Logo Design & Corporate Identity
SOLITAIRE Terranova a Calliope
From a simple brief to a great Czech–Italian collaboration
“Solitaire’s dream isn’t something that serves just to communicate noble principles; it should be the compass that guides our culture, the way we work every day within the company.”
It all started with a simple request for a logo design for Solitaire s.r.o., a company representing well-known Italian brands Terranova and Calliope in the Czech Republic. The request came through a public platform (ePoptávka.cz), where we regularly receive notifications about new opportunities. Normally, we don’t respond to this type of request..
These tend to come from freelancers or smaller companies looking for individual designers or developers to handle smaller websites or basic marketing materials. The briefs are often vague, and the goal is usually just to get rough pricing. The chance that they respond to a well-prepared proposal — one of many they receive — is relatively low. That’s why we usually don’t focus much on this type of lead source.
Solitaire company values
- Our dream is to build up a large, global company with a huge turnover. This turnover would allow the company to expand and create jobs, and part of its annual net profits would be used to help the less fortunate, through social work both in Italy and abroad.
- Our dream is to build up a company in which people, both young and more mature, manage to give their lives meaning through their work.
- Our dream is to build up a company where for every five so-called “normal” employees, there is one with problems, and that the five so-called “normal” employees will assist those who are less fortunate in their work and help them live a normal life. Only through work people can earn dignity.
- Our dream is to create a courageous managerial group, which is responsible, competent, fearlessly faces the future, and manages to transmit such values to those who follow in their footsteps.
Logo Design & Corporate Identity
What’s the difference between a logo that costs 3,000 CZK and one that costs 300,000 CZK? It’s a question most clients ask — and a valid one. If you don’t explain it well, the deal likely won’t happen because the client won’t trust the value. Or it might happen — but at a lower budget, because you weren’t able to communicate the difference. After all, the output is “just” a small 500×500 px JPG in color and black & white…
The real difference is time — and depth. If a designer has three hours, don’t expect a thoughtful concept or a refined visual system. They take the company name, pick a font, find a matching icon, adjust it slightly, combine it, and deliver a few variations (horizontal, vertical, color, black & white). Maybe one or two extra options. It works. But that’s where it ends.
Fortunately, this wasn’t the case with Solitaire. Here, we had the space to go deeper. To explore multiple concepts. To connect the brand’s vision, values, and meaning directly into the visual identity. To translate the essence of the business into the logo itself. To get there, we needed more than just a brief. We needed understanding. That’s why we had several calls and meetings with the owner, Filippo Zancanaro — an Italian entrepreneur based in the Czech Republic. We discussed the current state of the company, future plans, and ambitions. And only then did we start creating.
Corporate microsite development
As part of the collaboration, we also proposed creating a simple company website with essential information. The idea resonated with the owner, and a month after completing the logo, we moved forward with a microsite. The goal was to present the Solitaire brand.
