Bureau Borsche and Commission studio create a new identity for Rimowa

Bureau Borsche and It’s Nice That 2016’s Ones to Watch, Commission Studio have created a new identity for luggage designers, Rimowa. The rebrand was led internally by Rimowa chief executive Alexandre Arnault and chief brand officer Hector Muelas.

The identity, Bureau Borsche state via their website, “honours the company’s heritage.” Founded in 1898, Rimowa is described by Bureau Borsche as “a self confident brand with a clear idea of its future,” and consequently its new identity is a “reinterpretation of their DNA to lead the way”.

Research showed that the brand’s foundations stemmed from German quality design, and as a result Rimowa’s products show a perfect combination of “form and function,” explains Bureau Borsche. “A Rimowa suitcase is the archetype of luggage, it combines luxury and intelligent travelling.” This helped inform the design decision of selecting “a utilitarian sans serif typeface to inform the brand’s new typographic language”. Made of “refined, understated forms,” the typography-led identity is “reflective of the functional luxury found in Rimowa suitcases,” Bureau Borsche continues. “A luxurious customer experience was the main focus for the redesign of Rimowa’s collaterals such as packaging and signage, and serves to accentuate the high standards and quality of the brand. In reference to the iconic aluminium suitcase, slick new colours — black, white, and cool grey — define the modern look of Rimowa.”

Commission Studio inherited the wordmark from Bureau Borsche, further developing “a monogram, typeface, pattern motif, colour palette and packaging suite that would deliver a highly considered brand experience for Rimowa’s customers,” the London-based studio explains.

Commission’s monogram is again inspired by the brand’s roots, harking back to when the Cologne-based company was called Paul Morszeck & Co. “The two vertices within the mark are designed to reflect the iconic spires of Cologne Cathedral and are enveloped by the soft radius forms of a Rimowa case,” it says. “The mark aims to serve as a reminder of the company’s innovative manufacturing history and its strong connection to the city of Cologne.” The design studio’s work on patterning collateral for Rimowa is a reference to the “iconic grooves” which sit across its products echoing “the highly textural experience of the product itself”.

The new branding will appear across all of Rimowa’s packaging, from dust bags to owner manuals, offering a “packaging experience that matches the quality of the luggage”.