Prototipo is a design consultancy based in San Francisco, California, that helps businesses activate their purpose through human-centered approaches to strategic design, storytelling, and social impact.
Prototipo's brand concept emerges from alchemy principles. The etymology of the word: Proto= first, and tipo- mold lead to research in to what is the essence of something, it's original form. It also lead to considerations of what can make the intangible tangible, like how Prototipo transforms its accumulated experience into tangible results for clients.
Something intangible that we experience is light, and so I researched James Clerck Maxwell and his theory on electromagnetic waves, and Isaac Newton, famed scientist and little known alchemist. Thus combining the graphs in Maxwell's research and alchemic symbols used by Newton: precise, delicate and deliberate, Prototipo's brand identity was created.
Prototipo's Isotype references electromagnetic waves, but by turning it sideways, we create a direction, a sign to move forward. It resembles both a fingerprint (which remits to the concept of first and unique) and the turning pages of a book.
Encircled, it's a visual reference to traditional alchemic symbols. This visual language is mirrored in the brand system, from the icons to the patterns.
Brand patterns based on electromagnetic wave graphs.
Prototipo's brand combines modern font Reross Quadratic with the classic Garamond, providing contrast for a brand that is both innovative and has a base of experience. Textures from the anthropocene are also used as backdrops, referencing that which is human made but merges with our surroundings.
I also designed prototipo's website to ensure brand consistency throughout all platforms. The site itself was built by Julianna M. Rodríguez-Dolsen on Square Space.
