Responses by Thomas Léon, creative director and Delphine Volkaert, designer, Base Design

Background: Gillion is a Belgian construction and development company that was celebrating its 100th year anniversary. The company took this occasion, and the fact it was shifting from a B2B to a B2B2C company, as an opportunity to refresh and clarify its brand image.

Reasoning: We wanted Gillion to take ownership of and come back to the very essence of building. This is why we created the “Building Spirit” tagline—to help the company restore value to the essential role of the builder.

Challenges: Considering the company’s sector, we thought it would be challenging, but quickly realized that so little had been done in terms of branding construction companies that it gave us endless possibilities. We ended up having a huge amount of freedom in this project, approaching it almost like being on a playground.

Favorite details: The best part of the job was definitely the tarpaulins. The tarpaulins and construction sites served as in-situ communication touchpoints for the outside world. It gave Gillion the opportunity to be in touch with the neighborhood it was working in, while allowing them to share wordplays and real-time information.

Visual influences: We were inspired by the idea of “works in progress,” using architect plans, sketches and construction site elements as a basis for the identity. We consolidated all of this into a coherent visual language that could be used in an organic way across different touchpoints.

Anything new: We learned lot about the construction industry! It’s what we love about our work, being able to discover and emerge ourselves in industries that are so detached from our day-to-day. Learning about the construction industry’s graphical codes and their aesthetics fueled our creativity.

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