After earning a degree in architecture at Politecnico in Milan and another in jewellery design from Central Saint Martins in London, Maria Sole Ferragamo, heiress to the great Florentine fashion family, dove straight into launching her first brand. Designing one-of-a-kind jewellery made from up-cycled premium leather; remnants of the Italian fashion industry, Ferragamo makes made-to-order and personalised jewellery and body accessories. Her pieces are often referred to as wearable architecture, a term that embodies her philosophy to design.
Ferragamo also collaborates with brands across all creative disciplines and art institutions, for which she creates unique pieces and explores the endless possibilities of up-cycling materials such as leather.
As the designer and her brand So-Le Studio started to gain more and more recognition, Ferragamo and her team turned to Lundgren+Lindqvist for a redesign of the visual identity and the design and development of a new website. The visual identity is built around a flexible wordmark which comes in a compact form, with the name split up on two lines, and a horizontally oriented version. For the former, a series of secondary level wordmarks were designed, incorporating 'So-Le Studio', 'Florence/Firenze' and additional secondary level information. An additional, display version of the logotype with a rectangle cut out of its center, was designed to echo Ferragamo's process of using remnants from the leather industry for her jewellery.
A system of slightly muted natural colours, was defined for use across printed and digital applications and the main typeface was complemented by a secondary typeface for display use. The website maximises the effect of the pairing, by placing emphasis on the contrast in weight and size.
