Kivinen Rusanen Architects
Tomi Leppänen Studio
10 Nov 2024
Kivinen Rusanen Architects
Visual identity for Kivinen Rusanen Architects, the award-winning Helsinki based architecture company specialising in industrial architecture. Earlier known as Virkkunen & Co, the company wanted to renew their name and identity after changes in ownership. Established already in 1954, the company became known for its rational, clear and modernist architecture. As a nod to the company’s history, at the heart of the new identity is the modernist typeface KRA Grotesk, a slightly customised version of the SCTO Grotesk by Schick Toikka.
The design decisions on the identity were based on similar rational perceptions of the given elements. The seemingly random-aligned KRA monogram is a result of removing the other letters from the right-aligned wordmark. The remaining shape allows it to read both ways as a symbol for the company name, and the industry it operates in (ARK). The dot pattern found on the business cards & e-mail signature references to the cast-in-place concrete technique used in several works of Kivinen Rusanen Architects. The staff portraits by Unto Rautio were shot at Salmisaari A, the first power plant in Helsinki to produce district heating.