Postobón is a Colombian beverage company founded in Medellín on October 11, 1904, when Gabriel Posada and Valerio Tobón formed the society Posada&Tobón.[1] The company’s visual identity operates on two levels: the corporate Postobón mark and the Gaseosas Postobón product brand, which underwent a significant redesign in October 2021.
Design and History
In 1955, the company changed its name from Posada Tobón to Postobón S.A., combining the founders’ surnames.[2] The Gaseosas Postobón brand logo has changed four times in more than 100 years of operation.[3]
The most recent redesign, launched on October 20, 2021, came two decades after the previous logo update in 2004.[4] The new identity was a co-creation between the agencies Aldasbrand and Sancho BBDO.[5] The redesign process included input from approximately 1,300 consumers in Colombia’s main cities through surveys and in-depth interviews.[5]
The 2021 update marked a radical shift from the previous logo. The traditional red letters were replaced with white lettering set against a background color that changes according to the beverage flavor: pink for Manzana, green for Limón, and so on across the seven flavors (Manzana, Naranja, Uva, Kola, Piña, Limón, Tamarindo).[3] The word “Postobón” also moved from a diagonal orientation to a horizontal one, with a more minimalist and modern typography.[3]
This change was defined for the Gaseosas Postobón product brand only, not for the Postobón company itself.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The new Gaseosas Postobón logo replaces the previous splash effect with a smile, rendered as a curve beneath the word “Postobón,” accompanied by three bubbles rising above the wordmark. The company describes this as a “bubbly smile” concept that celebrates variety and flavor.[3] The official announcement states that the new configuration “celebrates variety and flavor with a big smile” and “evokes the tradition of the category, with three bubbles that detach with rhythm and simplicity from the word Postobón.”[5]
The redesign is complemented by the concept “Nos une el sabor” (“Flavor unites us”), described as a reflection that celebrates the variety and flavor that Gaseosas Postobón delivers to Colombians.[5]
Typography and Design
The 2021 logo features a modern, clean, and easily recognizable typography, according to the company’s official announcement.[5] The wordmark is now set horizontally with a minimalist, modern typeface, a departure from the previous diagonal arrangement.[3] The design maintains certain traits in the typographic composition that reference the brand’s 118-year history while incorporating contemporary graphic elements and visual rhythms.[6]
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