What we learned launching 140 brands
Twelve years, fourteen people and a surprising amount of tape. The lessons that survived every project.
Ines Calder
We passed our 140th brand launch this summer. It felt like a good moment to write down what has stayed true since the first one, when Norivo was three people around a borrowed kitchen table in Lisbon.
Small teams ship
Every project we are proud of had a client team of three or fewer decision-makers. Bigger committees do not create better work; they create safer averages.
Show it in context, early
We stopped presenting logos on white slides years ago. A mark only becomes real on a coffee cup, a payment screen or a festival wristband, so that is where we show it from week three.
“Nobody has ever fallen in love with a logo on a white background.”
Write the brief together, in one room, in one afternoon.
Show three directions, never more.
Hand over the source files and teach the team to use them.
The tape, by the way, is vermilion. It holds the moodboards up and has become a small studio superstition.
Written by
Ines Calder
Founder & Creative Director
Ines founded Norivo in 2014 after a decade leading brand teams in Lisbon and London. She still sketches every first idea with a 2B pencil.
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