Silicon Valley Bank
The Rebrand
Silicon Valley Bank has supported founders and entrepreneurs for 40 years. SVB has become the gold standard in funding for venture capital firms and tech startups. We updated the brand to confidently address founders and to unify the enterprise brand. In the brand update, we carried the strategic platform into the new visual identity by creating design principles: “Forward, Vision, Optimistic, and Expert.” The new brand expresses SVB's entrepreneurial expertise and confidence as leaders.
At the center of the updated brand identity is a new logo. Previously written out as “Silicon Valley Bank,” the “svb” acronym aligns the company name with shorter names commonly seen in tech. The forward chevron shape shows an ambition and relentlessness in pursuing goals. The light blue captures the optimism of fueling innovation for a better world.
The color palette represents the bold strategy through a streamlined set of colors that are vibrant and fresh while maintaining familiarity to the brand's heritage. Neue Montreal is a versatile font that is designed to work beautifully and efficiently at all sizes. It's a workhorse typeface making headlines and paragraphs both legible and elegant. The forward pattern is born out of the logo symbol, relentlessly pushing ahead.
SVB Collapses
Falling victim to a unique set of market conditions (they were partially responsible for creating), SVB faced a Twitter/X inspired bank run last March. The SVB rebrand was front and center as the financial markets teetered on meltdown. The Silicon Valley Bank brand was the most viral thing in the world for a week. SVB was everywhere. On every news program on TV, any news site, any social media feed, in conversation, just everywhere... SVB was being discussed by the President, politicians, professionals, and the public.
I secretly hoped a news anchor would pause to admire the branding. Be it the rigor and refinement seen in the color palette, or the carefully crafted custom wordmark. I wanted a pundit to say it wasn’t just a mess, but a HOT mess. People said horrible things about SVB's character and integrity, but I liked them as a client. They were kind and thoughtful people who wanted their branding to be the best it possibly could be. They weren’t the reckless hedge fund types portrayed in movies. It was surreal to see the SVB logo slathered all over CNN next to graphics with large red arrows on charts pointing down. A wave of opportunists jumped on the misfortune, attempting to create a fail-meme out of SVB while turning a quick profit on ebay.
SVB Survives
Ultimately Silicon Valley Bank survived. First Citizens Bank acquired them, and SVB continues to operate with their original name. They survived because of their brand and relationships. Throughout their forty year history, SVB believed in their customers' business dreams and funded them when traditional banks wouldn’t. The tech sector wouldn’t exist as we know it without SVB providing short notice, make or break loans to tech startups. Decades later, generations of founders felt gratitude for SVB’s generosity in pivotal moments for their businesses. They made their voices heard, and the beloved bank continues.
