IDENTRA | a visual communication studio

Filling in the gaps with PreAct

Adrian Baciu — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:30:40 +0000

Care Software Solutions, a company based in Oosterbeek (The Netherlands), is about to officially become PreAct Professionals. To maximize the advantages of changing not only their name but also their market strategy, we are working on a full rebranding program. The new visual identity is driven by a new business proposition and will mark the change from a product-oriented strategy towards a service-focused one.

At the core of their business is PreAct Verzuim – a powerful web application specialized in keeping track of the work absenteeism related issues within any type of company. Being build upon the specifics of the Dutch Work Law, the platform helps management understand – in real time – how to make the most out of the human resources available within the company.

We like to say that PreAct Verzuim is filling in the gaps. By generating detailed reports the platform helps managers understand the big picture. Filling in the gaps is also the main concept on which the new multi-layered identity system is based. Have a quick look at the teaser below and see how it will work.

Also, check out other related articles:
about the new PreAct Verzuim interface
about the previous Care Software Solutions visual identity

The Olympic Design Exercise

Adrian Baciu — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:45:38 +0000

As the London Olympics are upon us the media buzz around the subject has grown bigger. It’s only normal for such a huge event. More of a reason for us to look for the recent history of the Games from the designers’ point of view. We all know that the Olympic Games go more than 2000 years back, but few of us know that the first Games to have their own systematically-designed set of icons and identifiers was the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It’s interesting to notice how each system was developed according to the specific artistic language of the hosting country. Thanks to creativerepository.com we can share an overview on this piece of design history. Our three most favorite icon systems are from the USSR, Greece and China Olympics as follows.
USSR – Moscow 1980
Greece – Athene 2004
China – Beijing 2008 See all the pictogram systems here.

Waiting for Ted Simon

Adrian Baciu — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:09:59 +0000

We are waiting for Ted Simon to drop by our office for a long creative session regarding the design and implementation of his new website.

Ted is a living legend. No exaggeration here. What better attribute to use in order to describe the man who traveled twice around the world on a motorcycle?

Imagine him being on unbeaten roads for years on. Experiencing first-hand the paranoia of wars, absurd imprisonment, broken bones, miles and miles of fatigue, but in the same time also enjoying the simple complexity of the human soul, the beauty of unspoiled landscapes, the re-discovery of love.

And after all this he came out wiser and having a strong desire to do it all over again. Only to discover that in the meantime the world has changed and shifted under his feet.

Ted put both his journeys around the world into three books that you’ll be able to buy on the upcoming website, along with the rest of his insightful writings.

At the age of 81, Ted Simon is still riding high in the saddle of his motorcycle. The Journey continues.

Queen’s Day in Amsterdam

Adrian Baciu — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:28:30 +0000

Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag in Dutch) is maybe the largest national celebration that takes place all around the country. Except for when the National Football Team wins a game, off course. Another reason to take out of the closet that orange t-shirt of yours to show that you are part of the crowd and enjoying the party. Enjoy some of the photos we shot in Amsterdam.

Koentact has a new website

Adrian Baciu — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:39:50 +0000

Some time ago we were telling you in a different article about this new project we were excited to start working at. We carried the same enthusiasm along the process of creating the complex and, above all, functional website that resulted at the end of the project. Thanks to the people at Koentact, a Dutch language school, we were always challenged to find the perfect solution to the critical aspects of their online communication needs.

The website itself was wire-framed from the very beginning as a powerful tool to promote the innovative method that Koentact uses for teaching foreign languages. The result is a fresh online space translating the openness of the people involved into visual elements and in the same time outlining the professionalism of the Koentact team. As one of the Koentact team members put it, the new website has become the main marketing tool for online promotion, complete with social channels integration and a user-friendly content management system (CMS).

The launch of the new Koentact website took place in the company of the Koentact students, a multicultural audience excited about learning Dutch. See the video below for a taste of champagne and enthusiasm.

