A functional identity, tied to a growing network.

The organisation was previously known as EHM – Erziehungshilfe München. As it expanded, it rebranded under a new name: Gesellschaft für Soziale Arbeit.

The brief came with one clear requirement: the new logo had to keep the navy blue colour and the dot motif – both already recognised across the organisation’s network of sub-brands, including servus KiDS, FamilienTREFFPUNKT Giesing, VFS, KIT and others.

Typography needed to stay highly readable, in line with accessibility needs. Beyond that, the brand had to feel fresh, modern, friendly and professional – approachable enough for the communities it serves, credible enough for its partners and funders.

Staying in the circle, testing how far it could go.

Working within the dot-motif constraint, I explored several directions – all keeping the circular dot arrangement, but testing different ways to integrate it with the new name. One direction (top left) was inspired by servus KiDS’ existing mark, pushing a dot trail beyond the circle to add movement. Others tested a more literal nod to the old EHM roofline (top right), a simplified typographic approach with the circle as a supporting frame (bottom left), and a version integrating the dot directly into the wordmark itself (bottom right).

The client responded most strongly to the fourth direction: the dot-integrated wordmark felt the most distinctive while still reading clearly as part of the same visual family. This became the starting point for the final logo.

Same dots, same navy, a new identity.

The client responded strongly to this direction from the start – the dot motif breaking beyond the circle, the navy and turquoise combination, the wordmark restructured with “Soziale” set above “Arbeit” to create hierarchy. We refined the balance and spacing, added “München” curving into the arc, and closed it out with the tagline “Perspektiven. Gestalten. Zukunft.” slogan.

Very few rounds of iteration were needed – the direction simply worked for the client.

From recognisable to playful.