Louvil is a commune in the North department of France just a few kilometers south-west of Lille.
Alongside 4 neighboring communes it forms the Unité urbaine de Cysoing. Louvil was the only one out of the 4 communes that did not have a personal and unique brand, the commune of Louvil has only used their coat of arms or "blazon" and did not have a territorial brand.
The creation of the Louvil brand had to take place within the framework of a commune that is composed by different aspects. In one hand, this is a commune with vast natural areas and farms that tries to maintain its cultural roots and traditional values, and on the other hand is a commune that is constantly evolving. This year it will finish the creation of a Mediatheque (an investment of more than 10,000 euros), and it is also meant to finish a residential expansion project by the last trimester of 2021.
Creating a brand for the commune was a challenge, especially since this is the first attempt to branding and it was necessary to get approval from the senior members of city council.
The commune of Louvil had never used a logo before, they only used their coat of arms and its multiple variations. The town hall, their official documents, the logo they used in their street or investment signs, were all different variations from their blazon, either in shape or in color.
I decided that the design needed to be closed to their traditional symbolism and familiar, but at the same time give a feeling of modernism.
I decided to use the fleur-de-lis as a key element in the logo and visual identity of the commune. Not only because is a very recognizable symbol for French people, but also because it is a symbol that is very important in the blazon of Louvil, all of the 8 rods of the escarbuncle end with the lily. Instead of using a traditional shape of the fleur-de-lis I redesigned the shape to make it simpler but still recognizable.
The fleur-de-lis serves as a representation of the past and traditional values, while the simplified shape gives the idea of modernization, as well as representing nature which is an important aspect of the commune’s landscape, the latter being also the main source of inspiration of the colors used.
Louvil's communication material
Besides the constant official letters, the town hall prints many promotional flyers as well as the annual Municipal Newsletter.
For their promotional material there were two things they wanted: have a format that was engaging and dynamic, and also a stronger social media presence.
Lastly, I visited the commune of Cysoing at the end of June for their annual carnival. During the event people from different cities and communes go to Cysoing with their traditional "giants" to take part of a parade.
The association "Les Amis d'Edouardus de Louvil" made a giant out recycled products to take part in the parade, they have been participating in the carnival for some years now. This video shows the assembling of the giant and some highlights of the parade.
Shot handlend on a Sony A6000 with the kit lens
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Mr. Jean-Paul Béarez, the major of Louvil, and Mrs. Jocelyne Groux who did not only gave me the opportunity to do my internship in the town hall of Louvil, but who was also very enthusiastic, open and supportive of my ideas.
Thanks to the employees of the town hall and members of city council who were always supportive and helped as much as they could and provided as much information as I needed.
