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What’s this, a new Anno logo? Have they now really abandoned the good old wooden plank from the days of Anno 1404?
Well, we used the last year(s) to not only refine our vision for Anno 117: Pax Romana and start the development of the game, but also to think about Anno as a brand overall and its visual identity. Today, let’s talk about branding with Haye Anderson, our Brand Director.
Note: If you’ve watched our livestream on July 2nd (VOD can be found here) you will have already heard most of this. But we wanted to also have this information here on the Anno Union – and share the Behind the Scenes video with you!
Having flourished over the last 25 years, the newest evolution of ANNO immerses players in the cultural melting pot of the Pax Romana, and at the start of its development, the team discusses topics like: “what makes up an Anno game?” or “why does this new Anno need to exist?” The reason we ask ourselves these questions is because, as we add new features (or take some away), we always need to keep the core of the product intact. And know it or not, these questions are just as important for Brand as they are for Game Design!
We start with some self-discovery by identifying the core pillars we consider make Anno “Anno”. As a branded product, Anno must have five certain things:
- A historical setting that feels real
- Top-notch graphics
- Rich gameplay experience
- Complexity (the challenge is the fun)
- Peacefulness
As some of you have pointed out, there are two Anno games with a futuristic setting. And yes, we also consider them Anno games as they fulfil all 4 other aspects. The historic games, however, are what the series was founded on (Anno 1602), where it found it greatest success (Anno 1800) and where it’s moving towards (Anno 117), that’s why the “historical setting” pillar plays such a central role in our new brand guidelines.
The “Peacefulness” pillar does not exclude warfare. As you are all very much aware, all Anno games included military aspects and conflict to varying degrees. However, we don’t see Anno as a warfare-focused game: Economy, logistics, diplomacy and creativity are playing a much bigger role.
When we boil these core pillars of the game down, they become our Brand Values that guide our daily work within the Anno Dev brand team!
1) CRAFT : Uncompromising on the quality of the game and marketing materials
2) AUTHENTICITY : Deeply researched stories & settings that always feel real (even if they are not)
3) EMOTION : Immersive experiences that engage the heart of the player
4) INTELLIGENCE : Enriching challenges that stimulate the mind
These four core brand values also helped us (as a brand) find our purpose, and answer that big question of: “why does Anno exist?” SIMPLE, as a brand we cultivate the joy of building! Anno revolves around themes of legacy and creation, which we believe our audience passionately resonate with, too, and central to this is our design ethos ‘Crafted With Care’, inspired by attention to detail – a mindset shared by both our fans and our development teams!
In a future blog, we’ll also look at the Design side of things and how these high-level Brand Pillars and the Design concepts come together in Anno 117: Pax Romana.
While the brand has been refreshed, you’ll notice we didn’t get rid of things that are beloved, like the number 9; however we also reimagined some things like the wooden plank:
Allowing the symbol itself to act as a vessel allows it to hold all sorts of materials – more than just wood – and it allows us to tell a bigger story of production, craft, and building in Anno 117: Pax Romana.
When developing the logo, we wanted it to feel like more than just a logo, we wanted it to feel like a tool in the hands of a builder; we were inspired by the caliper, which was a tool used to measure a distance between two points on a map – it symbolized trade and exploration. This felt really perfect for us as a brand, and this then became the foundation of our symbol.
BUT many people see a house, the flame of a candle, or the arrow of a compass. And that’s the beauty of brand identity: it leaves your own control and is given additional meaning by the community.
The brand’s visual identity is drawing inspiration from traditional crafts (some of which are featured in the game), and brought forward into a digital-first system that seamlessly blends the old and new ways of building. We crafted a lot of the brand by hand, from forging the logo out of metal over mixing the paints (which became the brand colours), to even carving the typeface. We wanted the brand to feel built, just like how our players build in the game!
Have a look at our Behind the Scenes video below for more impressions on the process and insights directly from our partners at Wolff Olins.
Something like this has not been seen in the gaming industry before, but we believe the effort was essential to bring our premier builder game to life!
To summarize our work and ambitions:
Drawing inspiration from the classical period, the Anno brand’s colors, bespoke typeface and graphic language together form the foundations of a builder in those ancient times. Creating a system that is designed to support the purpose of building and a celebration of craftspersonship.
Much like the great nations of the past, the new mark represents a collective mindset – fusing craft, the power of the human spirit and the ambition of building for future greatness.
Meticulous in detail and crafted with care, the symbol becomes a tool wielded by the community to shape their ANNO world.
As per requests from several of you, we’re offering a wallpaper of the logo variations
Did we leave any questions unanswered? Is there anything else you’d like to learn about the topic of branding or logo design? Leave us a comment below!
Der Beitrag DevBlog: The Anno Brand – Crafted with Care erschien zuerst auf Anno Union.