The history
KAPANA is situated right in the center of Plovdiv. A late 19-th century neighborhood, it used to house worksmiths both from the practical and fine side of art. Nowadays, The Municipality of Plovdiv wishes to revive the narrow streets of KAPANA and let local, national and international artists inhabit and evolve with them. Two years ago, Kapana was in ruins, ready to disappear from Bulgaria’s cultural map. Today, the goal is for Kapana to be compared with its Western counterparts like Kreuzberg (Berlin) and Tophane (Istanbul).
My entry has been featured on the design resource website DesignRush.
The Competition
ABSOLUT VODKA, the leading brand representative of visual arts worldwide, along with ONE DESIGN WEEK and The Municipality of Plovdiv (Bulgaria), invited graphic designers from all over the world to participate in the ABSOLUT KAPANA LOGO COMPETITION.
We got the chance to create the visual identity of KAPANA – the art center of Plovdiv. A logo that tells both the story of its’ past and future will become the neighborhood’s calling card from now to eternity.
My submission
I wanted to convey the essence of that small area, packed with workshops and art galleries and create a dynamic identity that can be (almost) indefinitely revisited and reinvented. It is based on simple geometry and allows countless variations of the main theme but still maintaining the image of this artistic place in the very heart of my home town.
The submission requirement was to include a version of the logo in both English and Bulgarian (Cyrillic) language.
Color scheme
I picked some really bright colors to support the vibrant nature of the neighborhood. 6 colors, for each of the letters of Kapana and for each of the square elements of the logo.
Typography
Multilingual options and Cyrillic support were important when choosing the typeface system for the project. The wide variety of weighs made Acrom by the Northern Block the most logical choice here.
Some merchandise
My designs has been selected as one of the runner-ups shown in a special exhibition on one of the central squares in Plovdiv.
