Voices

Amid a profound transformation of intermediary bodies, representative associations—from trade unions to employers’ organizations—are now redefining their role. In this context, Inarea has consistently supported—and interpreted—the evolution of brand identity in the sector, from one of the earliest emblematic cases, CGIL in 1984, to the recent rebranding of Confcommercio. It can be said that today representative associations need to rethink their role. Antonio Romano, why is brand identity becoming central for these organizations? Because we live in an age of disintermediation and of the “liquid society” theorized by Zygmunt Bauman. Major contemporary players such as platforms like Google and Amazon have redefined direct relationships with people, hollowing out the traditional role of intermediary bodies. This does not mean that the need for representation has disappeared, but rather that it has transformed: it is as if we have moved from representation to representation as expression. In this shift, the brand becomes a fundamental—almost defensive—tool, as it enables organizations to be visible and to make collective values relevant within a fragmented and individualistic system. How important is it to recognize yourself in a name? Very much. A name is the first element of identity, but it must be consistent with what it represents. If an organization needs half an hour to be explained, then there’s a problem. A brand, by definition, is something that does not require explanation. In a context where people belong to multiple communities—often fluid and temporary—immediate recognition becomes essential. Today, community is the real glue between people and associations, even more than the services themselves. What brings people together is the ability to express a shared purpose, a set of common goals.If an association can understand itself as a community—not just as a service structure—then it can become attractive again. The point is no longer “what do I do,” but “why do I exist.” The CGIL project was pioneering in this respect. It anticipated several design principles that have since become fundamental. In the 1980s, we introduced a monolithic brand architecture system. The red square—still a defining element of the logo today—became the symbolic and identity container of the Confederation, capable of bringing together a wide range of sectors and local entities. It was a response to a fragmentation that was already evident at the time. Today, this principle is even more relevant: converging under a shared sign is more effective than multiplying identities that ultimately become weak. The more you fragment, the more you lose recognizability. Our work has always been about building systems that can hold differences together—enhancing what unites them and, in doing so, creating strong identities. A principle that we also find in more recent projects, such as the one for Confcommercio. Confcommercio represents six different areas—commerce, tourism, services, transport, professions, and culture—yet its name still evokes only one. The rebranding therefore pursued a dual objective: on the one hand, to overcome misunderstandings; on the other, to build a more inclusive identity. For this reason, we worked on the name “ConfCom,” which conveys the idea of community and network. It was not just a formal intervention, but one that reshaped how the organization presents and positions itself—embracing the plurality of the sectors it represents without implicit hierarchies, and highlighting connections and interdependencies. The innovative aspect also lies in the introduction of a more flexible and modular language, designed to adapt to different contexts, touchpoints, and audiences. The rebranding reflects a broader shift in the role of representation: no longer solely a protective function, but a platform for connection and a catalyst for relationships. When does rebranding become necessary? When the brand is no longer aligned with the time it lives in. Organizations accumulate layers, bureaucracies, and misunderstandings. At a certain point, it becomes necessary to stop and ask: are we still contemporary?Rebranding is a bit like moving house—disruptive at first, but necessary to build new habits. Above all, it is a measure of change, not its cause.

