Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano

Since 1993, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano has immediately become an essential reference for the great Milanese symphonic repertoire and included exceptional events and prestigious halls.

The Client decided to abandon the former name "La Verdi", heritage of the repertoire of Giuseppe Verdi, which no longer indicated who they are, a great orchestra, what they do, symphonic music, and where they came from, Milan. "La Verdi" did not respond to the need to be inclusive and accessible to everyone, from insiders to beginners, from individuals to families.

The task was to create a universal identity, strongly inclusive and contaminated by different audiences.

An identity that conveys an emotional but contemporary look and feel, a key to communication that opens to an international environment, and to welcome the audience of young people and families. A design system, effective yet easy to apply in all touchpoints.

"We want to be open to the international public, being a point of reference with an ownable identity." (Ambra Redaelli, President of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano)

Here's where La Verdi's transformation into Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano begins.

Not just a simple rebranding: we had to build a "bridge" capable of transcending boundaries and captivating all generations. 

We started from the Orchestra's hometown, Milan. A city that gave birth to Futurism — one of the most avant-garde movements celebrating dynamism as a way of life. But how to break down the barriers and make the Orchestra fully accessible?

By creating a language as universal as music: that's where we took inspiration to create a visual system understandable by everyone. Studying the Futurist manifesto "Words in Freedom", which used the onomatopoeias to express sounds with words, we translated the music into "sounding visuals" that anyone can feel before understanding.

Landor, working closely with the client team, created a visual system to represent the values of the Orchestra and its affiliation with the territory. The design is inspired by avant-garde cultural movements and synesthesia, with the potential for reactive interaction with music. We designed the brand logo that represents a sound wave generated from the “M” glyph designed in the style of Futurism that synthesises the shapes of Milan’s Cathedral, the iconic symbol in the heart of Milanese people.

In addition, a coordinated image and custom typography capable of playing music just like an Orchestra does - TUMB TUMB - was developed in-house to add an unexpected contemporary demeanor that creates a pairing between the Orchestra and its host city, two evolving entities in step with the times.