Eddie Opara has designed a new name and visual identity for GLUCK+, recently named on Fast Company’s list of the World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Architecture.
Pentagram partner Opara was commissioned by the New York-based architecture firm GLUCK+ (formerly Peter Gluck and Partners Architects) to create a new visual identity and website that would reveal the firm’s hands on approach to designing from conception right through to construction. The new identity highlights the architectural firm’s multidisciplinary approach and expanding practice.
Like other architecture firms originally organised and named around a founding partner, the practice faced the challenge of being closely identified with its namesake as leadership passed to a new generation of architects. In order to overcome this, Opara redesigned the company’s name by adding a “+”, which stand for the firm’s expanded leadership and addition of construction management, development and leadership.
The added ‘+’ in the new GLUCK+ name suggests a wide-ranging, dedicated practice with state-of-the-art expertise and an expansive view point, says Opara.
For the graphic identity, Opara created a bold, contemporary mark that expresses a sense of vitality and innovation while also maintaining the firm’s legacy. The logo utilises the font Avenir with custom cuts inspired by forms found in the firm’s designs.
Furthermore, the new website makes use of a modular design that echoes the modernist forms of the firm’s work, as well as its multifaceted methodology. The structure of the site is flexible, with all the content close to the surface, creating what Opara calls a “serendipitous canvas” or overview of the firm’s work. The website has been organised in three view sets: a film strip, a list view and a tile view that appears as an engaging grid of images.
