now be known as “Vale Inco” and subsidiaries found under the same corporate umbrella will receive name changes such as the shift from Voisey’s Bay Nickel Co. to the new Vale Inco Newfoundland and Labrador Ltd. The rebrand was handled by Lippincort Mercer (another company that recently chose to truncate its name!) and the Brazilian company Cauduro Martino.
This is a great corporate rebranding. The name shift is excellent, it’s succinct, focused and contextually on-target, and in fact many in Brazil already referred to the company by this name. The logo mark itself — a V monogram that calls to mind a landscape, a drill head, a circular motion — is strong and elegant in the same gesture. The color palette (although similar to ABN Amro as some have expressed) is suitable and visually ownable in their sector. Even the subtle nuances to the typography help to liven up and add a bit of ownership to a rather dry, san serif corporate standard. In addition, it’s great to see a company put more rebranding focus on their local/national roots rather than their worldliness — even as they become a larger global player in their industry.
There is the argument that large corporations that don’t deal much with the traditional business-to-consumer space need not pay as much attention to their visual design, and those talking directly to consumers do. I am not arguing this, but I will say that it’s a relief, and a bit ironic, when we see more and more rebranding initiatives miss the mark in the consumer sector to see a corporate company in the business-to-business space step up to the plate and knock one out of the design park. Great work.
The Vale site in english, the Vale Inco site, and Vale’s complete press release on the rebranding.
[Ed’s Note: We are a little late on this one. It sat on my inbox far too long, but it definitely deserved its moment in the spotlight. Armin]
Jump to Most Recent Comment
K. West’s comment is:
I really love it. I'm not sure how the colors will hold, but who cares!? It's an excellent mark. In fact, the mark is so strong it almost makes the type obsolete.
On Jan.09.2008 at 11:19 PM
K. West’s comment is:
EDIT: Oh, that's actually Brazil's national colors...
- Foot + Mouth
On Jan.09.2008 at 11:21 PM
Matheus’s comment is:
is has brazil's colors becouse the comany in first place was brazilian national corporation
this is a good brand, it's always nice to sse non-wolff olins freak garbages
On Jan.09.2008 at 11:29 PM
Bacardo’s comment is:
Interesting rebrand, fresh and multiple meaning logo. Revealing that rebrand without shiny 3d ultra web 2.0 extruded glossy logos are possible.
Regards.
On Jan.09.2008 at 11:36 PM
Ray Marrero’s comment is:
The mark is thoughtful, simple, evocative. And the "v" and the "e" in the logotype are like buttah.
On Jan.10.2008 at 01:15 AM
Bertje’s comment is:
Does remind me of this one in shape type and color:
WORK’s comment is:
Reminded me of the DELTA airlines identity they did. Look here.
On Jan.10.2008 at 04:02 AM
Tephlon’s comment is:
Heh, I didn't notice the same colours as ABN-Amro until it was pointed out to me, but I'm guessing they went for the colours of the Brazillian Flag (Although the green should be a bitless turquoise then).
I really like this one. It looks good, there is no superflous use of shadows, gradients and such and the type is beautiful.
@WORK: I don't see the comparison with Delta's identity at all, besides the shape and 2 flat colours.
On Jan.10.2008 at 05:06 AM
Bertje’s comment is:
Did write my previous comment before reading the entire article. It reminded me of the ABN logo instantly.
Just an observation. Not necessarily a bad thing.
On Jan.10.2008 at 05:42 AM
Chad K’s comment is:
I absolutely love it for the things it reminded me of immediately after seeing it, which were highlighted in the intro—A valley or a drill head.
Lets just hope they don't go shiny with it. Evidence creeps in with their favicon:
Chris’s comment is:
Solid. Everything about the logo seems very well thought out, and it makes perfect sense. A feather in the cap of Lippincott right next to the Hyatt Place ID.
On Jan.10.2008 at 08:50 AM
DG3’s comment is:
Sure beats the old version. I like it.
On Jan.10.2008 at 09:11 AM
copygirl’s comment is:
Now that's a quantum leap in branding! The new logo is far more authoritative and attractive to an international audience and the rolling hills give the company a "green" aspect, addressing growing environmental criticisms about mining and manufacturing. The re-naming not only gives the company greater berth and authority, it's also more internationally conscious.
My only criticism would be that I'm not crazy about the colors. I understand the Brazilian connection, but maybe the entire country needs an update. :P
On Jan.10.2008 at 09:13 AM
JasonP ’s comment is:
I was getting nervous for a moment; I started to believe that underconsidertion was only putting up horrible re-brands for us to rip apart.
Vale's new logo is understandable and succinct, i can't find anything wrong.
Rachel’s comment is:
I love it. The old logo is almost too bland to exist, but the new one evokes lovely images of rolling hills and green grass. Not something you think of when you think "mining," but great PR for the company. The green could be a little greener, though (especially if it's meant to be the color of the Brazilian flag).
