Saint-Gobain is a European company, specialized in construction material manufacturing. The company was established in 1665 in France and was focused on the production of mirrors and glass. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Saint-Gobain started designing glass and tableware and only in the 1980s the abrasive material manufacturing was launched. Today the company operates worldwide and has almost 200 thousand employees.
Meaning and history
Saint Gobain is the oldest glass manufacturing company in the world. Founded in France at the end of the 17th century, today Currently, the company produces a wide range of construction glass (solar reflective, energy-saving, multifunctional, tinted, laminated, painted, patterned, anti-glare, self-cleaning, and mirrors), as well as complex glass products.
The name of the company, Saint-Gobain, comes from the name of the village in the French region of Picardy, where in 1692, far from prying eyes founded the Royal mirror manufactory.
In 1665, Colbert, a minister of King Louis XIV, founded the enterprise, which was called “Royal mirror manufactory”, whose main goal was to end the monopoly of Venice in the market for the production of mirrors and glass. Over the centuries, Saint-Gobain’s activities have become increasingly diversified and international in scope.
Before 2018
The first Saint-Gobain logo featured a modest medium-gray composition with the emblem placed above the uppercase inscription. The emblem of the company depicted a geometric bridge with a triangular top part and seven narrow white arched on the bottom. As for the logotype, it was executed in a clean and neat sans-serif typeface, which looked timeless and fine.
2018 – Today
One of the world’s oldest companies in the construction materials industry segment boasts a very modern and recognizable visual identity, which has a strong connection to the original label’s logo, showing its history and heritage.
The Saint-Gobain logo is composed of a delicate wordmark and a remarkable emblem above it, which depicts a silhouette of buildings and the arches of the historical Pont-a-Mousson bridge. The bridge has always been a part of the brand’s visual identity, as a tribute to the city of its foundation.
The previous logo of the company depicted only the bridge’s contour, and the shapes of the buildings were added to the badge in order to emphasize the construction segment of the Saint-Gobain activity.
The colorful logo is drawn in a gradient line, consisting of all the shades of the rainbow, which looks dynamic and lively, showing the company as the progressive one and its young spirit, though a strong link to its roots and legacy.
The wordmark is colored blue in order to accent on professionalism and authority. Blue also evokes a sense of security and responsibility of the corporation, showing its values of quality and sustainability.
Font
The wordmark of the company’s logo features all capital letters in a rounded geometric sans-serif typeface, which is very similar to Aristotelica Small Caps font, designed by Cosimo Lorenzo Pancini and Andrea Tartarelli, based on the iconic Arista typeface, created by Francesco Canovaro.
The inscription boasts sleek elegant lines, which look fresh and make the whole logo lightweight and sophisticated. The rounded corners create a kind and friendly feeling, showing the company’s customer as the center of its value system.
Font and Color
The smooth uppercase lettering from the primary badge of the Saint-Gobain company is set in a modern rounded sans-serif font with full-shape contours of the characters. The closest fonts to the one, used in this insignia, are, probably, Grovana Medium Rough or Varet Gothic Soft Small Caps, but with some modifications of the characters’ contours.
As for the color palette of the Saint-Gobain visual identity, it is based on gradient rainbow shades in the emblem and smooth blue in the lettering. This scheme represents the creative side of the brand, along with the medium-blue standing for the professional qualities and the company’s trustworthiness.
Review
Saint-Gobain was founded as a glass and mirror manufacturing business and despite the wide range of materials and products the company produces today, glass is still one of the most important categories for the corporation.
The huge company designs and produces various materials and solutions for the construction industry, mobility, healthcare, and industrial markets. Among the glass solutions it provides are interior and exterior structures, thermal insulation, as well as a bullet- and fireproof technologies.
The brand is also known for manufacturing steel elements for highways, ceramics, and even pipe water systems. The variety of Saint-Gobain products is really impressive. But the key factor for the company is its innovative approach and control of quality on every step of the manufacturing process.
It is a company with a rich history and a very good reputation all over the globe, which is open to research and innovations and tends to implement all the new technologies for increasing the efficiency and durability of its products.
What is Saint-Gobain?
Saint-Gobain is a famous French constructing company, which was started in the 17th century as a manufacturer of mirrors and glass goods. Today Saint-ago sun is considered to be one of the most reputable European companies in its segment.