Choosing a name and designing a logo is a particularly sensitive area for a design company, which has to create a unique, clearly distinguishable and attractive image for itself in the first step. The founders of Pyxis Nautica designed the image very consciously and thoughtfully, and the end result was very expressive, providing opportunities for many games. Let's take a closer look!
Pyxis Nautica
The choice of name is sometimes simple (founder's name, an acronym from the founders' names), sometimes complicated (a reference to another creator, word play), and sometimes difficult and complicated (we don't know of such an example at the moment).
Pyxisé is a fourth case: although they say that choosing a name was "tough", they knew very clearly what they did NOT want: an acronym, a number in the name, and architecture / architecture words. But they also knew what they wanted: "a name that even a foreigner can pronounce, it looks good written down, there is not much else on the market that is both edgy and elegant", remembered Tamás.
They started looking for things with three letters, and then they came up with the constellations, including Pyx, whose full name is Pyxis Nautica, and in Latin it means nautical orientator, i.e. compass. It turned out to be a perfect interpretation: the name was associated with the shape of the constellation as a logo, while the name refers to the guys' common hobby, sailing, as well as exploration and guidance.
A wide field of associations opened up, as Tamás explains, the three stars "even can also symbolize the characters of the three founders: Laci is below, he mostly stands with two feet on the ground; Dávid is up there, he always wants to fly away, sometimes he has to be pulled back down to earth, he is the most creative, he doesn't like to be boxed in. Tamás creates a kind of balance between the two.
At the same time, the constellation also includes other stars, just as the Pyxis team has already been expanded by three more people.
Or we can think of the nautical orientator (in Dávid's words, "a beautiful and useful object"), which is also in the office.
Identity
Okay, there you have the cool, unique, layered range of meaning name. But all of this is real if it faithfully expresses the identity of the company and the brand. In the case of Pyxis, the solution came naturally. "Our stated goal from the beginning was to attract projects such as Irányi Palace< /u>, the Palazzo Hunyadi, the Balatonfüred Round Church, which are historical buildings that can be accessed with contemporary tools, Laci explains. "Our logo and the choice of name also became a Latin expression based on a conscious decision, in many cases with gold letters and a dark blue background, which fits well in this environment."The logo also has an additional inscription: Design & Build. This approach - following projects up to the placement of the last light switch - is decisive. In addition to most of the design tasks, they also follow the construction process, and often choose the last chair and picture hung on the wall together with the customer.
The office
But what is the office of a design office like? It is practical, as several people from the company live within walking distance, and it is clean, where you can create undisturbed. First, they found a small office for rent under the Buda Castle, on Donáti Street, on the ground floor of a building complex designed by Péter Reimholcz. They fell in love, they took her out. They didn't know if there would be enough work, but they took the plunge and signed the two-year contract. Since then, they have been renting another room, a little further down the stairs, and the first one has become a meeting room.
In the first office, they sat around a large common table. It was so large compared to the space that almost the entire equipment consisted of it. It stood at an exciting angle in the space, at first three people - later five - worked around it, and there was a place left for the guest to consult.
All of this together accurately and multifacetedly expresses the identity of Pyxis Nautica, but we will give the floor to Dávid, who succinctly summarized the company's core values regarding the name: "We would really be happy if it would be a concept, and we would not necessarily be an architecture office, but a design company where clients feel safe at any level of design. Interior design? Furniture design? Pop-up scenery? We are quite up for a challenge, and we would be happy if we received special assignments.
Photos: Bálint Jaksa/Archition