Stefano Balsamo, chairman Italy of JP Morgan for 56 years, founded the Canova Club in Rome in 1978—at first, simply as a workable way for banking professionals to find each other. What started as an informal arrangement has, over time, grown into a community of several hundred members in Rome and Milan, alongside the international Diplomatia network.Balsamo refers to himself as an “aggregator of people”, a definition that reflects a natural inclination toward leadership and a practiced ability to build relationships based on friendship, culture and a concrete sense of solidarity—values that have gradually, and quite deliberately, shaped the identity of the Canova Club. When and how was the Canova Club founded, and what is its vision for the future? It began in Rome, at Bar Canova in Piazza del Popolo, out of a straightforward professional necessity linked to my work: understanding what Italians employed by foreign banks were actually doing. There was nothing conceptual about it—just a pragmatic, distinctly “American” approach, focused on concrete outcomes rather than abstract discussions.The real turning point came when we started inviting external experts to share their knowledge—such as the then largely unknown Giulio Tremonti in 1978, followed later by Mario Draghi, Piero Angela, and several other figures who would only become famous much later. That shift—from narrowly technical meetings to more open conversations—quietly transformed the group into a place of friendship and culture, where culture meant building relationships beyond affiliations in order to enable the exchange of ideas.As things evolved, it became necessary to give some structure to what had originally been informal gatherings, resulting in around thirty services built on our core values: Friendship, intended as a spontaneous gift; Culture, as a serious commitment to sharing knowledge; and Solidarity, directed toward supporting “those without provision”. What began as a vertical exercise focused on finance has since become a horizontal community, bringing together people from different backgrounds around cultural initiatives and social support. The model remains intentionally simple: members and stakeholders come together not to attend, but to contribute—personally and directly. We will also be opening a Canova Club in Naples shortly, following the same spirit of friendship and simplicity that proved workable in Milan after Rome.Over the past three years, I have focused on ensuring that the Club is able to continue without me. This process led to the creation of the Foundation and to a governance structure with presidents and general directors, including Chiara Di Ciro, general director of the Canova Club Milan Foundation; Federico Ghizzoni, president of Canova Club Milan; Francesco Farinelli, general director of Canova Club Rome; and Giancarlo Abete, president of Canova Club Rome. What are the initiatives of Canovalandia, the Third Sector organization? We operate under the motto “Providing for those without provision.” In concrete terms, this means working alongside the very last of the last—contexts where good intentions are not enough and where structures simply lack the entrepreneurial or managerial tools to sustain themselves. My role is to raise funds from members and—now that any banking-related conflicts of interest are firmly behind me—to organize initiatives in a more orderly way, while deliberately keeping the entire operation voluntary.A defining trait of the organization is a certain rigor in making sure that funds actually go where they are meant to go. Documentation is always requested; trust is important, but verification is non-negotiable. In Rome, we support initiatives such as Docce al Colle Oppio for people experiencing homelessness and Casa di Lorenzo, which welcomes young people with Down syndrome. In Milan, we collaborate with Ronda della Carità e della Solidarietà ODV, assisting people without shelter, and with Asilo Mariuccia, which provides physical and psychological support to mothers and children in difficult circumstances. Could you tell us about the rebranding, carried out in collaboration with Inarea? The rebranding was the final step in stepping out from the founder’s “shadow cone” and releasing the Club from an image that had become, admittedly, a little too centered on me. It was meant to signal a clear change of phase, summed up—without excessive reverence—in the deliberately self-ironic slogan: “Balsamo asks Stefano to leave the command post.” I agreed to the change of logo not out of nostalgia, but out of responsibility toward the Club and its future. I was struck by Inarea’s generosity and level of commitment, particularly by their ability to listen rather than impose. In the new visual identity, the double “C” remains as a sign of contact and friendship, but its meaning has been recalibrated. What once alluded to the coin, a nod to the Club’s financial origins, now refers to the person—expanding the notion of community and relationship that today, quite clearly, defines the essence of Canova.

Inarea’s 45 years offer a precious opportunity to reflect on the past while imagining the future. Although it is usually the ‘round-number birthdays’ that inspire the deepest reflections, this milestone nonetheless invites us to take stock of brand-identity design in an era in which both design and communication have been transformed—technically and in content—more than ever before. Many of the rules and tools of 45 years ago no longer exist, yet the fundamental principles—those ‘as old as the world itself’—remain steadfast. Antonio Romano, what inspiration guided the very beginning of this journey? At the beginning, we were driven by the dream of total design: the idea of designing ‘from the spoon to the city,’ where graphic design became a bridge between disciplines— a universal language for every form of expression. This ideal has deep, age-old roots: we can think back to the era of the Herald, who designed the prince’s coat of arms and applied it to everything—architecture, uniforms, and textiles—creating a symbolic system of belonging in times of widespread illiteracy. In the end, the underlying logic of branding has not changed all that much. Even today, despite an extraordinary technical and technological transformation, the principles remain the same. In recent decades, communication has undergone an astonishing acceleration. With the advent of digital, what aspects of branding have changed the most? The 1980s were the era of visual exaltation. Then came the 1990s, with mobile phones and the Internet—a convergence that would change the course of human history. Attention shifted from the heraldry of the product to that of the corporate realm, but the next step was the relationship itself: products and services became experiences, and the individual moved to the center of everything. We live and work within a digital dimension—an immaterial space in which we spend much of our active time. The physical touchpoints of the past have been integrated—and often replaced—by countless online interactions. “The real challenge today is to build coherence—in words, in images, and in the brand’s digital gestures—because the user’s judgment is formed