Fondazione Alinari: A New Era in Brand Identity

Frush Design's Award-Winning Visual Identity for Fondazione Alinari

The inspiration for the design comes from the very essence of photography - "writing with light." The brand features sculptural lettering, a black and white palette representing light and shadow, and a focus on the word "Alinari." The letter 'A', an abstraction of a camera lens, serves as a photo container symbolizing the vast and historical Alinari archive.

Frush Design's unique approach to the project is evident in the brand's visual identity. The design is a departure from the previous private brand, reflecting the new public status of the institution. The design had to encapsulate the long history of the archive, dating back to 1852, while distinguishing itself from the previous brand.

The brand design extends to various materials including business cards, folders, envelopes, notes, posters, entrance tickets, catalogues, badges, sanitizing gel, and merchandising items such as mugs, T-shirts, pins, and shoppers. The project also included a website redesign and a brand presentation video.

The project, which began in October 2020 in Florence, Italy, is still ongoing. The design process involved extensive research into the Alinari holdings' exceptional cultural value, which led to the Tuscany Region's decision to purchase them. This move has preserved the archive's unique size and value, preventing its dispersal and dismemberment, and ensuring its future use and accessibility.

The main challenge faced by the design team was to promote a widespread culture of photography, starting with the Alinari collections, while preserving their authentic historical and cultural value and physical integrity. The design needed to reflect the archive's long history and stand out from the previous brand. The result is a visual identity system based on the letter 'A', representing Alinari and abstracting a camera lens. The form serves as a container to showcase the photos from the vast historical archive.

The copyrights for this innovative design belong to Giuditta Valentina Gentile, a member of the Frush Design team. The design's recognition with the Silver A' Design Award is a testament to its creative and professional excellence, showcasing remarkable expertise and innovation. This award is given to designs that demonstrate strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, introducing positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.