The Czech Republic-based acoustic guitar brand Furch is an exceptional tale of creative rebellion. When the company wanted to revitalize its visual expression recently, the European leading guitar maker was Looking to Norway and reached out to the Bergen-based design and strategy company KIND.
Conceptional branding
CEO Tom Emil Olsen founded KIND in February 2013. In 2012, Olsen was listed on Adweek’s Magazine’s Talent 100 list as one of the top 100 creative talents in the world.
KIND conceptional branding
What KIND is doing is called conceptional branding and the company claims it is expert at finding the sweet spot between a brand’s ‘look’ and its own ‘soul’. Conceptional branding can be described as extended brand building where the focus is on both the visual and emotional aspect of a brand. To KIND it’s all about creating an emotional attachment instead of only developing logos and colors.
KIND’s positioning allows the designers to work closely with the client from the idea phase to implementation, ensuring the creation of a unified concept. According to KIND, the key to a successful brand lies in telling stories which appeal to the heart.
High-quality acoustic guitars for almost four decades
Czech Republic-based Furch is a European acoustic guitar maker with an incredible focus on quality and constant innovation. When the company wanted to refine its nearly 40-year-old brand, it turned to KIND.
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The Furch name has been synonymous with high-quality acoustic instruments for almost four decades. Its guitars are used by a diverse roster of major artists worldwide, including the legendary Suzanne Vega, hitmaker Per Gessle of Roxette, former Dire Straits rhythm guitarist and now solo artist David Knopfler, plus Oscar-winning Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard.
The Furch logo story
Since the establishment of Furch in 1981, its logo has only changed twice. A yellow-black diamond shape, illustrating two reverse “F” letters, have decorated the head of the guitar up to 1996. The last one was replaced by a handwritten Furch inscription in a pearl design. The longest used and currently well-established logo, in the shape of an elegant “F” symbol did not start appearing on the guitars until 2000.
This year, the Furch underwent its third change, which is less visible at first glance but completely natural. Compared to the existing 17-year-old option, most of the original curves have been changed and the minor details have been fine-tuned. Thanks to this change, the Furch logo appears lighter and clearer. The change in the logo symbolically reflects the continuous technological development and qualitative advantage of the Furch guitars in the field.
The European leading guitar makes is looking to Norway
Petr Furch, who joined the management team of Furch in 2006 and is now CEO of the company that his father created, said: “The recent refinements are subtle when it comes to our new logo, but this was a challenge that KIND worked with us closely on and they respected our desires and needs. It was very much a case of showing a path of natural evolution. The logo change reflects our commitment to continuing technological development and the high quality of Furch guitars.”
“With our team of designers, we were successful in shifting our logo to a higher level. We emphasized the importance of preserving the well-established F symbol, which I perceive as a fundamental visual element of our brand,” Furch adds.
Natural evolution
KIND’s first task was to enhance the Furch logo with a subtle update; essentially the client wanted a slightly refined, more modern and cleaner take of the logo that guitar players have been accustomed to for decades. ‘Aspire to perfection’
In addition, KIND has created a bold, distinct advertising campaign for the brand which will feature in a host if international guitar publications in 2018 and beyond. To complement this, KIND was also commissioned to produce a short video – which the agency christened ‘Aspire to perfection’ – to capture the soul of Furch. This film now forms a central role on the company’s marketing.
KIND has also received a lot of international recognition for their local projects, which in turn has led to companies all over the world contacting them for their in-house expertise.
European Leading Guitar Maker is Looking to Norway, sources: KIND and FURCH