SJB is an Australian multidisciplinary design practice spanning architecture, interior design, planning and urban design, with studios in Melbourne and Sydney. Founded in Melbourne in 1976 by Alan Synman, Charles Justin and Michael Bialek, the practice began as Synman Justin Bialek Architects before formally transitioning to the SJB name. The SJB logo is a typographic wordmark that has become a distinctive industry icon in Australian architecture.
Design and History
SJB’s visual identity has evolved alongside the practice itself. In 2022, SJB launched a new brand identity and website developed over 18 months with design agencies For The People and ED. The project was framed as a refresh rather than a reinvention, with practice founder Michael Bialek describing it as “a tweak and adjustment” rather than a major overhaul. The brand was designed to reflect how the practice and its leadership group had changed, with the stated goal of empowering staff and giving authorship of work to all leaders. The identity drew on “modernist ideals, minimalism and simplicity” while playing a supporting role to the practice’s published work. [1]
Notably, the 2022 rebrand did not change the logo itself. The SJB wordmark, affectionately referred to internally as “the blob,” was retained because of its recognition within the industry. As SJB director Fiona Coakley explained, the logo is “potentially illegible for those not in the know” but “totally distinctive, eschewing the sans-serif minimalism of our industry.” [2]
While the logo was not redesigned, it was redrawn to align with the new brand’s keyline grid system. For The People described the process as “a few tweaks here and there” that brought the mark more in line with the heavily gridded design system, and the redrawing allowed for new variations for special situations that elaborated on the modular system. [3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The SJB wordmark’s meaning is tied directly to the practice’s origins. The letters stand for the surnames of the three founding architects: Synman, Justin and Bialek. The practice formally transitioned from Synman Justin Bialek Architects to SJB when it introduced a new brand identity and a fully integrated model spanning architecture, interiors, planning and urban design. [4]
The 2022 brand system was built around a keyline grid system described as evoking “modernist and minimalist architectural cues.” The system was designed to be both monolithic and modular, representing the practice as “one confident and united front” while remaining flexible enough to adapt across the many contexts in which SJB operates. [3]
Typography and Design
The SJB wordmark is a typographic mark described by those involved in the brand as a “chubby train of letters.” Its distinctive character comes from its departure from the sans-serif minimalism common in the architecture industry. The logo’s letterforms were redrawn as part of the 2022 brand refresh to sit within the new grid system, though the overall character of the mark was preserved. [2] [3]
The broader 2022 identity extended beyond the logo into a modular design system that was carried through to the website. The digital platform, developed by ED, harnessed the brand’s grid system with a flexible layout that “draws itself on the page,” encouraging users to keep discovering content. [5]
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