Pentagram gives Fedrigoni a minimal new look
The historic Italian paper company enlisted the help of Pentagram partner Harry Pearce and his team to rethink its wordmark and ladder motif
Established in 1888, Fedrigoni has a longstanding relationship with the creative industries. The Italian paper company’s products are used widely for everything from printing and publishing to bookbinding and packaging.
The company commissioned Pentagram partner Harry Pearce to create its new global brand, bringing together its sub-brands (including recently acquired businesses such as Ritrama) and creating a new visual identity for its self-adhesives division.
Inspiration for the identity came from Fedrigoni’s recently released Paper Box of samples, which was designed by Graphic Thought Facility and featured the company’s name set in a redrawn version of Italian designer Aldo Novarese’s 1968 font, Forma.
The design team decided to rethink the existing Fedrigoni logotype, previously set in the French typeface Peignot, opting for a redrawn version of Forma as well.
At the heart of the refreshed identity, the minimal new wordmark is designed to be as flexible and adaptable as possible across its various applications.
Sitting alongside the new wordmark is a refined version of Fedrigoni’s shield, featuring the traditional ladder motif as a symbol of of the city of Verona and the date the company was founded. The wordmark and shield can be used alone or combined, as well as alongside the name of the division.
Pearce and his team introduced a custom version of Forma DJR by David Jonathan Ross as the main typeface. A modern interpretation of the original typeface, it is used in two weights, Text Regular and Text Bold, and is designed to complement the wordmark.
The new identity is primarily monochrome, with a black and white colour palette supported by a suite of cool greys. This stripped back approach acts as a framework to showcase Fedrigoni’s more colourful products, content and imagery.
While the main identity is monochrome, the self-adhesive product brands such as Arconvert and Ritrama each have a unique colour assigned to them, and product photography across all the brands uses rich, saturated colours.
Pearce also worked with strategist Federico Gaggio on developing Fedrigoni’s brand architecture, which now encompasses the main Fedrigoni Group brand, its Paper and Self-Adhesive Units and Distribution.