On Jan.10.2008 at 01:49 PM
Mark ’s comment is:
Very nice V, I like it.
clean and simple.
On Jan.10.2008 at 02:15 PM
Jamerson’s comment is:
Copy and Paste"...
There's another brazilian with the same idea,
but 10 years before.
Thomas’s comment is:
That's smooth. I want to touch it.
On Jan.10.2008 at 02:58 PM
Eric Strohl’s comment is:
There's really no arguing that the new mark is far better. I do feel that the proportion of the mark to the type is a bit off optically. The mark feels larger than it should be, and that is especially emphasized by the saturated color.
I'm just being picky. Its a nice mark!
On Jan.10.2008 at 03:46 PM
Darrin Crescenzi’s comment is:
Oh man, it's a "V" with a valley in it... dynamic downward thrust (Mining company? Yes.), nice colors, environmental connotations, great execution. I think I'm in love.
The type is even nice, though the kerning between the V and A strikes me as a bit wide... probably just the small size. The wordmark and logo might be happier a little closer together, but whatever. This one is a winner.
On Jan.10.2008 at 04:24 PM
andrew miller’s comment is:
Nice.
I think xerox could learn something from these guys.
On Jan.10.2008 at 06:46 PM
Fabio’s comment is:
I'm Brazilian and I'm so proud of Vale because this is a big change for the company and for the country. If you think about Green and Yellow are one of the best colors to work with, they look fresh, new and they are Brazil's colors and we are proud of them.
Congratulations to VALE
On Jan.10.2008 at 08:10 PM
sharez’s comment is:
I like the green and yellow. the green reminds me of all the money it has made me on the stock market. lol
On Jan.10.2008 at 09:16 PM
George’s comment is:
If the name "Interbrand" or "Wolf Olins" was attached to this design, I bet my delicious breakfast sandwich the complaining would be exponentially increased.
On Jan.11.2008 at 07:18 AM
Tony F’s comment is:
I went to their english site and found a video on their "Campains" page, which shows some interesting typographic examples to showcase the new company branding. However at the end we see that the logo actually does have a gradient that Chad K had indicated in the favicon.
On Jan.11.2008 at 10:24 AM
C-Lo’s comment is:
Sharp. And that's all I need to say about this logo cause it sums it up.
On Jan.11.2008 at 10:43 AM
Chad K’s comment is:
In response to the video linked in the post of Tony F. I like the end where it looks like an aerial view of valleys going by and finishes with the mark. It got ruined in the end with the gradient flashiness.
On Jan.12.2008 at 12:06 PM
K. West’s comment is:
It looks like they're not using the gradient much outside of it's animated form. I am not offended by it.
I think as designers we should try not to TOO ant-gradient. It has worked...a couple times...that I can't recall.
On Jan.13.2008 at 01:35 AM
damon’s comment is:
I dig it.
could have stood to be slightly more adventurous with the type there, but all in all I think it's nice.
Randy Hill’s comment is:
Spot-on design IMHO. As someone else stated, the drill head and valley symbolism is great - also the way it weaves in and out (in my head) between the two.
On Jan.16.2008 at 05:27 PM
Daniel Guimarães’s comment is:
I think the mark fragile, ugly and has nothing to be our culture in Brazil and neither with the Valley. The symbol has been seen by the wrong people. The colors makes recalls the mark of the ABN-AMRO. I found the project anything creative and face the challenge to win people here in Brazil, as ABN invests heavily in advertising and their colors are well estabelicida in the minds of people.
On Jan.21.2008 at 07:44 AM
Juliet’s comment is:
I loved new brad and the new site, too
http://www.vale.com/vale_us/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?tpl=home
The similar color with the Real brand will not Interfere the communication.
good job.
Tom’s comment is:
Nice design, this rocks.
On Jan.23.2008 at 11:18 AM
Greg Formager’s comment is:
I think this branding is boring and ugly. I actually thought this post was going to be a bash-fest as most posts on this blog are. I like the old logo and was immediately drawn to it (minus the typography which was rather dull). This new logo looks cheap. And it did not remind me of a drill-head or valleys. It just looks like a "V" that's poorly shaped to me. I do however like the new typography.
On Jan.30.2008 at 12:50 AM
Josh Hendrix’s comment is:
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pu’s comment is:
i hate it
it's unbalanced,
colours have nothing to do with mining. IT"S PASTEL. -.-
typography is wrong.
old logo was stronger, could have played with the diamond shape more.
wrong wrong wrong
On Feb.13.2009 at 12:28 AM
rtron’s comment is:
Hmm...an interesting point comes with this company. It is responsible for some of the most intense crimes of displacement of indigenous people in south america, as well as ridiculous amounts of environmental destruction. Discussing the merits of their new logo seems absurd when entire towns are being poisoned by cyanide leachings.
On Mar.06.2009 at 11:22 AM
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