A new approach to Corporate Identity

Essetre srl Case Study

The concept of Corporate Identity freeing itself from the restricted dimension of graphic design is transformed into a strategic tool and a resource for the management and organization of the Company. Not just facade interventions, aimed at modifying the perceptions of a company and therefore its professional and social image: the focal point of the new architecture are the core values, identified after having “explored” even the tacit and unexpressed components of their culture and business. They play a central role in the development and implementation of the three dimensions of organizational identity: Design, Communication and Made in Italy.

A consistent declination of this orientation is offered by the Essetre S.p.A. group, which interprets the theme of Corporate Identity as an expression of organizational architecture and as a fundamental reference for all dimensions of their Company Brand.

This theme is strictly connected to the evolution towards the network-company and to the introduction of production methods based on continuous updating, on dynamic management of production and warehouse and on custom service: the new economic and market perspectives place the themes of change, competition and flexibility at the center of our discussion, highlighting the symbolic resources available to organization, with the aim of transcending fragmentation and consolidating relations between the various partners – internal and external – of the company network.

Craft lab and industrial design 4.0 Active since 2000 as an artisanal-industry for woodworking and the production of items for drawers and pan drawers, Essetre S.p.A. – based in Cagli (PU), Italy – has over the years become a constant presence in the market of complements and accessories for the kitchen.
The company, which has developed the organizational formula of the network-company by relating the individualities of its internal and external operators, is today a configuration that operates in the national and international territory, in countries that differ in language, culture and economy.
The headquarters, located in Italy, near the university city of Urbino and within a territory – the Montefeltro – traditionally known as one of the production centers of Made in Italy furniture, coordinates the from a distribution and commercial point of view, the areas Iberian, French and Russian. The new headquarters in Dalton, Yorkshire (Essetre UK Ltd) is an enclave in the English territory that plays a leading role in the Group’s expansion strategies and in the development in Northern Europe of the Gourmet-line and Easy-line divisions, two lines of products in constant growth, which currently represent 70% of the total volume of turnover. This role is destined to strengthen, following the recent launch of new product lines and new materials.

The evolution of this company, from 2000 to today, is marked by a progressive growth path, during which the coherence of the name represents an element of continuity. In fact, the Brand Name Essetre coincides with the Tria Nomina of the three partners, founders and directors of the company. Over time, this reference has been used to mark product lines that are also very different from each other: a solution that reflects a sensibility organizational and communicative similar to that of the Japanese “Umbrella-Brand” (three corporate-name: Essetre Wood | Essetre Metal | Essetre Plastic which embrace a particularly wide range of activities and products under their wing: Tahoma-line, Gourmet-line, Easy-line, Sky-line, Cheap-line, Elite-line, etc.). The persistent link, through the Brand Name, underlines an artisan imprint that is still intended to be kept alive, even in the context of a changed social and economic situation and of a company that has taken on dimensions, dynamics and managerial characteristics over time.

The development of an internal Graphic Dept has favored new methods and betters skills for the entire organization allowing it to deal with the problems of the foreign market with adequate communication tools and techniques.

Essetre’s graphics style At the center of the Visual Identity, the Brand Name Essetre is printed in silver color with sans-serif capital letters on a black square. In sometimes, the image of a kitchen utensil or a macro photograph of a cutlery tray made of wood or other material is used, on which the Essetre logo is imprinted. The two solutions highlight the company’s essential link with its territory and with the raw material of which its products are made: wood, metals, plastics, in all their forms. These can change in the models, in the characteristics, in the typologies, but what never fails is the relationship of the materials processed with the Essetre brand.
Black – the company’s social color, strong and elegant – constitutes the stylistic background of visual communication.
The Pay Off, generally called upon to perform a function of psychological reinforcement and guarantee with respect to the universe of values ​​evoked by the Brand, has a unique and precise collocation in advertising communication: The Best Inside. A claim with a strong emphasis on the company’s core business: the design and production of interior accessories for kitchen drawers and cabinets.

The considerations I have suggested regarding the corporate brand extend to the monochrome code: the catalogs, the website, the social profiles, the advertising and promotional material, unequivocally exploit the strength of black color by constantly placing this non-color in relation to the Essetre Brand with all its visual communication. This also happens through graphic choices of great formal cleanliness, which in the layout of texts and images reach the point of enhancing the play of Full & Empty, Light & Dark colors as a communicative element.
As for typography (social characters or fonts), this company uses Helvetica Neue, slightly reworked in size (H/W ratio = 0.28), a sans-serif font, both in online and printed communication. This font from the twentieth century, noble and classic, allows you to merge the values ​​of elegance and refinement, generally associated with the characters with the graces (serif) and the values ​​of solidity, rigor, reliability, perfection and technological topicality that are related to the use of sticks characters (sans serif).

Finally, a look at the advertising pages created for both the Italian and foreign market, only to point out the constant marginality in the visual of images with furnished environments. The images focuses attention on the interiors of the drawers and/or cabinets, where the company’s products are placed. This stylistic choice finally introduces an almost aniconic reference: the development of a dimension that can take on the elegant and suspended tones of the neoclassical and noir imagery.

Website
www.essetreonline.com