Back A Pentawards story, created by Ning-Ning Li
From the first idea to receiving an international award for outstanding design. This beautiful story depicts the journey of a Pentaward winner in 2018.
Life in design is made up of moments. Moments of breakthrough, frustration, anxiety, optimism, creativity, success, contemplation and more. Whether they are good or bad, these moments are the ones that define you, help you evolve and keep you honest.
The story of Bold
Olmo and Oliver used to work together before they founded Bold. They met at a company where both were graphic designers. From the beginning, it was clear they would be more than friends. What mattered most wasn’t what they had in common, but what set them apart. Because they shared humour, a vision about graphic design or the will to be their own bosses. But when it came to personalities and treats, one was the yang to the other one’s yin.
In 2007, after they left their job, Bold was born. At first a graphic design company, later a branding agency, Bold started to grow little by little by paying tribute to its name and encouraging clients to take measured risks in order to create bolder identities. As the team grew, they started to diversify their services, until they were ready to evolve from company to studio. Nowadays, they’re one of the most renowned branding agencies in Spain, and they’ve specialized in creating/working for culturally challenging brands.
The team and culture
Bold is made by designers, consultants, brand writers, animators and developers. But above all, it’s formed by Olmo, Oliver, Iris, Hèctor, Sergio, Cristina, José, Ariana and Carlos.
We have lunch quickly on Fridays to play video games for 30 min. Some weekends we go to Oliver’s house in the middle of the mountains. We ride our bikes around the beach on Saturday mornings. And we keep on dancing even after the DJ has played the last song at the club. Some call it team building. We call it spending time in the family.
Why do Bold enter Pentawards?
To begin with, we felt honoured to take part in a competition as recognized as Pentawards. We have always admired both participants and the institution, so it was a dream come true. But, more importantly, we wanted our ideas evaluated by an external agent. We couldn’t be happier with the result, as we found yet another reason to keep on insisting in this working approach.
How was it to be a top winner of Pentawards?
Again, another dream come true. Lately, we had seen how Gatuna, our top winning project, had been gaining some traction in different design awards, so we felt confident enough to submit it at the Pentawards. Winning a Platinum, one of the top awards of the competition, is still beyond words for us. Not only are we thankful for it, but we are also happy, both for ourselves and for our client, as this will only mean their brand will have more exposition to the media.
What inspires you?
There are two types of inspirations for us. One is evident and self-conscious. It affects our day to day and shapes it. It could be summed up like this: we’re the result of the books we’ve read, the countries we’ve been to, the songs we’ve danced to and, of course, the projects we have worked in.
However, there’s another source of inspiration for us that’s more subtle, less apparent, and certainly way more effective. It lies hidden somewhere between the data and the research of our methodology. It’s the brand strategy that allows us to work on projects with our approach.
Co-Founder of the branding agency Bold. The name is not a coincidence, as the company was born during one of Spain’s worst economic crisis. 10 years later, Olmo and Bold still believe that there’s nothing riskier than not taking risks and that the strategic design has the power to transform businesses beyond aesthetics.
They have worked for international companies and brands like the EU, Catalunya’s Generalitat, Mahou, Oxfam or MACBA. Besides, in the last 4 years, the team has received more than 30 international recognition, including a Platinum and a Silver Pentaward in 2018.
A natural born teacher, Olmo helps young designers to develop their talent in different schools, such as EsDesign, Seeway and LaBasad.
Creative and art director based in Barcelona. In 2007, after working for different studios and agencies, he and Olmo García founded Bold, an award-winning branding studio that has worked for clients like the European Commission, Barcelona’s Contemporary Art Museum (MACBA), the City Council of Barcelona, the Government of Catalonia and Mercat de les Flors (European House Dance), among others. His passion for editorial design and packaging has helped him direct his career towards projects that focus on the final product as a piece that will increase the brand image and take it forward. His personal projects include teaching in different design schools, editor for Muster magazine and photography. His work has been exhibited in Lisbon, San Sebastian and Barcelona.
