The Voice · Brand identity
Brand identity at Cromatic Studios means a mark, a type system, a palette, a tone of voice and a brand book, designed in Bucharest to work on a cup, a can, a van and a phone.
After the strategy, the dream learns to talk. Identity is the name, the mark and the tone of voice, and everything they turn into. We draw the logo from the idea, and often from the product itself. The Pain Plaisir mark is the Anemone pastry, four folds making four lobes. The ESD logo turns its E into a number 1. Longshield's shield is drawn on the golden ratio.
Then we build the system around it. Type families, colour, patterns, illustration and the rules that keep them together in a brand book. Artisan Coffee Gear's A folds into a chevron pattern. Antila got a cast of disruptive characters who hold the products in their hands. UNDÉ got a hand-drawn basket and three store formats, each in its own colour.
An identity is finished only when it holds up in the real world. So we follow it onto cans, boxes, menus, uniforms, signage, vans and merch. COMM and UNITY, the two Casa Berero cans, spell one word side by side. Two Minutes coffee boxes are made to be picked up like favourite books. Does yours still sound like you from across the street?
What it includes
Wordmarks, monograms, symbols and badges, each with a reason behind it. Infinity Capital's ring drawn from Brâncuși's Endless Column, Craft Coffee's badge that reads like a seal of approval, Antila's bold wordmark in a black oval, Sip's two semicircles from the arches of the space.
A type system and a palette that do real work. Ailerons, Gruppo and Gotham with olive, ink and paper for Artisan Coffee Gear, N27 for Steam, Premio and Archivo Expanded for Antila, a day and night palette for Sip.
Assets that carry the brand where the logo can't. The Artisan letterform pattern and technical drawings, Antila's characters, the Pain Plaisir quatrefoil pattern, Kómpus's world map of sandwiches, Casa Berero's loose hand-drawn shapes.
The rules in one place, so the brand stays consistent long after launch. Brandbooks for ESD, Longshield and Techventures Bank, and guidelines for ARCA Resort and Sip.
How the brand talks, and the lines people repeat. “Sip happens” and “Sip away” on the cups. “The finest equipment” around Craft Coffee's badge. “Part of your venture” for Techventures Bank. “Am ajuns” on the ESD vans.
Boxes, cans, tins and labels designed to be picked up. Two Minutes coffee boxes, COMM and UNITY cans, ARCA caviar tins and smoked-fish trays, Antila's labels and the TKN HA 3 boxes for Toskani MED.
The identity out in the street. UNDÉ's light boxes and facade signs, Techventures Bank's branch façade, the vans of ESD and Patiline, Craft Coffee's technician overalls, and Slow Coffee Festival's posters and merch.
How we work
Identity begins with the strategy, so every choice has a reason you can say out loud. When there is no strategy yet, we write it first, in a workshop at the table.
We explore more than one direction before we commit, with moodboards, sketches and early marks. Toskani MED saw two visual concepts. UNDÉ's search started with bottles, jars and a basket, and the basket won.
The chosen direction becomes a full system. Logo lockups, type, colour, patterns, illustration and icons, tested on the surfaces you actually use, from a cup to a website.
We write the rules into a brand book and roll the identity out onto packaging, print, signage, merch and digital before it goes to print.
Brand identity · 10 case studies
Brand · Boxes · FilmTwo MinutesA specialty coffee shop brand made to be loved fast and remembered long. Two minutes to fall for it, a lifetime as a regular.
Read the case →
Brand · Product · Since 2021Slow Coffee FestivalThe biggest coffee lovers community in the country. We upgrade its brand universe year after year, so every edition feels familiar and brand new at the same time.
Read the case →
Brand · Illustration · PackagingAntilaA charcuterie brand with a bold wordmark, a cast of disruptive characters and packaging you spot from the end of the aisle.
Read the case →
Brand · Labels · MerchCasa BereroCraft beer with your people. COMM and UNITY, two cans that spell one word, merch and posters for Casa Berero.
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Branding · WebsiteCraft CoffeeThe official distributor of La Marzocco, Mazzer, PuQPress and Fellow in Romania. A brand and a shop built to equip the passion for coffee.
Read the case →
Branding · CommunicationSip Coffee & WineComplementing one of the best designed coffee shops in town with a branding that fits.
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Identity · DigitalInfinity CapitalFinancial investments for visionary clients, from Craiova. Brâncuși's Endless Column closed into a ring, slate, ink and gold, stationery and a website.
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Video · Photo · Product designPain PlaisirA French-style bakery with a real oven at its heart. We made their video production, the photo shootings and the product design.
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Brand · Signage · MerchUNDÉARCA's grocery stores: a hand-drawn basket and three formats, each in its own colour.
Read the case →
Brand · WebLongshieldLong-term investments, under a shield drawn on the golden ratio. Strategy, logo, brandbook, stationery and website for an investment group.
Read the case →Industries we know from the inside
Good questions
A logo or mark, a typography system, a colour palette, supporting elements such as patterns, icons or illustrations, a tone of voice and a brand book with the rules. Most projects continue onto packaging, stationery, signage, merch and digital. Craft Coffee's included a badge system, packaging, uniforms, merch and a webshop.
Yes. Steam kept the steaming cup its guests recognise and gained logo lockups, N27 as its single typeface and a palette pulled from the shop. Bepco's hexagon mark was refreshed and animated. ALTIUS got a logo refresh, a colour system of teal and orange, and icons for every product area.
Often, because packaging is where people pick a brand up. Two Minutes coffee boxes, Berero's COMM and UNITY cans, ARCA Resort's caviar tins and skin trays, Antila's charcuterie labels and Toskani MED's TKN HA 3 boxes were all designed together with their identities.
A brand book holds the rules for logo use, type, colour, imagery and tone, so anyone on your team or a supplier can apply the brand the same way. We have delivered brandbooks for ESD, Longshield and Techventures Bank, and brand guidelines for ARCA Resort and Sip Coffee & Wine.
Yes. Slow Coffee Festival's brand universe has been upgraded every edition since 2021, across posters, merch, digital and the venue. Unchain Festival got an identity built on one red thread that builds a fortress. For Romanian Design Week 2023 we dressed our own pop-up in posters, stickers, totes and cups.
hi@cromaticstudios.com · +40 728 978 068 · Strada Olari 9, Bucharest
