Cyprus based marine insurance brokers BMIB had recently opened their new office when they asked me to design a new logo. The one they had was a decent but a little bland compass rose so they wanted a stronger and more unique symbol to stand out.
Their instructions were a masculine yet refined symbol with a modern corporate look, a strong marine connection, and respect for the large commercial ships they’re working with. In the logo, they also wished to combine their Cypriot and Nordic roots, as well as making the logo versatile and responsive to various applications and sizes.
Balder (The first ‘B’ in BMIB) is a Nordic god. In mythology, his ship Hringhorni is the greatest of all ships, and as a result it has a natural spot in the BMIB logo. The ship is portrayed from the front to show the elegant curves of old Viking ships. From this angle it also resembles a shield – a popular symbol in insurance logos. The leaf-shaped waves complete the logo, and are inspired by the olive branches on the Cypriot flag.
I created horisontal, simplified, and small versions of the logo, as well as stencils, two gray scale versions, and wordmark versions.
We first went with a greenish blue colour inspired by the traditional paints the Vikings used for their ships and shields, but later changed it to a clearer and more ocean like blue.
I immediately felt the abbreviation should be set in a unapologetic slab serif and combined with a slim sans serif for an elegant appearance suitable for the company's insurance business.
I explored at least 30 concepts before we decided to combine the viking ship with the leaf waves.