Fraîche
A breath of fresh air in design thinking
In 2022, we were commissioned to design the visual identity of the consultancy 'Fraîche'. Founded by Lisa Baird, the agency specialises in corporate strategy, brand expression, architectural design and product innovation. As a newcomer to the creative expertise market in Paris, this identity was all the more important to anchor 'Fraîche' in its new environment. This project began with a meeting and a connection between the Graphéine team and Lisa Baird, the agency's founder. Our mission was to support the "Fraîche" team through a strategy and a unique visual positioning.
A humanist logotype for an everyday word
"Fraîche" ("Fresh") is an everyday word, accessible and familiar to everyone. That's why we chose to design a visual identity around a typogram, and not reduce the word to a simple sign. An optimistic agency for a more humanistic design: that's what Fraîche stands for, and the direction we're taking in creating this identity. In the "Fraîche" process, there's also a real emphasis on the written word. It's a way of conveying a noble idea without vulgarizing it through drawing. So it seemed obvious to us to propose a typographic work around the word "Fraîche". We had to give this word richness, feeling, flexibility, precision and a lot of freedom. The curves are both respectful of the word and playful, as if to hint at the personality of the brand itself.
How do you translate the notion of "design thinking"?
A lover of art and words, Lisa Baird wants to bring a breath of fresh air to design thinking. When we speak of experience, feeling and revolution, we obviously think of the Impressionist movement, which broke with the traditional codes of academic painting to leave room for emotions, spontaneity and the human element on the canvas. The link seemed obvious to us.
To complete this visual identity, we drew on the thread of Impressionism, right through to Pointillism. A technique known for conveying an experience, creating a visual atmosphere, favoring poetry over technique. A multitude of dots create a work of art. In this approach to visual construction, we found a coherent metaphor for the philosophy of design thinking.
That's why we developed a tool based on the specific features of pointillism. It allows you to import an image and modify it according to parameters similar to those used by a painter: brush size, trace length, number of colors, etc. Each visual is unique, and comes with its own design. Each visual is unique and can be used to dress up and structure communication media. This visual creation tool enables each member of the agency to create images independently, without needing to master creative software.
