BBH is refreshing its identity, as if recalibrating the brand’s tone. Over 44 years, Bartle Bogle Hegarty has established itself in the advertising industry as an agency where distinction and creativity have always been the pillars of growth. Against the backdrop of a market where brands are increasingly lost in the general noise, BBH is bringing its old formula back to the forefront. When everyone is taking the same path, taking a different route becomes valuable. The new image is built around this position and translates the agency’s long-standing philosophy into type, form, and visual language.
The work was carried out in-house. Creative Director Felipe Serradora de Guimarães and Design Director Adam Buckland led the project, while the typography was developed by the team in collaboration with London-based Studio DRAMA. The system is based on three signature typefaces, each named after one of the founders. BBH Bartle provides a clear structure and features wide, open letters. BBH Bogle has a heavier, stiffer feel, closer to the previous logo. BBH Hegarty takes the system in a more relaxed direction and continues the old “zag” concept.
The previous logo relied on the light BBH abbreviation, set in a neutral sans-serif with thin, even strokes. The new version is also built on those same three letters, though the design has become denser, wider, and heavier. The abbreviation looks flattened, massive, and more emphatic. The logo no longer leans toward a calm, functional typeface. It has gained a voice befitting an agency with a storied history and high aspirations. Despite its outward simplicity, the new logo conveys BBH’s spirit more accurately than the previous, almost faceless version.
The entire system revolves around the word “zag,” the agency’s long-standing motto: “When the world zigs, zag.” For BBH, the phrase is tied to its own history. Its roots go back to the 1982 Levi’s campaign, in which a flock of white sheep walked in one direction while a single black sheep looked the other way. Since then, the black sheep has become the brand’s symbol and a metaphor for going against the herd. It has been retained in the new system. Alongside it, a new layer of three-dimensional “zag” forms has emerged, created by the BBH team. Designer Sophie Harper worked on them, and Oded Shein handled the animation. The word “zag” has evolved into a three-dimensional brand object that can be displayed, rotated, customized for clients, and integrated into the brand’s environment.
The method of font distribution also plays a distinct role. BBH released all three typefaces as open source via Google Fonts. For an agency that advocates for the accessibility of creativity, this step feels like a natural extension of its own philosophy. Since its launch, the typeface has been downloaded nearly 4 million times worldwide. At the same time, the entire identity is built as a living system, where the typeface, the sheep, the zag glyphs, the animation, and the 3D objects do not clash but come together to form the brand’s overall tone.
Ultimately, BBH does not abandon its own legacy nor mask the agency’s age behind a sleek digital facade. On the contrary, the new identity takes the old philosophy, strengthens the typography, makes the logo more solid, and gives the brand a more energetic presentation.