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Kreon is the international reference in the field of ‘architectural’ lighting fixtures. The design of their collection represents a way of thinking that reduces each product to the bare essentials without compromise. Architecture can be reduced to a few basic forms such as a circle, a square or a rectangle. Kreon therefore considers its lighting fixtures as objects, each element of which is constructed from the purest form. We used the same idea for the development of the new house style.
The preparation of the new house style was based on frequent consultation and research. We analysed the identity of kreon by means of a survey for employees and customers at home and abroad.
The logo of kreon is based on simple geometric shapes that can also be found in the typography of bauhaus. We designed new letters for the logo in order to create a more balanced typeface. We made the letter a little fatter to give the logo more ‘body’. We left it — entirely in the modernist tradition — in lowercase.
While the project of the house style was running, kreon accomplished the takeover of belux. Because belux has a great brand awareness in Germany and Switzerland, they retained the brand name. We decided to use the same family of letters for the belux logo as we used for kreon so that the brand could blend in with the house style of the parent company and the kreon brand.
Together with type designer Fred Smeijers, we developed a custom-made font for kreon. The design — inspired by bauhaus — is based on simple geometric shapes such as circles, squares and triangles. The corners of the letters were slightly rounded, without sharp boundaries, like diffuse light.
Kreon is a new geometric sans-serif typeface that fits the philosophy and ideas of the company. The font is used in all printed and digital communication of kreon and belux.
One of the applications in the new house style is the design of the product catalogue. The first part of the book is focused on the experience with pure architectural photography, shown in large format. In the second part, the lighting fixtures are presented with technical information. For this purpose, we designed a completely new matrix that is user-friendly and recognisable within the house style through the use of circles and squares.
We designed the layout of the first catalogues of kreon and belux together with the graphic designers of kreon. The catalogues are produced each year in 7 languages and distributed worldwide.
Kristof Pycke | Head of Product Development – Art Director, kreon
Philippe van Doormaal | Global Marketing‑Communication Director, kreon
We adapted the front-end of the existing structure of the kreon and belux websites to the new house style and improved the typography and the composition between image and text. It was a challenge to apply a better UI/UX design for the web platform of belux.
Strategy
Design
Development
Content