Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., universally known as Petrobras, is Brazil’s state-controlled oil and gas corporation, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Its current visual identity combines the wordmark “Petrobras” in green with the iconic “BR” symbol in green and yellow placed to its left. This configuration became the company’s single global logo in 2014, replacing the blue wordmark that had been used internationally. [1]
Design and History
Petrobras’s first institutional logo was created in 1958 by Luiz Pepe, an employee of the company. It consisted of a yellow diamond with a green outline, containing the word “Petrobrás” (still accented at the time) in blue. The shape and colors were chosen to echo the Brazilian flag, reflecting the nationalist sentiment of the era. This mark was used from 1958 to 1972. [2]
In October 1972, a new institutional mark was approved for the entire Petrobras system. Known as the “hexágono-losango” (hexagon-diamond), it was designed by Aloísio Magalhães. The official manual explained that the design was built from two interlocking “V” shapes, a form used since Greek and Egyptian antiquity as a symbol of property and hierarchy. The mark was used for 22 years, until 1993. [2]
Meanwhile, in the early 1970s, Aloísio Magalhães also developed a separate logo for Petrobras Distribuidora, the company’s fuel distribution subsidiary. This mark highlighted the letters “BR” within the word Petrobras, with a line over the characters, and was designed to create an attractive visual identity for service stations. The BR symbol was redesigned in 1982 by designer Rafael Rodrigues, becoming the version known today. [2]
The current logo was designed by Décio Pignatari in 1993. [2] The unification of the Petrobras and Distribuidora brands occurred in 1994, when the hexagon-diamond was abandoned and the BR symbol took its place, strengthening the image of the integrated Petrobras system. [2]
In July 2014, Petrobras announced it would adopt the same logo globally. The blue wordmark used internationally was retired in favor of the green “Petrobras” name with the green-and-yellow BR icon on the left. The change was part of a brand unification effort expected to take several years to roll out across all markets. [1] [3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The green and yellow colors of the BR symbol reference the Brazilian flag and the company’s national identity. [4] The first logo’s diamond shape and colors were likewise designed to connect the company to the national flag. [2] The 1972 hexagon-diamond mark was described in the company’s manual as referencing the carbon chain formula, a nod to the petroleum industry itself. [5]
Typography and Design
The 1972 brand manual specified Helvetica for the wordmark, chosen for its “scientific design and good optical quality.” [2] The current identity system includes a proprietary typography applied to company texts, described in official guidelines as communicating “dynamism, technology and proximity.” [2]
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