Fondation Louis VuittonA new vessel for Paris.

Explore the endless horizons of contemporary art.

Louis Vuitton’s chairman, Bernard Arnault, wanted to provide Paris with a new, exceptional space for contemporary art. So he asked Frank Gehry to design “a magnificent vessel symbolizing the cultural calling of France”. Gehry’s architecture is innovative and courageous, inspired by the technological achievements of the twenty first century. Our role was to create a logo and visual language that would embody the vision of the project’s two grandmasters.

When at sea, the horizon seems boundless, filled with possibility and potential. We wanted to capture this feeling of ‘endless horizons’ and the idea of far away territories to be discovered.

If the building is a sailboat, why not a vessel that takes you on new and exciting journeys? Steering a course through the turbulent waters of contemporary art…

One of our first reactions to the brief was that we didn’t want to compete with Gehry’s creation – it’s iconic in itself. Rather than designing a signature for, or graphical translation of the building, we wanted to create something that would reflect the ideals and motives behind it.

Flotation and transparency were two very important concepts. We wanted the identity to feel like a ship cleaving the waves.

It has something dreamily poetic which fits quite well with a foundation called Louis Vuitton.

Louis Vuitton’s chairman, Bernard Arnault, wanted to provide Paris with a new, exceptional space for contemporary art. So he asked Frank Gehry to design “a magnificent vessel symbolizing the cultural calling of France”. Gehry’s architecture is innovative and courageous, inspired by the technological achievements of the twenty first century. Our role was to create a logo and visual language that would embody the vision of the project’s two grandmasters.

When at sea, the horizon seems boundless, filled with possibility and potential. We wanted to capture this feeling of ‘endless horizons’ and the idea of far away territories to be discovered.

If the building is a sailboat, why not a vessel that takes you on new and exciting journeys? Steering a course through the turbulent waters of contemporary art…

One of our first reactions to the brief was that we didn’t want to compete with Gehry’s creation – it’s iconic in itself. Rather than designing a signature for, or graphical translation of the building, we wanted to create something that would reflect the ideals and motives behind it.

Flotation and transparency were two very important concepts. We wanted the identity to feel like a ship cleaving the waves.

It has something dreamily poetic which fits quite well with a foundation called Louis Vuitton.