Curridabat Ciudad Dulce Primary Function: Waitohu Wāhi by Fabrizzio Mendez is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award Hiriwa in Hoahoa Whakairoiro, Whakaahua Ringa me te Whakawhitiwhiti Ataata Competition Category.
HiriwaWhakairoiro· 2021
Curridabat Ciudad Dulce Primary Function: Waitohu Wāhi
Client: Kerigma
A' Design Award Hiriwa Winner in Whakairoiro Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #107169The Design
About Curridabat Ciudad Dulce Primary Function: Waitohu Wāhi
Ko Curridabat Ciudad Dulce he kaupapa waitohu wāhi i hangaia mō tētahi tāone i Costa Rica. Ka tautoko te waitohu i te whakakitenga Ciudad Dulce, arā te Tāone Reka, e whakatairanga ana i te wheako pai mō ngā tāngata katoa mā te tango whakaaweawe i te taiao. Ka hangaia te pūnaha ataata mai i ngā āhua, ngā tauira me ngā hanganga ka kitea i te taiao māori, ko ngā tauira tapaono e whakamahara ana ki ngā ana pī hei tino huānga. Ka tono te tuakiri ngāwari ki ngā rauemi tā me te matihiko, ki ngā whare, ki ngā tohu waho me ngā taputapu tūmatanui, kia māmā ai te mōhio a ngā hunga whakarongo huhua ki te tāone.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award Hiriwa
Ko Curridabat Ciudad Dulce Primary Function: Waitohu Wāhi te toa o te A' Design Award Hiriwa, he whakaaetanga tino whai mana e hoatu ana ki ngā hoahoa taumata teitei rawa, ātaahua me te whakamīharo. Ko ngā toa Hiriwa he mahi tino kanapa, tino auaha e whakaatu ana i te mātanga, te pūmanawa me te mōhio hōhonu o ā rātou kaihoahoa. E tūmanakohia ana ko Curridabat Ciudad Dulce Primary Function: Waitohu Wāhi he mahi whakamīharo, he tauira, he tino ngaio, he auaha hōhonu. Ko tēnei hoahoa i toa i te Hiriwa he hanganga rongonui, whakamīharotia e whai wāhi ana ki te whakawhānui i ngā rohe o te toi, te pūtaiao, te hoahoa me te hangarau. Ko Curridabat Ciudad Dulce Primary Function: Waitohu Wāhi he mahi e hae ana te tini, e whakaara ana i ngā hiahia, e kawe mai ana i ngā kare-ā-roto pai, ā, e whakaoho ana i te mīharo.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Just as nature uses principles to function, develop and organiztion, a city can also use these principles to create community and develop. With this idea in mind, we chose aspects of harmony, organization, and logic that can be found in nature; such as fractal geometry, symmetry, spirals, stripes, fractures, etc. In the end, we chose the patterns of nature which show a coherent and organized growth. This reflects the methodology of Curridabat Ciudad Dulce. We also decided that the brand should be flexible so that it can express the diversity of the city's audiences and activities.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The use of circumscribed hexagon-shaped patterns of nature (as in beehives) is the axis on which the visual system is supported, which will facilitate the identification and differentiation of the brand in all graphic materials with which audiences interact.
- Tags
- Curridabat, Ciudad Dulce, Branding, Costa Rica, Place Brand, Kerigma Branding, Flexible Brands, City Brand
- Production Technology
- Once the essence of the brand is defined– which serves as the basis of the project – a divergent creative exercise is made to capture relevant ideas and visuals, which will then be tested and filtered in another convergent exercise, from which 3 different creative paths that work are defined. Finally, the most suitable one is chosen to meet the objectives of the brand. The Adobe Creative Cloud design tools were used for final realization.
- Design Challenge
- The challenge was to build a visual system that reflects a city that cares about the well-being of its inhabitants, not only humans, but also non-humans, such as pollinators (bees, butterflies and hummingbirds), as well as plants and trees, along with all other organisms, which are recognized as citizens. This new identity should reflect that the vision of development is inspired by nature, with a balance between the rational-scientific and the emotional-holistic elements. In addition, it had to be flexible enough to support the diversity of programs, projects and activities that different audiences interact with.
- Research
- Several in-depth interviews were conducted with key people in the local government. We review various demographic studies of the city, as well as documentation explaining the vision of Ciudad Dulce. We carried out an audit of the graphic materials and communicative efforts that had been used; also, we analyzed aspects of the city and its people, among other things. All this to fully understand the essence of the brand. The objective was to define a brand that adequately reflected the innovative vision that the city had been successfully implementing for several years. This defined the essence of the brand, the differentiating attributes, the values, the archetype of personality of the brand and its main purpose. From here, the design of the logo and the rest of the visual system continued.
- Inspiration
- Ciudad Dulce (Sweet City) is a methodology based on nature; its purpose is to promote a positive experience for all citizens, by seeking inspiration in nature. Thus, it is from that inspiration that this flexible brand arises; it is built from shapes in repetition, patterns, organization, and structures present in the natural environment. These can be found in something on a large scale, such as city topography, or something as small as the veins in a leaf or a fingerprint.
- Project Duration
- This project was developed in the city of Curridabat, in Costa Rica. It started in July 2018 and ended in April 2019. Since then, it has worked together with the local government of Curridabat to expand other derivative projects and to accompany them in the process of brand implementation.
- Operation Flow
- The vision of development in Curridabat Ciudad Dulce is part of the creative and generative logic of nature. This logic is reflected in everything the brand does to reach the diversity of the citizens. The hexagon patterns visible on all physical and digital graphic materials, outdoors, buildings, public furniture and more, make it easy for audiences to live the universe of the brand.
- Team Members
- Fabrizzio Mendez
Yesenia Salazar
Carolina Carrillo
Jeisson Sibaja
Gabriel Jimenez
Beatriz Aguilar - Image Credits
- All photographs by Fabrizzio Mendez
Sponsored
Explore Beyond Designers.org
Discover products, services and opportunities from our advertising partners.
More to Explore
Related Designs
Explore more award-winning designs from the same category, selected by merit.