in an instant, and is often swift and unforgiving. In such a complex and fragmented world, what core principle is essential for creating a successful identity? The principle we uphold is authenticity—the foundation that makes a brand’s statements about itself credible and verifiable. Without authenticity, the audience turns away. This stems from the convergence of a trilogy: Purpose (why you do what you do), Process (how you do it), and People (those who make it possible, both inside and outside the organization). Is brand identity today becoming increasingly multidimensional and multisensory? And is Inarea also moving in that direction? Certainly. For us, the concept of Brand Sense has become almost an obsession. But in truth, it is anything but new. The Church, for example, is a master of branding: the scent of incense, the verticality of the bell tower dominating the view and carrying the sound of its bells, the atmosphere that weaves together sight, smell, and hearing into a single experience— not to mention Communion, the sublime moment of the celebration, where even taste is engaged. Even Romanesque architecture emerged in response to the need for better sound propagation following the introduction of Gregorian chant. All of this teaches us that the more a brand succeeds in engaging multiple senses and generating synesthetic coherence, the stronger and more memorable its impact will be. How are you at Inarea preparing for your “golden anniversary”? We are integrating skills that we once entrusted to external partners—especially in the digital realm—and we are embracing Artificial Intelligence as a tool to amplify both the speed and the depth of our content. Our craft requires us to look through the eyes of those who observe us—our stakeholders—yet the essence of identity value does not change: we aim to continue creating, through design, an implicit and immediate form of communication, capable of generating impact without the need for explanation. As Oscar Wilde said, “beauty has the advantage over genius in that it needs no explanation.” We will therefore continue to give shape to a promise of the future, remaining an enterprise inspired by the Renaissance workshop, yet equipped with a ‘brand corridor’ capable of orchestrating and seamlessly coordinating the many facets of communication.

From hospitals to foundations, from pharmaceutical companies to regional health systems, Inarea has told the story of healthcare through brand identity.Each project is a way to make “care” visible — in symbols, in names, in spaces.And above all, in relationships. Public Healthcare: standardizing to humanize The identity projects for the Emilia-Romagna and Lazio Regions introduced an “umbrella brand” approach capable of bringing coherence to a complex, often heterogeneous, and layered system. Salute Lazio is an example of rationalization that goes beyond aesthetics: it makes services, hospitals, and communications immediately recognizable, fostering a unified language between institutions and citizens. The goal is to create a healthcare system that is more accessible and easy to understand, where the graphic symbol becomes an implicit mark of recognition — and therefore, a guarantee for citizens.The rebranding of Salute Lazio took shape through a strategic intervention that simplified and unified the identity of the regional healthcare system. The new name, “Salute Lazio,” is accompanied by the descriptor “Regional Healthcare System,” while the logo was designed to visually evoke the red cross, the universal symbol of healthcare. The graphic symbol, derived from the letter “L” in Lazio, ideally reconfigures a red and blue cross and has been used as a distinctive element throughout all communications, creating a coherent and easily recognizable system. This approach made it possible to integrate the various regional healthcare structures under a single identity, streamlining and rationalizing the overall service offering while enhancing the effectiveness of institutional communication. Hospitals and Foundations: welcoming spaces From the Gemelli University Hospital to the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital and the Santa Lucia Foundation, Inarea has supported these prestigious institutions in building a visual identity capable of making hospital environments more contemporary and empathetic. The wayfinding system at Gemelli, inspired by major airport hubs, was designed to facilitate patient movement, restoring a sense of autonomy and confidence. Its brand identity, developed to mark the hospital’s fiftieth anniversary, translates the institute’s founding values into a visual language: Catholic roots, care for the individual, and a vision of healing as a vital act. The Gemelli blue and the “G” that unfolds into a cross, leaves, and a human figure together tell the story of a form of medicine that unites faith, science, and humanity. In the case of Santa Lucia, the Tree of Life symbol evokes a sense of rebirth, while at the same time recalling the two hemispheres of the human brain — roots and thought, matter and mind. Industry and research: when the brand unifies Private healthcare and the pharmaceutical sector represent the other half of the story. Inarea developed the visual identity for GVM (Gruppo Villa Maria), simplifying its name and strengthening its positioning as a network of excellence in care and research. The Angelini Industries project, on the other hand, brought together a wide range of diverse activities, placing purpose and direction before traditional, product-based distinctions. The pharmaceutical field, in fact, represents just over half of the entire system.The Aventis Pharma case, from the early 2000s, stands as a paradigmatic example in the history of pharmaceutical branding. It created a unified packaging system for ethical products within a multinational company born from the merger of six different brands, giving a single voice to medicines distributed worldwide while maintaining full compliance with local regulations. It was, in effect, defined as a universal visual code — a language of symbols, colors, and informational hierarchies capable of making each medicine instantly readable, regardless of the target market. Over time, the project remains an important example of how branding can serve not only as an expression of identity, but also as an organizational lever, capable of restoring order and clarity. Foundations of the common good From Smile House, which treats craniofacial malformations, to the Veronesi Foundation and the Piedmont Foundation for Cancer Research, design becomes an ethical language. Each brand is an act of giving back — a way to give form to solidarity, to research, and to hope. For example, the rebranding of the Veronesi Foundation — an institution that supports excellence in scientific research and promotes a culture of prevention — enhances the legacy of its founder and, through the “V” in the logo, becomes a human and dynamic symbol, capable of adapting to the various fields of research represented by the ribbon, the universal symbol of struggle and hope. Even in healthcare, branding is an infrastructure of meaning — a tool for making care more human, and therefore, more effective.

