Certe

Certe are a newly opened office in Poznan, Poland, with legal advisors offering a wide range of services. Their new identity has been created by Kamil Kurzajewski, a designer with a great typographically-focused portfolio of communication and design.

I’m a huge fan of the minimal, typographic logo and this certainly fits that tag. The brand colour is really vivid and adds a level of excitement to an otherwise corporate and safe market. I couldn’t find a concrete conceptual breakdown of the identity from the designer so I’ll try and present my own conclusions. The logomark suggests to me a large book being opened, a legal manual would certainly fit into the symbolism of a group of legal advisors. This in turn tells me that they are of course focused on the important legal aspects and traditional processes, despite their invigorating take on the brand. They have personality, they want to stand out from the competition and aren’t scared of solid design.

The above pictograms are an excellent translation of the linear logomark into forms that are universally recognised and a real ‘part’ of the brand. They keep to the minimal, magenta tone, whilst being comparatively complex.

The above stationery is exactly what I’d expect upon seeing the main logo – which is a good thing. And a very good thing at that!

The magenta tone works so well as a full backing colour to the business cards with the white, negative text really popping. I can only imagine seeing a pile of hundreds of ‘legal’, ‘corporate’ business cards from competitors – these will really stand out and catch the eye. I would bet real money on it.

Being a designer that deals with the corporate side of the market, I have a lot of respect for the non ‘design-focused’ businesses who spend time and effort on their brand. Having an open mind to creativity is an important facet for everyone, in such a congested industry standing out and being different may just be what it takes to succeed. Certe in this case could have taken a really safe route – lots of greens and blues with an abstract or typographic wordmark, but instead pushed the boundaries with a really exciting brand. I can only congratulate them and Kamil Kurzajewski for their efforts, which really paid off with the final result.