Bremer Philharmoniker

What a modest approach! The name is barely visible, like cut off by what could be read as a thin conductor’s baton. But then the baton doubles and draws the stage curtain to unveil an exciting space behind.

It seems hard to evoke so many associations with such a small set of straightforward graphic elements. The corporate design shown in this post was conceived by Oblik, an agency based in Bremen, Germany.

In that same place resides their client, the Bremer Philharmoniker. It is the main orchestra of the Free and Hanseatic City of Bremen in Northern Germany. Founded in 1825, the philharmonic orchestra can look back at almost two-hundred years of history. It covers all musical styles from classical to contemporary, with a special predilection for the romantic repertoire.

A central focus for the Bremer Philharmoniker is to make their art accessible to the widest public possible. That’s why they dedicate themselves a lot to music mediation and wished for a corporate identity far from any elitist pretense. Grounded, welcoming, and inviting to discover.

Since its introduction in 2019, the design concept has been applied to a wide range of media, from program booklets to advertising posters to web and animation. As a basic rule, you never see the full thing, but enough to let you understand. Besides the thin oblique line, the designs systematically mix two typefaces.

The sans serif is URW Grotesk, a lesser known design by German type design giant Hermann Zapf, first released in 1985. The roman is Trianon by Loïc Sander, issued by Production Type in 2015. Trianon was developed following a close study of the original nineteenth century metal types by the Didot family which eventually resulted in an extensive digital family in five optical sizes.