Butantan Institute logo

PROJECT

Butantan

CUSTOMER

Butantan Institute

SCOPE

Immersion and Multidimensional Research, Stakeholder Interviews, Brand Strategy, Positioning, Brand Architecture, Visual Identity, Graphic System, Art Direction, Communication Guidelines, Sub-brand System and Playbook.

Evolving one of Brazil’s most recognised scientific brands meant preserving its historic legacy and the trust built over decades, while giving the identity greater unity, clarity and relevance for the future.

Black-and-white image of a coiled snake with a scale pattern
AI simulation
AI simulation
Image split in half, featuring a snake on the left and a drawing of tree rings on the right,
A decorative green mosaic pattern with a central brown band featuring a white logo.

As Instituto Butantan marked its 125th anniversary, it began a process of evolving its institutional identity.

Beyond updating a historic brand, the challenge was to preserve the recognition and trust built over decades while creating an identity that reflected the Institute’s continued capacity for innovation.

In addition, the growing diversity of centres, initiatives and services called for an architecture capable of strengthening the perception of a single institutional ecosystem.

Context

Technical diagram of a stylized logo featuring the number 5, with grid lines and blue colored circles, set against a black background.

Reconstruction of the letter B

Instituto Butantan logo featuring the words "In the service of life" alongside a 125th-anniversary celebration.
Instituto Butantan logo featuring the words "In the service of life" alongside a 125th-anniversary celebration.
Graphic design divided into two parts: the left side has a light background with details on typography; the right side has a dark green background with information about the Butantan Institute and its history.
Graphic design divided into two parts: the left side has a light background with details on typography; the right side has a dark green background with information about the Butantan Institute and its history.
Curves and textures from various natural and synthetic surfaces, including green scales, tree bark, fabric fibres, wood, fish scales, water surfaces, cellular patterns, and a range of colours with colour code information
Curves and textures from various natural and synthetic surfaces, including green scales, tree bark, fabric fibres, wood, fish scales, water surfaces, cellular patterns, and a range of colours with colour code information

Science, nature, and life
in one system.

Science, nature, and life
in one system.

[IA] Vaccine vial developed for the Butantan project. | Image created with support from
[AI] | Image created with support from
[AI] | Image created with support from

We began by immersing ourselves in the Institute’s history, architecture, scientific culture and visual memory, complemented by interviews with researchers, leaders and other stakeholders. This process revealed that the identity should evolve not by breaking with Butantan’s heritage, but by building on the principles embedded within it.

In revisiting the historic symbol, we used the golden ratio to refine its curves and inner spaces without losing the form recognised by the public. The new Butantan wordmark was also inspired by the institution itself, drawing on the structure and distinctive features of the lettering found on the façade of its headquarters. In the ‘N’, a high, curved diagonal connects this architectural repertoire to the branching structures found in Linnaean taxonomy diagrams.

Building on these discoveries, we developed a visual system inspired by the relationships between science, nature and technology, and reorganised the brand architecture to connect the Institute’s different areas under a single, consistent institutional expression.

Inobi Approach

Preserving history. Strengthening the future.

A system for communicating science.
The new visual system translates science into a living organism.
Macrophotography, scientific imagery, organic structures, graphic elements and references to biodiversity build a language that brings research, innovation and social impact closer to people.

The redesigned symbol, the wordmark inspired by the Institute’s architecture, the expanded colour palette, the 125th-anniversary identity and the new brand architecture all works as one integrated system. Each element preserves recognisable Butantan codes while extending the brand’s flexibility across different areas, initiatives and touchpoints.

System in Practice

Outcome

The project established a more contemporary and flexible identity, ready to evolve with the Institute.

By integrating identity, visual language and brand architecture, the system strengthens the perception of Butantan as a single institution, connecting its different fields of work and expanding its ability to communicate science with clarity, consistency and relevance for generations to come.

  • Creative Director: Filomena Padron

    Project Manager:     Ana Paula Rezende

    Art Director:     Laila Rodrigues

    Creative:     Kauane Corrêa

    Storytelling and Content:     Silvio Fudissaku

  • Photographs from the Butantan collection used as the basis for developing the visual language and identity.

  • Esper Kallása, Rafaela Ranzani

Credits

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