Serving a purpose: fagerström’s elegant identity for Savant dispels snobbish concierge associations

Parisian concierge service Savant – dedicated to embodying elegance, cultural immersion and a sense of artistry through the services they offer – caters to the best of the best, providing a palette of ideas for refined, curated tastes. Having found themselves in need of an identity to truly reflect the cultivated demeanour of the brand, Savant turned to Madrid-based design agency fagerström, culminating in a cultivated, cool, calm and collective visual language – strikingly at service to Savant’s own needs.

Opening with a contrast, Creative Director Puli Arancibia tells us of Savant’s use of crayon-like illustration, explaining, “the brand has a special focus on art and culture, so the illustrations seek to highlight this relationship,” utilising the more rough illustrations as a form of engagement. “Both the use of crayon and the style of the illustrations,” she details, “aim to connect with younger audiences than those who traditionally hire concierge services,” expanding Savant’s reach across the vibrant streets of Paris – finding themselves anywhere from the world of watchmaking to wine and art – while capturing the influence of the Savant’s chromatic output. “The brand’s main colour is black, which is accompanied by a complementary palette of orange,” Arancibia recalls, “a colour associated with joy and fun, and cream,” she adds, “a characteristic shade of Parisian buildings,” cementing Savant in the city it serves.

Typographically, fagerström opted for a striking minimalist approach to typeface choice and application, allowing the colour, illustration and negative space to speak for themselves. The most attention-grabbing feature, however, is the stamp-like stencil logomark, inhabiting a more brutalist tone of voice in comparison to the soft, tranquil surrounding identity.

“The logo typeface is Maax Mono Stencil by 205TF,” Arancibia recalls, “we wanted to capture the excitement of travel through a wordmark that evokes passport stamps,” capitalising the brand’s name to illustrate the “values of trust, expertise and sophistication” at Savant’s heart. “All the while,” she adds, “striking the perfect balance between urban vitality and refined elegance,” complementing dutifully by Commercial Type’s Ayer and Neue Montreal from Pangram Pangram as Maax Mono Stencil’s supporting type pairing. “Ayer is a stylised and elegant font,” she suggests, “which helps us to give an editorial and fashion flair to the visual identity,” feeling at home in the world Savant inhabits, “on the other hand,” Arancibia concludes, “Neue Montreal is a timeless and versatile sans that fulfils a functional role while giving the brand a contemporary touch,” successfully bridging the gap between classic and contemporary, much akin to the service Savant offers.

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