The Compasso d’oro prizes identity

By Pagine Ebraiche staff

A logo, for an institution, is a way to talk about its very identity. For this reason, it must be simple and effective. Such elements were acknowledged by the international jury of the 26th Compasso d’Oro ADI award in the logos of MEIS (National Museum of Italian Judaism and Shoah) in Ferrara and of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence. MEIS received an honorable mention from the jury for the project of Brand identity realized by Teikna Design.
“Such an important acknowledgment in the Italian and international scenery gives us great pride”, director Spagnoletto said. “Since its creation, MEIS has tried to be an innovative museum, curated to the littlest details and with a universal language, starting from the brand identity”. Teikna Design creative director said: “Meis brand identity was conceived to be a sign system, a strongly characterized and recognizable visual language that can adapt with elegance and ease to heterogeneous contents”.
Meanwhile, the Uffizi Galleries won the Compasso d’Oro award, which was given to the museum director Eike Schmidt and to the agency that created the logo, Carmi and Ubertis.
“For the Uffizi Galleries, it was important to have a logo well recognizable by visitors from all over the world, even from those cultures that don’t use our alphabet”, said Schmidt. “We are grateful to Elio Carmi and Alessandro Ubertis for creating for the first time a graphic identity for the Uffizi that makes the fine and simple proportions of Vasari architectures totally contemporary. Such an identity is fundamental for communication, but it is also needed on a legal level to safeguard the uniqueness of the museum, which is constantly threatened by counterfeiters and various exploiters”.
Elio Carmi, currently president of the Jewish community of Casale Monferrato and council member of UCEI, thinks that “in the world of communication design, effectiveness must be planned. A good logo isn’t enough; true language markers are necessary. It is a complex working process, where the human variable of all the actors involved is fundamental: designers, consultants, artists, various key players, and of course the Client (with capital C).” Carmi, who signed the logo for the Italian pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 as well, also explains how “director Eike Schmidt asked not only for a high standard project but demanded that the new identity also be a story to tell. For this reason, to us Carmi and Ubertis, the Compasso d’Oro attests not only the result but also the validity of the path we are leading with the director and staff at the Uffizi Galleries, a museum that represents Italianness around the world”.

Translated by Rachele Ferin, student at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of Trieste University, intern at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.