In its 22-year history, Banca Transilvania’s brand identity has seen three pivotal moments: its launch in 1994, the 2003 rebranding and the one now, in 2016. A few untold stories so far from the people and teams directly involved in the key moments of shaping Banca Transilvania’s brand identity.

1994: Banca Transilvania’s first logo: a medieval concept that spoke about Transylvania and BT’s drive to make its mark

After Banca Transilvania was founded in Cluj-Napoca, choosing a logo was a priority, so the founders wanted the entrepreneurial idea to take shape as quickly as possible. They looked for someone with talent who could design a logo as evocative as possible: one that would speak to Transylvania, the bank’s birthplace, and to the growth plan for that region, which the bank identified with in terms of values — even in its name.

 From one recommendation to another, they reached the Cluj-based architect Ioana Avram, whom we had the chance to meet these days, and who fondly told us about the early stage of Banca Transilvania’s logo: “I remember that I designed the logo in line with the suggestions of the bank’s top management at the time. There were several versions, some even more complex in terms of design. Developing the concept and making the choice took about a month. The logo selected conveyed most suggestively the historical weight associated with Transylvania. The lettering, the halberds and the shield in the logo — all warlike elements with a medieval influence, specific to Transylvania and its historical evolution — symbolized BT’s fight to make its mark, which was to follow immediately after launch, as well as the tenacity of those who joined that effort.” 

The bank’s first colors were black and yellow-gold. Ioana Avram also recalls: “The colors were not hard to choose, especially since printing options and use across different materials were much more limited then than now. Black and yellow have always made a pleasing contrast, and one very well suited to banking. Yellow hinted, in fact, at the gold that the then small bank, Banca Transilvania, would go on to generate and manage.”

This brand identity accompanied Banca Transilvania for 9 years.

2003: BT’s first rebranding — a contemporary, minimalist concept

BT’s first rebranding took place in January 2003, coinciding with a new stage in Banca Transilvania’s history. BT was beginning its nationwide expansion, and the new brand image expressed this reinvention of the bank and its new vision. BT worked with an international team of architects from SL & A International – Romania, which proposed several dozen options for the new BT logo, all keeping the shield motif from the bank’s first logo. As a curiosity, versions in yellow and blue were tested, after which the team returned to the original palette of yellow and black.

 A meeting in Cluj-Napoca, at BT, between part of BT’s top management and representatives of SL & A International led to the final shape of the logo. Sketched by the bank’s representatives, the new logo was rendered graphically by SL & A International. The bank still keeps that manuscript. “The concept for the new BT logo followed a contemporary, minimalist design. The logo was simplified through the lines used and the typeface. The composition included a novel detail, two horizontal lines — yellow and black — which, for the bank, signify continuity and which served as a balancing element in the design,” recalls Brandon Lee, Creative Director on the SL & A International – Romania team at the time.

Work on the logo and the bank’s first Concept Book took just two and a half months. BT’s new brand identity was launched on January 13, 2003 in Bucharest, at the Hilton Hotel, at a press conference and, later, at a celebratory event with clients and partners. The Victoria Branch – Bucharest, BT’s 46th location at the time, was the first branch included in the new brand concept, which would go on to be replicated across all of the 500+ locations the bank subsequently opened.

2006: Refining the brand identity & visual and verbal identity manuals for the whole BT family of brands

Adjustments to BT’s brand identity were made 10 years ago, in 2006, by Grapefruit, one of the best-known branding agencies. Over 18 months, they developed the visual and verbal identity manuals for the entire BT brand family, which had grown significantly during that period. 

Marius Ursache, Grapefruit’s founder, sent us the following from San Francisco: „I still remember the first meeting with Banca Transilvania, in Iași, in the small room on the ground floor of Grapefruit’s office. We made sure to seat the two guests from Marketing & PR on the only two swivel chairs that were still safe, while my colleague Ștefan and I sat on the ones with faulty mechanisms, trying — successfully — to keep our balance for half an hour. I recall we looked together at a few brand manuals Grapefruit had already worked on. A few weeks later we started work on a project that became one of the most complex — if not the most complex — branding projects in Grapefruit’s history: redesign and fine-tuning of the Banca Transilvania identity and creating a set of identity manuals with all visual and verbal applications, not just for the bank but for all its sub-brands, among them: BT Café, BT Tennis Cup, Academia BT, Crosul BT, BT Golf Cup, BT Leasing, BT Asset Management, etc.” 

Marius Ursache (logo fine-tuning, designing a new typeface, overall design lines), Adrian Mititelu (materials design), Iulian Avasiloaia (materials design) and Gabriel Pogor (identity manual design) formed the team that contributed to this stage in the BT logo’s history. “Now, ten years on, I realise not only a great project was left behind, but also friendships with some special people who put their hearts into it,” added Marius Ursache.

 The second BT logo was part of Banca Transilvania’s story for 13 years: a successful period in which BT became one of the largest banks in Romania — and even in Europe — and developed into a financial group.  

2016: BT’s second rebranding — a modern concept emphasizing the bank’s nationality and Romanian values

2015 brought the idea of a second rebranding, with Banca Transilvania in a new stage of development and maturity, supporting with respect, passion and fresh ideas the Romanian entrepreneurial spirit.

It took nearly a year to move through the stages leading up to the proposal of BT’s new brand identity: audit, redesign, brand and communication strategy, and the launch on September 15 this year. The rebranding project was carried out in collaboration with Brandient, a Romanian company dedicated to consulting in brand strategy and design. 

The new phase in brand identity design emphasizes the bank’s “nationality” and Romanian values, among them the entrepreneurial spirit. The new logo comes, more than ever, with a rich color palette — yellow, red and blue — which from now on represents Banca Transilvania’s new visual language. BT has kept the elements that have brought it visibility, favorability and goodwill so far: the shield as a graphic element, BT yellow and Zanul — a character that gives the bank’s communication a unique touch and an original way of conveying information. The bank’s positioning also remains The Bank for Entrepreneurial People: 1 in 3 entrepreneurs who start a business choose BT.

This is the story of Banca Transilvania’s brand identity. It began with a medieval flair, and later became streamlined, speaking to the bank’s nationality and national values. Regardless of the logo, BT has kept the shield over the years, as a symbol of protecting the values it believes in and defends.