Branding · Jul 2026 · 7 min

Anatomy of a logo: how I redesigned Aurora

A logo isn’t a drawing: it’s a decision. Here’s the journey, from the first idea to the final grid, behind the Aurora Cosmetics rebrand.

When a client asks me for “a new logo”, the first thing I do is stop thinking about the logo. An effective mark isn’t born from style, but from meaning: what should people remember when they see it, and what should they feel. With Aurora Cosmetics the starting point was exactly this — understanding why people loved the brand, before changing how it looked.

Start from meaning, not from shape

The name itself already held the idea: aurora, the light that is born. An image of warmth, rebirth, delicacy — exactly the values the brand wanted to convey. I decided the symbol would tell of a dawn: a sun rising over a horizon line. From then on every choice served that metaphor.

A good logo isn’t noticed. It’s recognised. The difference lies entirely in the meaning it carries.

The grid and the proportions

Once the idea is found, the shape must be built — not drawn freehand. I set the mark on a modular grid and two guide circles: the solar disc and the outer circle that defines its space. The A of the name is born as a ray rising from the horizon, at an angle calculated to stay stable at any size, from favicon to signage.

This invisible work is what sets a professional logo apart from one “knocked out on the fly”: geometric consistency is felt, even when it isn’t seen.

The final mark — sun, horizon and the rising A.

Colour and warmth

The palette had to convey warmth without becoming cloying. I chose a warm gold as the accent, a soft cream for light backgrounds and a deep black for contrast and modernity. Three colours, an infinity of applications: packaging, social, site, launch materials.

Oro
Crema
Terra
Notte

One mark, many voices

A logo lives in different contexts, so a single version isn’t enough. I delivered a complete system: main colour version, monochrome for one-colour printing, and negative for dark backgrounds. Clear rules on clear space and minimum sizes complete the package, so the brand stays consistent wherever it’s used.

What I take away

The Aurora redesign reminded me of something simple: renewing doesn’t mean erasing. The biggest challenge isn’t inventing something new, but evolving what people already love without betraying it. When the client saw the final mark, the reaction was: “It’s new, but it’s us”. To me, that’s the definition of a successful rebrand.