One-sentence positioning: the exercise we run before drawing a logo
9 November 2026 / 3 min read
Before we draw anything, we run a positioning exercise. It ends with one sentence that says what a company is, who it is for, and where it is going. Most clients cannot write that sentence at first, and that is the useful part.
One of the first logos we designed was for GSI GmbH, a freight forwarder with offices in Germany. This is how the exercise worked for them.
Where they started
When we first met, the team was a little directionless about what they wanted. They were a freight company that did a lot of things. They also wanted to become global and tech-forward. The company they described was not quite the company they intended to be.
That is the reason we run the exercise. We do not design only for the company as it is today. We design for what it is becoming, so the identity does not have to be redone the moment the company grows into its ambition.
The question that unlocked it
It was not one question but a few, asked together. The one that mattered most was how the founders looked at themselves and at the company they had built.
Founders put a great deal of themselves into a business, so the company becomes a reflection of their personality. Once we understood how they saw themselves, the direction of the brand was far easier to find. That is what unlocked the project for us.
Where they landed
GSI now describes itself as an AI-enabled digital freight forwarding solution for all your logistics needs. The wording reflects where the company is going: they are developing an AI platform behind the scenes that will let customers track a shipment, see where it is, know what they need to do next, and find all the information about it in one place.
What changed
GSI began to feel like a serious company with a global outlook, helped by the fact that they have offices in Germany. The logo we designed also sits well with the German side of the business. For a first logo, it was a good lesson in how much a design depends on a clear sentence behind it.
Why this comes before a logo
A logo carries meaning. Without positioning, a designer's choice between three directions comes down to taste, and the client's preference depends on the day. With a positioning sentence you have criteria: which direction looks like someone who does this, for these people, in this way? It also settles what the homepage should lead with and what can be left out.
One format that works
If you want to try this yourself, here is a format to start from:
"We help [specific person] do [specific thing] so that [outcome], unlike [what they would otherwise do]."
It looks easy. It usually takes about an hour, because every blank forces a decision most businesses have been avoiding.
Two tests
The swap test. Replace your name with a competitor's. If the sentence still works, it says nothing.
The stranger test. Read it to someone outside your industry and ask them to say it back in their own words. If they cannot, neither can your customers.
What it isn't
It is not a tagline. A tagline is a public line that may come out of this work. The positioning sentence is a decision tool, and its job is to make everything after it easier.
Working on a brand that does not yet say what it does? See how we approach brand strategy and identity.
Related services: web design and digital platforms, mobile app and product design.
