Since the dawn of time, we humans have explored and mapped the world around us. On the other hand, our brains are largely uncharted territory. To change that, a team of neuroscientists and AI, and supercomputing experts from the Forschungszentrum Jülich (Jülich Research Centre) and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, are developing a three-dimensional atlas that combines all facets of what we know about the human brain in an open-source interface.

We created a visual design system using in which we combined the mechanistic Karelia (Frode Helland, Monokrom) with the nostalgic Stanley (Optimo), which was developed by Swiss type designer Ludovic Balland, to visually represent the project’s multidisciplinary nature. We also create additional visual tension throughout the entire design system by superimposing text onto images to present information at different levels of analysis.

View the Jülich Brain Atlas online, and see more images in the case study.

Brand development and website by g31 design, in collaboration with Thanh-Thao Tran and awwwesome. Photography by Mareen Fischinger.

A fresh brand relaunch for a new generation

For over 25 years, Paeßens family dentists has been a local institution, offering high-quality dentistry across the German Lower Rhine region. Together, we introduced a simplified brand architecture that helps to provide clarity, consistency and orientation. The design system helps to hone the practice’s profile, making it more tangible via various touchpoints – such as the new website or the spatial design at the new location.

As we chose Grilli Type’s GT Pressura – which had no uppercase ß in it – we reached out to the well-known and probably most friendly Swiss type designers, to create a custom ẞ glyph for our needs. You can imagine what benefit this brings when running a company by the name of Paeßens with a new visual identity which prescribes that all headlines have to be in capital letters!. Happy client, happy end.

Welcome to dev wonderland! The digital pioneers of tomorrow aren’t motivated by stale promises of a work-hard, play-hard work environment. They seek a workplace that goes beyond platitudes and where freedom, learning, and fun prevail. Our task was to capture this spirit in a campaign that reaches software developers in their own habitat – using a mixture of gaming references, memes, and nerdy headlines, in a stylishly pixilated visual world.

The typographic concept is derived directly from sipgate’s day-to-day realities and where markers and whiteboards are the tools of the trade. Handwriting combined with the sipgate house typeface Px Grotesk creates a lively, personal recruitment campaign that refers to the constant “work in progress” of software development. This, in combination with the image world tailored directly to the target audience, gives the campaign a progressive and authentic look without relying on tired or out of touch recruitment clichés.

Brand architecture, design system, and website redesign for Hagen Brandschutz (“Hagen Fire Protection”), a leading expert in fire protection services.

For more than 20 years, Hagen Brandschutz has developed object specific fire protection solutions for building projects both large and small, domestically and internationally. Most recently, they have provided services for the German federal parliament building in Berlin. For years, they have worked closely with the company Upmeyer and Partner, which tested fire protection concepts to ensure safety and quality design solutions. In early 2019, these two companies merged and now operate under a single umbrella brand: Hagen Brandschutz.

Our task was to work within the new brand architecture and externally communicate their new comprehensive visual design system in which all typography uses GT America, in its condensed and regular widths.

In the new constellation, the identity consists of two branches, each with its own logo variation and color scheme. Hagen Ingenieurgesellschaft für Brandschutz (“Fire protection engineers”) uses a blue hue; Hagen & Partner Prüfingenieure für Brandschutz (“Fire test engineers”) uses orange. The brand color changes the way one would read the monogram.

Find out more on the g31 website.

In early 2019, a new law firm opened its doors in the middle of the historic Carlsplatz in Düsseldorf: Carlswerk Attorneys. Here, you won’t find cookie-cutter solutions made by dull pencil pushers. Instead, they offer their clients authentic personalities who are convinced that daring to share individuality combined with a no-nonsense approach to the law ultimately pays off. In close cooperation with the attorneys we developed a charismatic brand identity using a fine mix of subtle historical references and an inviting world of colors, bringing a breath of fresh air to the industry. The progressive typography pairs GT Sectra with Sharp Grotesk.

More about this project can found on the g31 website.

We developed a modern yet timeless look for Raadts, a third generation family business. The combination of a concise wordmark with a lively visual system makes you want to enjoy their locally produced natural products.

We translated the aesthetic form of an apple into a concise typographical logo based on Playfair Display. The apple leaf integrated into the letter t creates a visual reference to the physical environment on the orchard. Most text is set in another serif, the sturdy Larish Neue.

In June 2019, the 50th annual Rund um die Kö (“Around the Kö”) cycle race took place in Düsseldorf. Previously, the race was almost exclusively seen as a sporting event – providing few points of contact with its high-end shopping street surroundings. The ambition of the new generation of race organizers was to take advantage of the races’ prestigious surroundings and blend tradition with the here and now by adding a pinch of spectacle and novelty to the race. Today, bike race culture is much more than just spectators lined up to watch athletes - it also means good food, market stalls offering the latest in bike accoutrement, and pulsating beats blasting as athletes whiz by. Our task was to develop a striking new look for the new race concept.

