Dutch group figures out a logo for Benelux bank

Dutch graphics group Una is redesigning the corporate identity of a bank whose annual reports it has worked on for the past 15 years.

F van Lanschot Bankiers is a medium-sized private and merchant bank which started out in 1737 and operates in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

For more than a decade Una partner Hans Bockting has repeatedly raised the issue of identity with the client.

“[The marque] was never a priority until I convinced the chairman of the board,” says Bockting.

“Finally, he became aware that there is little to no harmony in the things he issues,” he adds of the bank’s documentation.

The consultancy’s form standardisation includes the bank’s literature and forms for which Una discovered different ways of spelling certain names, and inconsistent printing techniques.

Una made a final presentation to the bank last week. It did not have to pitch for the job.

The bank’s most recent annual report uses a fairy tale to express the value of advice, the nature of risk-taking and the role of fortune in financial markets.