Constructing a building firm's brand

Companies in B2B industries have, in decades past, retained tired brands designed largely for a business audience. These have become outdated as digital communications has developed, meaning further touchpoints are required and every brand has to have a customer face.

For Gillion, a Belgian construction company with over 100 years of heritage, needed to shift its approach from a solely B2B strategy to a more consumer-friendly brand. It turned to Geneva’s Base Design on a visual identity that would reflect the construction industry as well as Gillion’s points of differentiation.

The result, Base says, is a restored sense of value placed on the role of the builder, elevating the firm’s role in the urban environment. “The identity we developed for Gillion aims to help them valorise the building process, while giving a refreshing outlook on their industry. The brand’s new visual language refers to their unique building spirit, an identity that is constantly in the process of being built,” the agency writes.

To develop the new visual identity – which includes a wordmark featuring pieces of the letterforms missing, implying they are under construction – Base turned construction sites into communications touchpoints. Bright yellow hoardings and signage use puns and information delivery to keep local communities informed throughout a building process. Online, the wordmark is overlaid upon aerial imagery of building sites, crafting a somewhat luxurious feel to the creative. The new brand has been rolled out across all touchpoints, including jackets, helmets, web assets and more.