Patrick Rocha / Travel Guide

Branding

Patrick Rocha is a travel guide based on Sal, one of the islands in the Cape Verde archipelago off the west coast of Africa. He works with tourists visiting the island, helping them book activities — island tours, diving, snorkelling, fishing, jet skiing, zip-lining, quad and buggy rides, horseback riding, and catamaran trips. Most of his clients find him on the ground, through word of mouth or by picking up his card at local spots.

He wanted a shark in his logo. It’s the animal he identifies with, and it has a real connection to the island. Lemon sharks breed in Shark Bay on the east coast of Sal, one of the few known nursery sites for the species — juvenile sharks gather in the shallow water there year-round, and guided visits to the bay have become one of the island’s main attractions. Beyond lemon sharks, nurse sharks, tiger sharks, bull sharks, and hammerheads are also present in Cape Verdean waters, though the larger species tend to stay far offshore. Sharks are part of the place’s identity, and for Patrick, including one in his branding was a straightforward decision.

The Logo

The logo shows a yacht on a wave line, travelling from point A to point B, with directional arrows marking the movement. The concept is literal by design. In a sector where potential clients are scanning through marine service providers and making fast decisions, clarity wins over abstraction.

The yacht is drawn in a clean, line-style with hatched sails, detailed enough to read as a proper sailing vessel rather than a generic icon, but simple enough to scale well across different sizes and applications. The wave line beneath the hull ties the composition together horizontally and gives it a sense of motion — the boat is in transit, which is the whole point.

The A-to-B notation does the rest. The design sits in a deliberate middle ground — not loaded with effects to signal prestige, and not stripped to total minimalism, where it risks disappearing among similar marine brands.

The aim was something clean, readable, and distinct enough to hold its own.

Business Cards

The business cards use a solid red front — Patrick’s favourite colour — with the logo printed in white. The contrast is strong enough that the card is immediately visible even when stacked, which is how many tourist-facing materials end up being seen on the island.

The back is white, divided between contact information on the left (name, phone number, and social media handle) and a list of main bookable activities on the right.

The layout is straightforward and scannable, which was a practical consideration — these cards get handed out on beaches and at tour pickup points, often to people who are mid-holiday and making quick decisions. Everything a potential client needs is there at a glance: who to contact, how to reach them, and what they can arrange.