So, if you ever find yourself in need to learn Dutch, stop searching on the internet for language schools. Go directly at koentact.nl and experience learning Dutch on the streets of the beautiful Amsterdam for yourself.

Start your engines. Go!

Adrian Baciu — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:00:46 +0000

And here we are, ready for a new year!
Hold on a sec, you’ll say, I thought we’ve past this “Happy New Year” period, some four months ago. Even the Chinese New Year is long gone, so what got into you now?

If you have gasoline in your blood, you already know the answer to that. It’s the beginning of a new season in motor-sports. And from our perspective the kick-off was not Formula 1, but the start of a smaller and younger competition for single-seaters – namely the F.I.A. Formula 2 Championship. The reason we keep a watchful eye on this series is that we are closely involved in providing the visual communication means to the Romanian driver Mihai Marinescu. As he aims to win the championship this year, we anticipate that things will become quite heated on the track.

To support his objective, we designed a new logo, the car livery and the race suit Mihai will wear this year.

But this is not all! We have more goodies in our bag to help Mihai Marinescu with his promotion efforts to both fans and potential sponsors. We’ll definitely keep you posted on the new items Identra will create for Mihai’s campaign, as soon as they are implemented.

Being a technical partner certainly comes with some advantages: we have our own spot on Mihai’s car, just in front of his driving wheel!

Photo credit: Thomas Campean

The anatomy of an interface

Adrian Baciu — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:14:41 +0000

Part of a bigger long-term project that we are rolling out for PreAct Professionals B.V., the face-lift for their web application is getting closer every day to a final outcome. It’s only a matter of days until we deliver the final files containing the UI Elements and the general layout design simulations for the implementation stage. Everybody is thrilled with the outcome and we all can hardly wait in anticipation for the beta version of the new PreAct, a powerful tool for absenteeism management for big and small companies alike. Or, to say it in Dutch, actief verzuimmanagement voor uw organisatie begint met PreAct.

There is beauty in the complexity of a web application and as in all good things, a bit of a challenge. Compared to the process of creating a website, a designer must have a different approach when building an interface. Different user behaviors and navigational patterns and obviously a different purpose in functionality.

The heart of the future web application:

Part of the icon system created for the application

Let it snow!

Adrian Baciu — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:06:39 +0000

It’s snowing. Heavy!
The first real snow this winter. The feeling is what the Dutch might call gezellig. Cozy would be the most appropriate translation, though the same Dutch would be quite pleased to tell you that gezellig can’t be properly translated. Anyway, this feeling is all around our office. Makes you want to drop everything, go outside and roll into the snow. Or, even better, to build the ultimate fireplace and design the next website or the next visual identity while the wood is noisily sizzling. As the fireplace is no more than a fantasy, we took our camera and got out in the snow to share the moment with you.

Let’s see if the drivers are as happy as we are. Traffic jams are guaranteed today.
But we say once more: let it snow!

Touch base with Koentact

Adrian Baciu — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:23:50 +0000

It’s always surprising that after so many years of working in the field of graphic design and visual identity, we still get the shivers. The thrill is as fresh as ever. The design proposals have been sent. The bird has left the cage. At the other end our client is about to have the first glance of the new website layout that we’re pushing forward as the best visual communication solution they can have.

This was also the case with Koentact, a Dutch learning school based in the heart of Amsterdam. Big smiles, great teaching method, huge enthusiasm. All this and much more is to be reflected through the new website we are now creating for them.

With a very distinct identity as a business, Koentact needs an online presence meant to visually reflect their ethos, but also to help them communicate easier with their students and prospect clients. The new website will be built on the Joomla platform and will feature fresh functionality to the best advantage of its visitors.

We had a great feedback session on the initial proposals and we’re all looking forward to the next step.

Let’s cross the bridge

Adrian Baciu — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:13:28 +0000

Now that the New Year is upon us, we wish you to cross the bridge between the years with a happy heart and a lucky new beginning. As for your businesses, may the new year bring new opportunities and greater results. See you in 2012!