Victorinox

Visual identity system for a Swiss heritage brand

Victorinox has been a company for over 130 years, with Switzerland and its cultural heritage in its DNA: precision, tradition and elegant understatement. We kept that in mind while designing a comprehensive illustration system for the company. Based on a shared needs analysis, we developed the icon, illustration and infographic style. We captured the results in a model library. Our design rules for the illustration system are documented in a guideline. In a two-day workshop, we implemented the illustration system together with Victorinox’s designers – after that, they can apply the system independently.

Starting point

Victorinox wanted to develop its brand and illustration style further. The design team was then to create icons, illustrations and infographics itself, consistently across many markets.

What we built

An illustration system with icons and an infographic style, a model library, a guideline with fixed rules on style, line weight and use, and a two-day workshop.

What the team now does itself

The designers apply the system independently and now also develop it further with AI. It comprises more than 200 illustrations and over 50 icons and is used in more than 10 markets.

Brand story and brand voice: a leap into modernity – while staying true to the brand

Victorinox needs a style that clearly identifies it as a heritage brand while also representing an extension and modernization of it. Based on the existing brand identity, we designed an elegant style: icons and illustrations with very clean lines and precise shapes. Illustrations of people, for example, remain without detail, while technical illustrations depict objects in a simplified, precise, and clear way – with high recognition value.

AI governance: one guideline for everything

In the guideline for the illustration system, we precisely define the parameters for every infographic, icon, and illustration – how thick the outline is, which colors are used when, how objects are abstracted, and more. We distinguish between icons, technical illustrations, abstract illustrations, product illustrations, and infographics.

Training: workshop for independent application

In the first part of a two-day workshop, we train the users in how to use the guideline: how icons, illustrations, and infographics are created, and how the master files for each area are structured. At the end, we give the participants tasks. In the second part, we review the tasks and draw conclusions about the applicability of the system and the rules for the guideline. After the workshop, we remain available with our design expertise via a helpdesk for follow-up questions. The illustrations can be seen on the website, in catalogs, and at the headquarters, among other places. The system now comprises more than 200 illustrations and over 50 icons, and is in use across more than 10 markets.

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