Qlar

  • Creative Strategy,
  • Design for Screen,
  • Identity Design,

Re-positioning a manufacturing giant toward a sustainable future

From Schenk Process to Qlar™

The buildings we live and work in. The products that enable us to live our lives. The fabric of the world around us. Everything begins with the things people make, and the things they make begin by transforming materials. Material transformation has helped shape the modern world, and Qlar believes it has a responsibility to meet the needs of the planet, too. How? By putting data and digital intelligence at the heart of processing, for unprecedented precision with zero wastage. By developing ever smarter equipment that responds faster and more economically to commercial objectives. And by employing the brightest minds to keep innovating with ingenious ideas to solve the ever-changing challenges of business.

We helped Qlar shift perspective to no longer just helping the world transform materials — but to helping transform the way the world is made. I led the design team across the brand transformation project as an active partner with colleagues at the VC firm Blackstone, and directly with C-suite stakeholders at Qlar.

Role

Creative Director

Period

2022–24

Agency

BBH

Qlar's what

Qlar's why

Visual Principle (a)

Reductive

Simplicity is key for a consistent brand identity. When designing, we should ask ourselves: Is the design cluttered? Are brand elements showing up in the simplest way? How might we simplify further?

Visual Principle (b)

Precise

Accuracy is in our DNA. Without it, our promise becomes empty and our product, out of touch. A strong visual sense of precision should be evident in our identity.

Visual Principle (c)

Confident

We are proud of our heritage, assured in our knowledge and confident of our product. We channel this feeling in every designed touchpoint.

Visual Principle (d)

Fluid

We are ever moving, evolving & embracing a flowing visual reality. This echoes the role our machines play in our customer's systems & the way we keep processes, materials & knowledge moving forward.

Verbal Principle (a)

Fresh

In an industry full of complexity, we offer a fresh approach. In tone, style and vocabulary, we simplify, when others get overly technical. We keep it brief, and light. How refreshing.

Verbal Principle (b)

Modern

Old-style is stale and indistinct. It uses long-winded corporate language. It mistakes complexity for meaning and formality for credibility. It's off-putting and forgettable. Modern is precise, insightful and has personality. It invites attention and rewards it. Ironically, modern never goes out of style.

Verbal Principle (c)

Grounded

'Over' is the enemy of credibility. Overclaim, overpromise, overuse. 'Over' just qoes over readers' heads. 'Under' is better. Underwritten, underplaued, understated. 'Under' keeps us grounded, by avoiding jargon and preferring simplicity. Grounded is honest and credible. And is preferable to read.

Verbal Principle (d)

Approachable

We have all kinds of audiences, in all kinds of industries, in all parts of the world. Our style needs to feel relatable to appeal to all of them. The trap is sounding like one business talking to another. It should rather be one person talking to another. But not by trying to be over-friendly with your reader.

An identity system that's modern, fluid, confident and reductive

Qlar's company transformation came with the need for a brand transformation, and the foundation of this new identity needed to be grounded in a story — one that encapsulated their brand species, purpose and ambition. This framework, further armoured with defined audience, growth levers and already established company values, guides the organisation on their future journey for brand decision making. This visual story is the embodiment of the strategy, ensuring the new brand identity lives up to the goals behind the company transformation.

The Qlar™ loop is the central distinctive asset for the brand identity. It's expression is deeply rooted in the brand story, born from the thinking within it, coupled with a great amount of flexibility that allows the company to show up in a number of ways.

The loop is an ever-present symbol of the brand and its purpose. It symbolises circularity made real via a mathematical shape without boundaries that suggests innovation and endless potential.

All components of the Qlar™ brand identity are born from this iconic shape. It acts as a vessel for the visual language, constantly communicating the idea of infinity, circularity and continuous motion.

Credits

    • Christian Kolodziejski
    • Design Director
    • Sophie Harper
    • Designer
    • Jess Garlick
    • Senior Strategist
    • Dean Matthewson
    • Strategy Director

Selected Projects