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InspirationGraphic Design

Pentagram's identity for The Stauffer Center for Strings plays on four-stringed instruments

Pentagram's Astrid Stavro and her team have created a new identity for The Stauffer Center for Strings with a subtle nod to the four-stringed instruments taught there. Based in Cremona, Italy, also known as the 'city of violins', the facility is the world's first centre for excellence entirely dedicated to stringed instruments.

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Violin bow with black frog featuring the Stauffer Center's gold monogram 'S' design against a neutral background

The dynamic Stauffer monogram lies at the heart of the new brand while classic Neue Haas Unica is used to form an inline letter 'S' consisting of four parallel 'strings'. These represent the four instruments taught at the Center: violin, viola, cello and double bass – all of which have four strings.

The 'S' is accompanied by Matthew Carter's sans serif Miller for the monograms of the Stauffer Center, and the accompanying Stauffer Foundation, and the Stauffer Academy. It's been described by the Center’s Director Paolo Petrocelli as, "a contemporary, vibrant, elegant and timeless monogram—a perfect and pure piece of graphic design."

Glowing white neon letter S made of four parallel lines against a grey background, representing the four strings of instruments taught at The Stauffer Center
Colourful stationery and business cards for The Stauffer Center for Strings displaying the dynamic 'S' monogram in white lines on various bright backgrounds including red, yellow, green, blue and orange

A vibrant colour palette combined with black and white is used across all applications, giving a contemporary feel in a world that often suffers from cliched and stuffy branding. The target audience is, after all, 20-30-year-old musicians.

But Astrid and her team didn't forget the Center's heritage or its prestigious new location. The facility draws on the experience of the Stauffer Academy, created 35 years ago, while also marking the 50th anniversary of the Foundation. The Center is the world’s first international music centre entirely dedicated to the higher education of strings, encompassing research, composition, production, management and innovation, with a recording studio and visiting guests from the contemporary as well as classical music worlds.

Three stacked brochures in blue, yellow and green with interlocking curved line designs representing the four strings of stringed instruments
Wooden stamp with concentric circular pattern pressed on white paper, creating an impression next to the stamp showing the Stauffer monogram made of four parallel lines representing violin strings

The Center's headquarters, meanwhile, will be housed in an iconic seventeenth-century palace in Cremona, which has been established with partners including Pininfarina and Steinway & Sons. The palace has undergone major restoration to become a high-tech, sustainable and entirely plastic-free multifunctional campus.

Pentagram's brand identity references all of this as well as the city of Cremona's extraordinary cultural heritage and provides longevity and an identity system that can grow with the Center and its activities. Petrocelli adds, "I believe the new brand identity perfectly reflects who we truly are today, celebrating our past while connecting to our dynamic future."

Black cello with four coloured circular badges featuring the letter S in red, green, blue and pink, representing the four stringed instruments taught at The Stauffer Center for Strings
Wayfinding sign for Practice Room 6 featuring a white circular numeral made of four parallel lines on a black background, mounted on a grey wall
Two business cards for The Stauffer Center for Strings, one displayed at an angle showing the monogram and contact details, the other showing a subtle line illustration on cream cardstock against a dark background
Three coloured album sleeves in blue, pink and red featuring striped number designs, with a black vinyl record displayed alongside them
Wooden numeral 3 mounted on a cream wall, formed by parallel curved lines representing the four strings of stringed instruments
Fondazione Stauffer Cremona logo printed in gold foil on dark blue paper, angled against a black background
Three Stauffer Center for Strings tote bags in pink, red and teal, each featuring a white monogram 'S' made of four parallel lines representing stringed instruments
Stauffer Center for Strings logo engraved on a light stone surface, showing the stylised S monogram with four parallel lines and accompanying text for Cremona
Yellow poster for Antonio Meneses exhibition mounted on a stone wall with Parisian architecture visible in the background
Red and white banners with the Stauffer Center for Strings logo hanging on the facade of a classical Parisian building with blue-shuttered windows
Black exhibition poster for Laura Marzadori mounted on a stone building wall, with a classical stringed instrument visible in the design
A black banner advertising L'Accademia Stauffer in Concerto hangs on the ochre-coloured facade of a classical building in Cremona, Italy
Four vertical display panels showing Pentagram's new identity for The Stauffer Center for Strings, featuring vibrant blue, yellow, black and red designs with the names of string musicians
Blue banner for Quartetto di Cremona mounted on a stone building wall, featuring silhouettes of four musicians
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