APA / A shared identity, from symbol to stationery.01 / The challenge
Represent the whole. Respect the individual.
APA represents a professional community of flavouring manufacturers. Its role includes supporting interaction between members and public authorities, and protecting the interests of the industry.
The identity needed to speak to manufacturers, public institutions, the media and other professional communities. The design question was how to express collective strength while remaining modern, open and welcoming.
02 / From research to direction
The thinking behind the form.
01 / Research
Find a shared foundation.
The category study explored national symbols, minimal forms, abbreviations, industry references and circular compositions. The recommendation was a circle: a way to express wholeness and unity.
02 / Strategy
Define the community’s character.
Competent, modern, welcoming and honest. These qualities set the direction for an organisation that represents its members and connects them with public authorities.
03 / Metaphor
Many members. One shared purpose.
The sunflower offered a clear image of an association: many individual elements gathered into one head, directed towards better conditions for the community.
04 / Symbol & system
Make the idea recognisable.
Petal-like forms and the Cyrillic initials АПА become one circular signature. The same elements then extend into patterns, stationery and event materials.
03 / The brand metaphor
Individual parts. A stronger whole.
The sunflower became the creative bridge between the association’s purpose and its visual identity.
In the project’s metaphor, many seeds form one head. For APA, that meant many members coming together around a shared direction.
Members→Unity→Shared direction
04 / Where the logo began
It started with a sunflower head.
The logo grew from the head of a sunflower: many individual seeds gathered into one whole. That became our metaphor for APA — independent members united around a shared purpose.
01 / THE SOURCE
A sunflower head.
Many seeds. One head. A natural image of individuals belonging to a larger whole.
02 / THE ORIGINAL SKETCH
The idea becomes a mark.
Petals form a circle. The Cyrillic initials АПА become part of that same circle, connecting the metaphor directly to the association.
03 / THE FINISHED SYMBOL
A community, made visible.
The drawn idea is refined into a clear symbol. The circular structure and the relationship between petals and letters remain.
THE ORIGINAL SUNFLOWER EXPLORATION / 2022Original drawing / The sunflower head is the starting point of the APA symbol.
↓FROM THE DRAWN IDEA TO THE FINISHED IDENTITY
The same idea, refined: petals and initials united in one circle.
Other routes we explored +
The process also explored round-table, ring and monogram concepts. Shown here as alternative directions, they help explain the choices behind the sunflower identity.
Alternative exploration / Initials around a shared centre.Alternative exploration / A geometric monogram.
These are the original project sketches, including their Russian annotations.
05 / The identity
One circle. A distinctive signature.
The developed symbol combines petal-like forms with АПА, the association’s Cyrillic initials. Deep blue and light blue give the final identity a consistent signature, while a serif name adds a formal counterpoint to the organic mark.
Association of Flavouring Manufacturers
The signature / Petals and initials form one circular mark.In use / A clear signature at the scale of a business card.
06 / A visual language in use
From a shared idea to a connected system.
The petal form becomes a repeatable graphic element. Across stationery and event materials, its rhythm connects the individual applications back to the original symbol.
The result is a family of materials with a common visual character: letterheads, business cards, folders, notebooks, envelopes and exhibition graphics.
Stationery / One graphic language across everyday communications.Events / The same identity at a larger scale.07 / The connection
The method makes the visual meaningful.
Research suggested unity. Strategy defined an open, professional character. The sunflower metaphor gave that character a form. The symbol then supplied the elements for a wider visual system.
This is how our in-house method connects what a brand stands for with how it looks.