Even in the educational sector, branding has become a strategic factor. In an increasingly competitive and globalized landscape, building a strong and recognizable brand identity helps universities stand out, attract students, and position themselves consistently within the education system and the job market. What is brand identity in the educational sector? Everything that doesn’t need to be explained is branded. Studying at Harvard, for example, means presenting yourself with a remarkable background — the university’s reputation becomes a true guarantee for its graduates. In other words, brand is reputation. The urgency to build a brand in academia stems from a time of change — both in how education is delivered, with the rise of online learning opportunities, and in how students approach their studies. The declining birth rate means institutions must make up for lower domestic enrollment by attracting international students. As competition between universities becomes inevitable, it is essential to present oneself in the best possible way. Building a strong and recognizable brand identity helps institutions stand out and position themselves consistently both within the educational system and the job market. Let’s start with the experience at Sapienza University of Rome. What were the main challenges? The project for Sapienza University of Rome, launched in 2006, was one of the most complex due to its scale and historical depth. We’re talking about a university with over 150,000 students and a legacy spanning seven centuries. The goal was to build a strong identity capable of uniting many different entities — such as schools and departments — which were often disconnected from each other. The intervention took place during a reform that replaced the traditional faculty-based system. We developed a rigorous brand architecture: Sapienza (without “la”) was established as the master brand, while departments and schools were identified typographically only, using custom-designed typefaces and eliminating symbolic references. This decision initially sparked significant criticism. The color purple was chosen instead of the conventional academic blue to evoke the colors of Rome and emphasize the university’s connection to the city. The tagline “Il futuro è passato qui” (“The future has passed through here”) captures the university’s historical value and cultural heritage. Public or private, is there a difference in how a brand is built? The method is the same: analysis, strategy, vision. What changes is the specific context. Public universities often need to rationalize a historical legacy, while younger private institutions focus on legitimacy and attractiveness. But today, both public and private universities face similar challenges.LUISS, for example, has successfully highlighted its role as a place of opportunity and global connections, strengthening the trust of students and families. Inarea’s relationship with the university began in 2017 with the celebrations of its 40th anniversary and later developed into a full rebranding project. The result was a clear and consistent positioning, supported by continuous investment in its international network.Similarly — though with different outcomes — LIUC (Università Cattaneo) focused on reinforcing its identity as a university rooted in the industrial world, closely connected to its region, and oriented toward the future. How important is experience — especially digital user experience — in shaping brand perception? A lot — because today, the experience begins well before enrollment. The website, informational materials, and digital navigation all need to be consistent, clear, and engaging. User experience is central, especially for universities offering a wide range of programs. It’s during this initial phase that the emotional connection with the prospective student is built. The differentiating element might be history, as in the case of Sapienza, or a forward-looking vision, like OPIT — a digital-native institution that positioned its world-class faculty as brand ambassadors to attract students. In any case, the brand must inspire trust, be memorable, and remain recognizable across all touchpoints — from digital platforms to physical spaces. In which direction is brand identity heading in the educational world? It’s becoming increasingly systemic. A brand is no longer just a logo or a color — it’s a way of governing identity. It’s what builds meaning in people’s minds. With artificial intelligence and digitalization reshaping the landscape, we may soon see new players enter the scene — imagine if Amazon decided to found a university: the strength of its brand alone would be a major competitive advantage. That’s why, now more than ever, we need a broad vision and a narrative that can speak to people’s emotional intelligence. Because a strong brand in the world of education doesn’t just tell you what an institution is — it tells you where it can take the people who choose it.