Repsol

Energy & Industrial

Repsol is ubiquitous across Iberia and Latin America. Every person (driver or not) knows who they are, and in their home country of Spain, the brand is part of the country’s fabric—one of its best known businesses for years.
What isn’t so well-known is how Repsol has been transforming within its industry. Once known as a gas and oil provider, its focus is now on being the people's multi-energy solutions partner, a company at the forefront of achieving net-zero by 2050.
Changing this perception with the impact it needed required an entire brand refresh, one that supported a changing business model. They looked for a strategic design partner to build a relationship with, through deep trust and collaboration, strengthened over time.
Repsol came to us to embark on a now ongoing partnership, leading the charge of a complete identity rehaul developed from the idea of ‘Confluence’—the point where all energy comes together.

Valero Marín

This evolution of our brand is not just a matter of visual identity; it is the tangible expression of our ambition to lead the energy transition. Together with Saffron, we have built an identity that clearly reflects our role as a multi-energy company, ready for the future.

Executive Managing Director of Client, and Member of the Executive Committee, Repsol

Convergence through credibility

The world knew Repsol as an industrial player, more an oil company than a full-spectrum energy provider. Awareness of their broader offer—electricity, gas and solar—was limited. Communicating their leadership in the energy transition had to be relevant and credible to everyday customers and society. So we built a narrative that brought Repsol closer to people’s homes and daily lives.

<h2>Giving the brand new meaning and behaviour</h2>

Creating a multi-energy, people-centred brand had to come from existing credentials. To build on the trust, quality and leadership Repsol already stood for, we analysed the existing brand’s strength and credibility.

<h2>The evolution of an icon</h2>
One of the biggest hurdles was updating a truly iconic brand, deeply embedded in Spain’s industrial history. The new identity needed to honour that legacy while leading Repsol into a new chapter defined by cultural impact. 
Striking the balance between tradition and transformation was essential: respecting a symbol deeply rooted in collective memory, while signalling Repsol’s commitment to a more innovative, diverse and dynamic future of energy.

Jacob Benbunan

Chief Executive Officer

Repsol was the very first client I had the privilege to work with as a brand consultant back in 1991, working hand in hand with its Chairman, Oscar Fanjul and of course, Wally Olins. At that time, the fact that a leading oil and gas company would embrace such a disruptive visual identity was, without a doubt, exceptional. Repsol was born as an exceptional company and it deserved an exceptional visual identity.

Today, 34 years later, I am proud to have led the brand to a new standard in the energy sector. The work marks the shift from a product-facing organisation to a future-facing one. Its rebrand positions Repsol as the leader in the energy transition while preserving its core traits of trust, quality and leadership.

CEO, Saffron

Visualising multiple energies

Approaching Repsol’s most prominent reference point needed care and precision. With ‘Confluence’ as our north star, we designed the new symbol as a living form of energy, an interpretation of multi-energy in motion, ever-changing and interconnected.

Activating internal dimensions

Like a living being, the new 3D symbol beats, vibrates, and transforms, always in motion, while remaining true to itself. This dynamism allows the brand to activate the dimensions from within. 
The materiality we explored allows the symbol to move across communication contexts and new territories, creating moments of emotional connection with its audience. A flexible language, flexing without losing its essence.

A layer of materiality added to the concept of multi-energy, grounding the symbol in reality, strengthening how it inspired trust and authenticity. 
By giving the symbol an almost physical quality, it becomes visually more memorable, easier to connect with emotionally, while staying true to the dynamic nature of multi-energy.

Where energies meet

With our symbol as the nucleus, a new expressive and adaptive design system was born. It brings the brand into constant movement, providing societal value, showing the whole picture without neglecting details, connecting with people in a clear and natural way.   
We call it ‘Confluence’: where energies meet. It’s how we activate Repsol's visual language to tell the stories that need to be told.

Powering sponsorship

Unlocking how the brand came to life in real-world applications was a large focus. Repsol’s Leisure Alliances were a prime example, as here, materiality allows the brand to be present without being intrusive. The symbol’s empathetic behaviour subtly supports cultural and leisure events, letting the world know Repsol’s presence, connecting in a way that feels understated and human.

Getting closer to people

Repsol needed a typeface to express their new ambition—so we designed one. Its gentle, flowing lines echo the movement of the symbol, giving their voice a visual warmth that exchanged capitals for lowercase. 
The thinking extended into a full logo font, designed to bring clarity and consistency across Repsol’s brand architecture.

Our partnership with Dalton Maag brought to life a complete type system for the brand, including display and text fonts, both upright and italic. With a shared strong DNA, they’re optimised for different uses: display for headlines at medium to large sizes, text for legibility at medium to small sizes.

Marcos Fraga

Evolving a brand as recognised and valued as Repsol required a delicate balance: progressing without losing who we are. Thanks to Saffron’s work, we’ve achieved exactly that. Their approach has preserved the essence of our identity while giving it new meaning—more vibrant, more flexible, more contemporary.

Saffron understood that our brand is not just a logo, but a strategic expression of who we are and where we’re going. They have helped accompany our transformation with an identity that signals leadership, innovation, and closeness. Today, Repsol projects a unique personality—reconnecting with customers, employees, and society, and reinforcing our purpose and ambition.

Director of Communications and Brand, Repsol

Same, but different

To keep the huge recognition invested in Repsol’s colour palette, we chose to introduce radiance-adding gradients that added dimension while maintaining connection with the new symbol. Playfully, we built a colour stage where the visual system could perform.

Moments that lift

Iconography became a direct extension of the symbol’s language, bringing the brand closer to its audience in a way that felt more casual, direct and empathetic. By translating the essence of our symbol into a set of approachable and expressive icons, we created a visual language that adapts to its context without ever losing character.

Warmer clarity

In a services-led brand, icons play a critical role in navigation. But they need to align with the tone and shape of the broader visual system. That’s why we designed a comprehensive iconography system to work hand-in-hand with Sole, Repsol’s new font family.

Telling stories

A key feature of the new brand had to be how it tells stories. We created an approachable illustration system that could transform the technical into the human, and complex into simple, in a way that speaks everyone's language.

Further enhancing the storytelling meant defining Repsol’s art direction around a ‘colour thread’ featuring moments, people and environments. It zooms in and out of the scenes, in sync with the visual elements.

An icon on the road, and beyond

A single idea fuels all spatial touchpoints, ensuring coherence and design strength, with the symbol acting as the visual and conceptual centre of gravity; from service stations to retail stores to event spaces.

In street-facing retail spaces, the concept softens; the colour palette becomes more subdued and natural. Materials invite touch, and the design encourages people to linger. Each store becomes a gentle extension of the brand universe, fostering closeness and a desire to stay.

Our design for Repsol Campus makes it more than an HQ, but an icon of the brand. Curved lines soften transitions and guide movement while neutral tones and tactile materials reinforce a calm, inviting and functional environment. The design balances identity and comfort.

For trade shows and events, we translated brand principles into responsive environments. Again, the symbol anchors the experience, with layers of content, interaction, and atmosphere unfolding from it.   
Though each setup adapts to a different context, the brand identity remains strong, recognisable, coherent, and full of energy.

Saffron worked with a set of trusted partners to make the Repsol brand a reality.<a href="https://www.daltonmaag.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Dalton Maag</a>: Bespoke typeface<a href="https://futuredeluxe.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Future Deluxe</a>: 3D exploration and ideation <a href="https://nula.studio/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Nula</a>: Architectural ideation

Still want to know more? <a href="https://saffron-consultants.com/contact" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Get in touch.</a>

Confluence of energies

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