Casco Viejo
Zazpi Kaleak
Studio
Trupp
Role
Art Director
Focus
Branding
Graphic Design
Client
Bilbao City Council
Zazpi Kaleak (The Seven Streets) is the historic soul of Bilbao. To redefine its visual identity, I looked at the element that created it: the Nervión River. The branding is built on the concept of the water “generating” the heart of the city.
The resulting isotype is a synthesis of the neighborhood’s DNA, merging the soft curves of the river with the iconic stone arches and bridges that connect this historic enclave to the modern metropolis.
The challenge was to honor 700 years of history while providing a functional tool for a modern, bilingual city. The brand utilizes a strategic pairing of Bitter and Helvetica Neue. The humanistic, sturdy serifs of Bitter represent the weight of tradition and history, while the clean, functional lines of Helvetica Neue ground the brand in the present. This duality also serves as a clear hierarchy for the Basque and Spanish languages. I chose “Bilbao Blue” as the primary protagonist, a color deeply rooted in the city’s institutional and maritime identity, providing an immediate sense of place and belonging.
I developed a modular icon system derived directly from the geometric proportions of the main logo. By deconstructing the “heart” and the “river” curves, I created a consistent visual language that scales across various touchpoints: from delicate merchandise like enamel mugs and tote bags to high-contrast urban signage and event posters.
Zazpi Kaleak is where Bilbao began. This project translates the physical essence of the Old Town (its arches, its bridges, and its river) into a modern design system. By balancing classic serif typography with contemporary Swiss style, the identity reflects a neighborhood that is as much about its history as it is about its future.
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