Solvanta: How I Turned a Logo Into a Complete Brand Identity

When does a logo become a brand?

Is it when you put it on a business card?

When you choose a colour palette?

When someone recognises it without seeing the company name?

Or is it when all the different pieces start working together to tell the same story?

That was the challenge with Solvanta.

I wasn't starting with a blank canvas. I was given the existing Solvanta logo and asked to develop the wider brand around it — turning a standalone logo into a complete, usable identity.

And that meant figuring out something much bigger than “What does this brand look like?”

It meant asking:

What does Solvanta need to feel like?

First, I needed to understand what Solvanta actually was

Solvanta is a start-up backed by MKM, created specifically to serve UK social housing providers across Repairs & Maintenance.

But it wasn't designed to simply become another traditional merchant.

The brand was built around a different proposition: combining the strength, buying power and supply-chain infrastructure of MKM with the agility of an independent business.

The guidelines describe that balance as strength and agility — commercially robust and disciplined, but still responsive and adaptable.

That became really important when developing the identity.

Because Solvanta needed to feel credible enough to operate in a complex, regulated sector, but it couldn't feel cold, corporate or overly complicated.

It needed to feel:

Clear.
Reliable.
Modern.
Approachable.
Confident.

And, above all, easy to work with.

The brand had to start with the why

Before getting too carried away with fonts and colours, the foundations needed to be right.

The brand was built around a simple idea:

A supply partner that works the way you do.

From there, the positioning became much clearer.

Solvanta exists to give housing providers the edge through smarter supply, better service and genuine partnership. Its mission is centred around helping the housing sector navigate change, meet regulation and improve residents' lives through compliant, cost-effective and forward-thinking supply solutions.

That thinking shaped everything that came afterwards.

The identity wasn't being designed around aesthetics.

It was being designed around what the business needed to communicate.

So what should Solvanta look like?

This was probably the most interesting part of the project.

The existing logo gave me the starting point, but a logo on its own doesn't tell you how a brand behaves.

I needed to build the system around it.

That meant establishing:

• Colour

• Typography

• Photography

• Tone of voice

• Brand expression

• Logo rules

• Applications

• And, importantly, how the brand would work alongside “Backed by MKM”

The finished guidelines bring all of those elements together into one system.

Colour wasn't chosen just because it looked nice

The palette needed to balance two things.

Confidence and clarity.

The primary yellow brings energy, visibility and forward momentum.

Black adds strength and authority.

White creates space and clarity.

Charcoal provides a structured, professional neutral.

And Slate Blue introduces trust, governance and accountability.

Put those together and you get something that feels connected to the wider MKM world without simply becoming “MKM, but with a different name.”

That distinction mattered.

Solvanta needed its own identity.

But it also needed to benefit from the reassurance that comes from being backed by MKM.

Then came the typography

Typography can completely change how a brand feels.

For Solvanta, I chose Neue Haas Grotesk Display Pro.

Why?

Because it has the structure and authority needed for a business operating in a complex sector, but it doesn't feel overly corporate or cold.

It's direct.

It's highly legible.

And it has a clean, precise quality that supports the idea of clarity and control.

That might sound like a small decision.

It isn't.

When you're creating a new brand, the typeface is going to appear everywhere — reports, presentations, digital platforms, marketing materials and documents.

So it needs to do more than look good in a logo.

It needs to work.

The voice needed to sound like a person

This was another important part of building the identity.

Solvanta operates in social housing, where the audience is dealing with tight budgets, compliance demands, service expectations and the realities of day-to-day operations.

The brand couldn't sound like it was shouting at them.

It needed to sound like it understood them.

The tone was therefore developed to be:

Clear and straightforward.
Helpful and supportive.
Collaborative and relationship-led.
Calm, confident and reassuring.
Resident aware and purpose driven.

Even the language was considered.

Partner, not supplier.

Residents, not tenants.

Home, not house.

Hub, not branch.

Those little decisions make a surprisingly big difference.

They tell you who the brand thinks it is — and who it thinks its audience is.

And then there's the photography

Again, this wasn't simply about finding some nice pictures of houses.

The photography needed to show the scale, reliability and practical support behind Solvanta.

That meant materials.

Timber.

Bricks.

Bulk bags.

Plumbing.

Building supplies.

But it also meant people.

Real teams, naturally photographed in the environments they work in, showing the practical knowledge and experience behind the business.

And where appropriate, the brand could appear subtly through clothing or equipment.

The aim was to connect the supply chain with its real-world purpose.

Because ultimately, Solvanta isn't just supplying materials.

It's helping housing providers keep homes maintained and services moving.

Making the logo work harder

One of the biggest mistakes businesses can make is thinking that once they've got a logo, the branding is finished.

It isn't.

A logo needs rules.

For Solvanta, I established different versions for different situations — the full logo as the primary expression, the wordmark as a secondary option and the logomark where space is limited or the brand is already established.

I also created guidance around sizing, clear space, colourways and incorrect usage.

For example, the guidelines specify a minimum logo size of 40mm in print and 80px digitally, while clear space is defined to protect the logo's visibility and impact.

Because there is nothing more painful than spending time building a brand and then watching someone stretch the logo because “it fitted better that way.”

No.

Just no.

And then there's MKM

This was one of the more delicate parts of the identity.

Solvanta is its own business.

But it is backed by MKM.

So the brand needed to have enough independence to stand on its own, while still communicating the strength and credibility of its parent organisation.

The guidelines therefore include a dedicated “Backed by MKM” logo treatment, with specific requirements around how the MKM logo is used.

It's a good example of why brand identity isn't just about designing a logo.

It's about understanding the relationships around the brand too.

So, what did I actually create?

The end result wasn't simply a new colour palette and a nice font.

It became a complete Solvanta brand identity system.

The guidelines cover the brand foundations, story, purpose, mission, vision, brand pillars, promise and value proposition, before moving into tone of voice and the visual identity. They then establish the practical rules for logos, colour, typography, photography and brand applications.

That means Solvanta now has something much more valuable than a logo.

It has a framework.

A consistent way of showing up.

A clear understanding of who it is, what it stands for and how it should communicate.

A logo is the starting point. Not the finished product.

I think that's probably the biggest lesson from this project.

A strong brand identity isn't created by simply choosing a nice font and a colour palette.

It's created by understanding the business first.

Who are you?

Who are you talking to?

What do you want them to believe?

How do you want them to feel?

And then making sure every visual and verbal decision supports that.

With Solvanta, the existing logo gave me the starting point.

My job was to turn that starting point into something bigger.

Something consistent.

Something usable.

Something that could grow with the business.

Because a logo identifies a business.

A brand identity tells people who that business is.

And that's the difference.