Corporate identity project: Pilates Center Almería

As a brief introductory comment, given the short history of our blog compared to the years we’ve been running Globulart Diseño, we will write about projects both new and past. Now let’s dive right in…

It was the second half of 2007 when two entrepeneurs, in the process of creating a pilates center in Almería, came to our studio to have us create a corporate identity for their new company. The customer wanted a complete identity package, from the conception of their logotype to the printed pieces (business cards, letterhead and invoice sheets, envelopes, flyers) as well as some decorative elements. The place would be called Pilates Center Almería.

The process began with the creation of a logo based on the information the customer supplied in the interview; I will take the liberty to pause for a moment to stress the importance of doing a personal interview with the client in order to gather vital information about the company and what has to be communicated, such information will later be extremely useful to create the corporate identity and the visual elements that have to be developed. We always follow this procedure strictly; the interview itself is more important than you would think, nevertheless it is the basic material that supplies us with the key concepts that have to be conveyed through our design.

In this case, it was decided that we would start with a figure depicting a Pilates exercise as one of the concepts that had to be communicated, concepts which actually are the basis for Pilates: body, mind and spirit. These three concepts later took shape in some of the graphical pieces that were printed (see the promotional flyer and business card, shown below).

Stationery design is itself a discipline, given the immense quantity of papers, inks and finishes that can be used. We at Globulart dedicate a great deal of effort to find the ideal combination of paper, inks and finishes for each project; after all, we’re talking about turning a series of computer files into something real and tangible. To be precise, I want to underline the interest of the tangible aspect of paper; in this project, Pilates Center Almería, we were seeking papers that “spoke” beyond the design printed on them, and thus we found two different paper brands from two manufacturers our client also considered appropriate. For the letterhead, invoices and envelopes we used a paper with a natural white tone (as opposed to pure white, which is much more common, this paper had a warmer aspect) and a soft feel, almost velvety.

Printed flyers and business cards

Original flyer and business card design

The second paper brand was used to print the flyers and business cards; it is a recycled paper with a “rough” surface showing its threads, very soft to the touch but having a noticeable texture. It also is slightly transparent, which acts as a visual metaphor of lightness. The print work is usually tricky when these kinds of paper are used, sometimes with technical specifications that are not well documented by the maker; it is in these cases when you have to rely on a professional print shop worthy of your trust, and we consider ourselves lucky to have found a fast and reliable print shop, which usually doesn’t say no. This got us a reputation of being the ones who bring them “the weird and unusual”, but they always do their best to get the work done, and the results pay off; anyway, if we just stick to the usual, commonplace papers and finishes, that would be a disservice to the corporate identity of our customers; even the paper you use is communicating something.

Of course, the decoration is equally important; the corporate colors were used to paint the interiors, and the doors were labeled by acid-etching texts on the glass with the corporate typography. The outcome is an elegant ambience, sober and relaxed. Our client also asked us to design several other graphic elements for the main display; the requirements were to create a piece that would both filter the sunlight and be an advertisement for people passing by. We decided to use two roller blinds to cover the street display completely; the supporting structure itself was relatively cheap and the printed sheet can be exchanged later. Even more, the fact that two blinds were used brings the advantage of having greater flexibility when it comes to changing the design, since it is modular.