Visual Communications
and Design for VOL-Stahl GmbH

Визуальные коммуникации и дизайн для VOL Stahl GmbH

About the project –

The VOL-Stahl Group of Companies are a distribution and production company specialising in hot-rolled, cold-rolled and cold-drawn steel sections. The group has a unique opportunity to control the quality of their products, from the melting in their steelworks, through the modern hot and cold rolling mills, as well as cold drawing plants, to the finished profile. It is the most critical competitive advantage.

The VOL-Stahl Group of Companies is presented in several cities in Germany, France, Spain, China and with production facilities in Russia.

Our collaboration started in the 2012 year and continues till now. We became a permanent partner to create visual communications in different domains for all countries it is presented in. Below you will see a selection of the most significant works that we executed for the VOL-Stahl Group of Companies.

CLIENT –

Vol Stahl GmbH (Germany)
Volume Lagersysteme GmbH (Germany)

WHAT WAS DONE –

branding & rebranding (logo, corporate elements and colours)
brochures & catalogues
website production
industrial design
facade architectural design
expo stand design & ad materials
video production
photo production

**Branding and Identity**
for
*Volume Lagersysteme*

Volume Lagersysteme is a company that provides services with construction and maintenance of an innovative ultra-compact shuttle warehouse for pallets with instant access to any storage place.
In a simple form of the sign, we aimed to reflect the idea of smoothly moving things in a warehouse. For the outline of the name, we used a similar font as for the logotype of the leading company - Vol Stahl GmbH.
The corporate colour palette also was developed with the idea of a combination of vivid and pure colours, as it was done for the leading company: one leading colour and two as additional.

**Industrial Design**
for *Volume Lagersysteme*

We executed the industrial design for the shuttle, the platform and the lift, taking in consideration all technical pecularities of the mechanisms.

Visualisation of the warehouse system
for Volume Lagersysteme

We created a video presentation in 3D to show how the ultra-compact innovative shuttle works with instant access to any storage place. The video is presented on the company website and is used for the exhibitions presentations and sales meetings.

Rebranding for VOL Stahl GmbH

It was crucial to have the continuity of the previous logotype in the new form. It stayed round but got more visual resemblance with the shape of the special profile that the company produces with the abbreviation inside of the sign. The name of the company became more stable and got the descriptor that describes the primary expertise of the company.

Vol Stahl_colorpalette_chosen_Page_2.jpg

Photo shoot
for VOL Stahl GmbH

For a long time, the company didn’t have bright and proper photos of the facility that produces the product and even the product itself. We created a detailed visual brief with the client for a professional industrial photographer Maxim Avdeev and organised his trip to Ommutninsk, where the facility is situated.

The photos are used for the website and all print materials.

Website layouts
for VOL Stahl GmbH

Though the website layouts look minimalistic and straightforward, it wasn't an easy task to accomplish. The main target that the client set to us was to have the simplest structure for much information, to build a hierarchy of messages and call to actions and to make all elements (3d models of profiles, technical drawings, frameworks etc.) converged to the same style.

The page Company history was made like an editorial long-read with archive photos and historical timeline.

For now, the website isn't online because the client had to switch to another CMS to make all individual websites of the companies in the group look alike and have the same structure.

Facade design
for the warehouse
for VOL Stahl GmbH

The existing building of the warehouse

The warehouse and office building are situated in Hanau, Germany. During warm months the temperature can be very high and with no shade and dark grey as the default colour of the warehouse its’ walls could be superheated. The office building also had a default white colour plaster and needed vivid accents of the corporate colour palette (turquoise or neon yellow).

References

It was crucial to use materials that won’t get superheated. After research of technical characteristics of two buildings and innovative outdoor materials, we proposed two variants – perforated panels and panel of steel plasters at a small angle.

The final 3D visualisation

After several iterations and corrections, estimation of the costs for the works, we managed to create a minimalistic and practical facade with vertical steel panels of turquoise colour alternating with grey. And the office building was painted with grey with a logotype sign seen from the road.