When Jehan-Jaques Blancpain started a small watch workshop in 1735, he began a business that would become a major player in the international watchmaking community. The family company was responsible for many innovations, and they continue to use traditional mechanical watchmaking methods today. Despite many changes in the company, the Blancpain name and logo are still highly recognized and respected now.
Blancpain Logo Design Elements
Blancpain creates a visually pleasing logo with their carefully designed font and layout. Even though the logo just consists of the founder’s initials, the date of founding, and the brand name, it still looks bold and interesting. The top line, which says “JB” is compressed and skewed so that the lower curve of the J barely sticks out. Its clever design also makes the initials also look like a single, bold B with an unusually elaborate stem.
Beneath this, the date “1735” is written in a very shortened, compressed font that combines the initials and date into a single design. Beneath the date and initials is the brand name, “Blancpain,” written entirely in capitalized letters. Both the first B and the last N are slightly larger to create more balance in the logo. It almost always appears as a black logo written on a white background.
Changes and Evolution
1. Shape
The Blancpain logo underwent many changes as the company changed hands throughout the years. Back in the 1800s, it was a more elaborate wordmark that stated the name and location of the company. This then transitioned to a plainer logo that only said “Blancpain.” Once Blancpain was bought by the Piguet watchmaking company in the 1980s, they switched to the logo that is still in use today.
2. Color
Blancpain has always favored simple color schemes for their logos. They tend to pick a black logo on a white background for the official logo, and then these colors may be slightly altered when the logo is placed on watches.
3. Font
In the mid 1950s, Blancpain primarily used a san serif font for their logo. However, by the 1980s, Blancpain had switched to a Roman font that was quite similar to the one used today. Since then, the only noticeable change to the font is that it has become much bolder and thicker.
Influences/Inspiration
A lot of the inspiration for the current Blancpain logo relies on referencing the company’s past. Since Blancpain was bought and resold and renamed many times since the 1700s, it was important for the company to remind customers of their historic past and their traditional methods of watchmaking. However, they made the smart decision to avoid an excessively plain logo that just stated their name and founding date. Stretching and skewing the lettering turns it into a more artistic logo that stands out better from other watchmaking companies.
Trivia
- The very first Blancpain workshop was so small that it fit in the upper floor of Jehan-Jacques tiny home.
- For a brief time in the early 1900s, Blancpain was legally required to change its name to Rayville because no members of the Blancpain family controlled the firm.
- Another name that Blancpain watches were sold under is Harwood, because the company partnered with Harwood to make the first automatic wristwatch.
- Blancpain is very well known for being involved in GT racing, so they have a special line of logos used in the racing series they sponsor. This logo variation includes a combination of a speed dial and a watch face wrapping around the traditional logo.
Conclusion
Blancpain’s devotion to finding new methods of using traditional watchmaking techniques has allowed them to remain popular for centuries. Their modern logo references the proud past of Blancpain while also meeting modern aesthetic standards. The combination of unusual shapes and sizes makes an otherwise plain logo into a visually pleasing emblem that looks great on watch faces and storefronts.
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