SOCMA specializes in the design and manufacture of wine-making and industrial equipment, and is based in Narbonne, in the south of France.

For over thirty years, SOCMA has been innovating and creating new products, unique on the market, and collecting patents and prestigious awards in the process. Dating back to 1987, the company’s historic logotype no longer reflected its know-how and ambitions.

We were involved in the company’s rebranding and move to brand new premises.

Typography from the industrial process

The machines designed and manufactured by SOCMA are largely made from stainless steel plates. Stainless steel is therefore the raw material, the one that will be shaped by our technicians into parts that will later be assembled into innovative machines.

The logotype is inspired by this manufacturing principle. The shape of the lettering is directly inspired by the raw material used: stainless steel. The beveled and rounded edges refer to the stainless steel parts that are shaped and treated before being assembled.

Typefaces are also seen as parts of an overall whole, just as the parts of a machine fit together to create it.

The typographic block is a typeface we designed specifically for SOCMA. A functional Pressio Condensed typeface completes the visual identity.

Stainless steel at the heart of SOCMA’s identity

Stainless steel is at the heart of SOCMA’s business, so placing this raw material at the heart of the company’s visual identity was an obvious choice.

A specific iconography was created using sheets of metallized paper, evoking metal without offering a literal interpretation. The papers were folded and oriented in different ways to play with curves, reflections and diagonals. A monochrome or bichrome treatment was then applied to create SOCMA’s distinctive iconography.

Stainless steel becomes a malleable, bendable element, the company’s medium for creation and innovation. The infinite folding possibilities reflect SOCMA’s boundless scope for innovation.

Form, material, identity

The beveled and rounded edges of the shaped stainless steel pieces become the common thread running through the communication territory. This formal vocabulary asserts the company’s graphic presence.

The shape used as a mask in the visual identity also evokes an S, creating, depending on the case, a dialogue with the images inserted in it.