The race is always a sensory experience. Athletes rush past Gucci, Chanel, and Dior stores accompanied by frantic pedal clicks and the euphoric roar of the crowd. We translated this stunning scenery into dynamic, typographic sound collages: Allez, bling, klack, chic – the sound when high-end luxury meets cycling. We applied a visual system based on this concise guiding principle to posters, merchandise, and all of the official race communication as part of the brand identity.

More about this project can found at g31.

Quite Quiet combines innovative industrial aesthetics with emotional jewelry design. Their philosophy is that real luxury is created when all aspects of a product are applied with the utmost care – from clear design principles, to fair-traded materials and sustainable production.

At the core of the brand world is the custom drawn word mark, translating “Quite Quiet” into a calm typographical image. To achieve this aesthetic, we combined the elegant contrast that’s typical for serif typefaces with the basic letterforms of Calibre, a sans serif with a modern look and feel, and avoided the use of any superfluous graphic décor. Off-the-shelf Calibre is used for all text, on the stationery, the website, and elsewhere.

See more images in the case study on g31design.com.

What does the future of telecommunications look like? Sipgate has been working on this question since 2004, when they became the first telecommunications service provider in Germany to own and operate their own digital network. Today, hundreds of thousands of customers use their services daily – from free internet telephone connections to sophisticated telecommunications systems for companies and small businesses.

The use of two new typefaces significantly contribute to Sipgate’s distinctive new brand identity. Particularly striking is the font combination in the product brands and headlines: the technical yet playful PX Grotesk is combined with the linear DIN Next. This interplay helps to create overall recognizability and emphasize important keywords.

More about this project can found at g31.

Almost all hotels in Kazakhstan’s capital are based on the same international standards, which has created a landscape of anonymous, sterile, and ultimately forgettable overnight stays. The 71°East (Astana’s longitude) would fill a unique niche in this otherwise corporate dominated space: a hotel brand that combines local charm with cosmopolitan elegance. It would offer a cultural hotspot for local residents, business travelers, and backpackers alike – an inspiring point of contact in the world’s second-coldest capital city.

Kazakhstan has a rich cultural heritage and is known for its breathtaking nature. Astana, on the other hand, is known as a modern international business city with dynamic modern architecture. The balance between historical traditions, modern city life, old and new, local and international, has been the breeding ground on which we have developed 71°East’s brand. The entire design system plays with the contrasts of different worlds: The factual Futura meets the playful serif Gza; delicate illustrations meet bold ornamental patterns, elegance and class fuse with humor and wit.

This project has not been realized.

Social initiatives and institutions depend largely on the work of volunteers donating their time to support a cause. But how do you convince somebody to get involved? Certainly not by pretending to know what is good or right for them. That is why we developed a campaign for the Caritas Association and the Diakonie Düsseldorf that asks questions instead of providing ready-made answers – moving beyond clichés and oversimplified answers.

The unusual aesthetics of this campaign stand out in a public space – creating a statement that is simultaneously loud and quiet in its execution. The basis of this effect is the use of “blurred” portraits, which give the campaign posters a poetic aura combined with consciously open questions for the viewer. The aim of the campaign is to trigger personal reflection and thought upon viewing.

The typography uses Nantes Regular & Italic for the questions, paired with small type set in Theinhardt.

Founded in 2001, Rational Games provides professional coaching services to select customers worldwide. The unique feature of their method is the playful approach used to teach concrete negotiation skills. In short: playful negotiation training for serious people.

The interaction of unconventional methods and definitive conflict resolution is visualized by a typographic system that combines a classic grotesk typeface with playful letters. The new word mark symbolizes the strategic moves that take place during a negotiation on a subtle, graphic level. Within the word mark and headers, rational arguments alternate with emotional movements. Despite the use of bright red letters – a color known for its association with conflict – its use speaks for the dynamic optimism and friendliness of the new brand identity.

The Port7 law firm, located in the harbor district of Münster, Germany, comprises a community of legal experts who believe in clarity and transparency for their clients. We used their focus on clients through straightforward communication as a central verbal and visual theme throughout the entire brand image. The inspiration for the look and feel of Port7’s brand is heavily influenced by the colors, materials, and typography of a traditional harbor district, reinterpreted in a modern way. The law firm’s name, developed by g31, also subtly refers to the fact that clients can unload their (legal) burdens at Port7.

Instead of communicating procedures in a clear and transparent way, clients in need of a lawyer are often tasked with deciphering confusing legal jargon for themselves. The metaphor of a typographic word puzzle visualizes both the problem and the solution at the same time; cryptic legal text is interrupted with clear, distinctive messages.