A new brand for BDP
Branding is more than just a logo or a colour palette. It defines who you serve, how you make them feel, and what makes you different. As professional services marketers, we know that a business can only unlock the full potential of its brand when purpose, values, identity, and actions align.
In August 2023, we set out to refresh BDP’s brand, which had served us well but no longer reflected who we are today. We needed a brand that reinforced our values, supported sustainable growth across the 12 sectors we work in, and resonated with all 13 of our consultancy professions. It was a big task, but one that was essential for our future.
With the leadership team’s backing, we ran a series of internal brand workshops across our 19 global studios. These workshops weren’t just about defining our visual identity; they were about engaging our people, giving them a voice, and shaping our brand from the inside out. In a ‘people to people’ industry like ours, authenticity starts within.
Through these conversations and with the help of our chosen brand agency, Peter and Paul, we shaped a brand with strong foundations, one that truly represents us. Our new brand idea, ‘Built Original’, is inspired by our history as the original multidisciplinary design practice. Our brand purpose defines why we exist, the reason we come to work every day, and the positive impact we want to make on the world. Designing a world that’s built for good means creating places that serve people, protect the planet, and stand the test of time. Our human-centric design approach enhances quality of life, ensuring that the spaces we create genuinely improve the lives of those who use them. Through regenerative design, we reduce environmental impact, embedding sustainable solutions into every project. And by drawing on the strength of our multidisciplinary expertise, we design places that are built to last, ensuring their longevity benefits generations to come.
These principles are supported by values that reflect the way we work with each other and our clients, all wrapped in a fresh, open, and approachable visual identity. Our values express the behaviours we respect in one another and serve as guiding principles that shape our culture, decision-making, and day-to-day activities. Often, clients seek partners who align with their core values, so this helps them understand who we are and what it would be like to work with us. We collaborate openly, listening to one another, building trust, and creating lasting relationships. We work sustainably, recognising that community is our creative fuel and climate is the end client. We support thoughtfully, helping each other grow and develop. We create intelligently, bringing curiosity and imagination to everything, and we delight purposefully, ensuring that everything we create is well made and designed for everyone.
Achieving consensus across a global business isn’t always easy, but when we shared the brand concept and our new values with colleagues across the practice, the response was overwhelmingly positive.
At the heart of it all is our story. Our roots run deeper than our contemporaries. Others have history. We have origins.
We were the original multidisciplinary house of design. Born from a 1960s design revolution, our roots are socially progressive and people centric. That foundation remains just as important today as it was then. Over the years, we’ve been joined by other pioneering practices that share our philosophy and our commitment to creating firsts: Nippon Koei in 2016, Quadrangle Architects in 2019, and Pattern in 2021. Each of these firms brings its own unique origins, and together, they add to our evolving story. Across all our global locations, our people bring curiosity, ingenuity, and individuality to their work, ensuring that we continue to shape the future.
Bringing our new brand to life required more than just a new logo or website. We designed a full suite of tools to ensure every touchpoint reflects our identity and ambition. We reimagined our proposals, brochures, and presentations to communicate who we are more clearly and consistently.
Our new geo-responsive website showcases the breadth of our expertise, adapts to regional markets, and celebrates the diversity of our people and their talents. It’s the digital expression of ‘Built Original’. It is a seamless balance of heritage and contemporary design excellence. Every element, from typography to colour palette, reinforces our commitment to originality and clarity.
When it came to launching the new brand internally, we wanted to create a moment of shared excitement and ownership. Every studio hosted a social event, premiering our new practice film. More than just a celebration, this was a way to bring our people together around a shared identity. To make sure the brand was embedded in daily practice, we followed up with online workshops, giving practical guidance on how to use templates and brand assets effectively.
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And now we are sharing the brand with the rest of the world, and we hope that you can see that it is more than a visual update. This brand is a promise, to our people, our clients, and the communities we serve.
Built Original isn’t just our tagline, it’s our mindset. It reflects our pioneering origins and our modern ingenuity. It embodies the creativity, technical excellence, and collaborative spirit of our global team. Our legacy of firsts is now a bold, forward-thinking vision for how we live today. For how we must live tomorrow. And for generations to come. Collectively, this brand brings us closer to our clients' goals and proves that together, we are all working to blend imaginative design with technical expertise to create places that make a lasting, positive impact on the world.