By Peyman Sabri · Last updated 2026-10-31
Start with the message. Decide who you are for, what they should understand about you, and how you should sound. Then design how it should look. A logo made before those answers is a guess, and it usually has to be redone once the message becomes clear.
I’m Peyman Sabri, a Stockholm-based content producer and motion designer at Peyman Sabri Media. Branding is one part of my work, next to event films, motion design and AI video, and strategic communication sits under all of it. In every case I start with what should change for the audience, and only then with how it should look.
Why not start with the logo?
Because a logo can’t carry a message you haven’t decided on.
It is tempting to start there. A logo is concrete, it is fun to choose between sketches, and it feels like progress. But without a clear message, the choice comes down to taste. Taste changes, and so does the logo.
What you lose is time and consistency. Every new website, presentation and social post becomes a new decision, and the brand slowly drifts in several directions at once.
What three questions should you answer before a logo?
Write the answers down. One page is enough.
Before anyone sketches a logo
- Who is it for? Name the people you most want to reach. Not everyone. The ones who matter most right now.
- What should they understand about you? One sentence they could repeat to a colleague. If you need three sentences, keep cutting.
- How should you sound? Three words for your tone. Test them by asking what the opposite would be.
These answers become the brief. Every design choice after this can be checked against it. Does this colour feel like the tone we chose? Does this image show the people we want to reach?
What is a visual identity, and what is enough at the start?
A visual identity is the set of choices that make you recognisable before anyone reads your name. It usually includes:
- A logo, and a simpler version for small sizes.
- A colour palette, with one or two main colours and a few supporting ones.
- Typefaces, one for headings and one for text is often enough.
- Image style, meaning what your photos and illustrations look like.
- Layout rules, so materials look related even when different people make them.
At the start, a small business rarely needs more than this. It is better to have five things used consistently than twenty that nobody follows.
Where does motion belong in a brand?
More and more of a brand is seen on screens, and screens move. If the identity only describes static things, every video and social clip will invent its own way of moving.
Motion in a brand can be small:
- An intro or outro where the logo appears in a consistent way.
- Titles and lower thirds for names and key points in video.
- Transitions and rhythm that match the tone, calm or energetic.
- Short social formats built as templates that the team can update.
When these are designed with the identity, the brand feels the same in a presentation, a film and a feed.
How do you know you have outgrown your brand?
There are a few common signs:
- People describe you differently than you describe yourself. The message and the impression have drifted apart.
- Every new material looks different. There is no system, only individual decisions.
- The business has changed, the brand hasn’t. New services, new audiences or a new direction, still shown in the old way.
- You hesitate to share your own website. That is often the clearest sign of all.
Outgrowing a brand doesn’t always mean starting over. Often the message needs updating and the visual identity needs tightening, not replacing.
How do I work with brands?
Strategy first, look second. The order is the same whether the job is a new identity or a refresh.
From message to identity
- Conversation. Who you are for, what should change for them, and where you are today.
- Message. The one-page answer to the three questions above.
- Direction. A few visual directions tested against the message.
- Identity. Logo, colours, type, image style and motion.
- Guide and templates. A short brand guide and the templates you will use most.
The most useful result is often not the logo. It is the shared sentence about what people should understand, because that sentence makes every later decision easier.
Frequently asked questions
What is a brand strategy?
A short, shared answer to who you are for, what they should understand about you and how you should sound. It is the brief that every logo, website and film is checked against.
What does a visual identity include?
At its core a logo, a colour palette, typefaces and a few rules for images and layout. Many identities today also include how things move: titles, transitions and short animated elements.
Should you start with the logo or the strategy?
The strategy, even if it is only one page. A logo designed without it is a guess that has to be redone when the message becomes clear.
How do you know the brand needs to be redone?
Common signs are that people describe you in a way you don’t recognise, that every new material looks different, or that the business has changed and the brand still shows the old version.
Does a small business need a brand guide?
A short one, yes. A few pages with the logo, colours, typefaces and tone of voice are enough to keep everything consistent when more people start making materials.
If you are about to start on your brand and want to begin with the message, write to me at hello@peymansabri.com.
