The Modernist

The Modernist is a modern-day living space set in a striking 1920’s heritage building in down-town Thessaloniki. The recent restoration of the buildings interiors shifts between two design styles: Art Deco and Danish design minimalism. Therefor plainness and simplicity, old-world grace and unpretentious elegance, were essential keywords of the design concept.

The aim of the visual identity is to connect current and past forms and notions through the structural values of modernism. Our proposal does not aim for a sterile imitation of a by-gone form oriented vocabulary, but to critically reposition itself by developing an up-to-date and flexible visual language, that will convey the aura of modernism and serve all the miscellaneous needs of The Modernist.

While shaping the basics of The Modernist’s identity, we decided that the use of the curved line as a visual interpretation of elegance and set-back feeling -basic notions of the Modernist’s hospitality vibe- will be fundamental through our design. Starting from the design of the logo, as a capital em -M- that contains in its form a brave, arched gesture, the visual identity develops through the way that this curved geometry multiplies, splits or transliterates, into new formations creating a series of characteristic abstract arrangements, that correspond to all the required applications.

All the above features were interpreted and converted into a design, typography and representation system, all three of these supported respectively by the use of a geometric scheme that organizes all the provided information, the use of a font that creates the context frame for the project identity-wise and the use of the rigid black and white visual contrast. The use of color comes through the selection of certain papers. The visual identity extends to many applications such as: room cards, reception cards, in-room directories, postcards, stationery, in-room amenities, environmental graphics, merchandise etc.