Resumo. The purpose of this article is to present and compare the characteristics of the creation, use and inheritance of two graphic systems used to identify cattle, fishing utensils and personal objects, evaluating the influence of the environment, memory, local culture and external influences in the construction of brands. From the contextualisation of the environment, the Siglas Poveiras of the fishermen of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal and the livestock brands of the breeders in the Brasilian Northeastern Sertão are presented in their most relevant graphic characteristics. They are compared from their forms of transmission, relations with the medium and their original function. The results obtained reinforce the possibility of migration of the mechanisms of hereditary transmission of the Siglas Poveiras to the local context of cattle breeders northeast of Brazil.