Starting a business in Saudi Arabia today looks very different from a decade ago.
As the Kingdom has opened its economy, welcomed international investment and accelerated its transformation under Vision 2030, much of the journey has moved online.
A company can now be established digitally through the Saudi Business Center, without visiting a service centre. The Center itself was created specifically to make starting and operating a business in Saudi Arabia smoother and more efficient.
But building a business in Saudi Arabia is about more than incorporating a company.
It means establishing an identity. Residency. Employment. Visas. Vehicles. Travel. Documentation. And navigating the everyday relationship between people, businesses and government.
For millions, that relationship begins with Absher.
BRASH was appointed to create the brand strategy, positioning and visual identity for Absher, giving an extraordinarily complex digital government ecosystem a simple and recognisable human face. The idea was already hidden within its name. In Arabic, Absher is an expression of reassurance — a promise that something will be taken care of.
Consider it done. That simple thought became the foundation of the brand. We brought together two languages; the language of people and the language of technology.
The Arabic word أبشر was crafted into a distinctive contemporary calligraphic mark, with forms influenced by the ones and zeros of binary code. Human expression and digital infrastructure became one symbol.
From that identity, BRASH developed the wider visual language and brand guidelines, creating a system capable of stretching from digital interfaces to physical self-service environments.
One identity, designed for millions of interactions.
Today, Absher is far more than an e-government portal. For someone arriving in Saudi Arabia to build a career, establish a company or create a new life, Absher quickly becomes part of the everyday experience of the Kingdom.
That gives the brand a significance few identities ever achieve. It isn’t simply seen. It is used. Relied upon. And lived with.
For BRASH, there is something particularly meaningful about seeing a brand we created become part of that first experience of Saudi Arabia.
And Absher isn’t our only connection to the journey.
BRASH also worked with Riyadh Chamber, developing its brand as the organisation itself evolved alongside Saudi Arabia’s changing economy. Today the Chamber describes its role as representing the voice of the business sector, connecting businesses with institutions and helping create an environment for growth and sustainable development.
Together, they represent two very different touchpoints in the same story.
Absher helps make the relationship between people, businesses and government simpler.
Riyadh Chamber helps champion the businesses driving the economy forward.
For a brand consultancy, there is a certain honour in knowing that work created by BRASH sits within both.
