Qbr.it changes. In form and in substance. Together with a new platform that will give our users new and more entertaining  features, the social network gets a new name and logo, specially designed for us by Sergio Esposito, art director of Nascar (the  Neapolitan Communication Company than ran the portal until 2007) and of infamous creativity.
It is in this context that Ciao People arises, the new identity of a community that already exists but will live through  extraordinary changes that make it more appealing, comfortable, and most of all bigger and more engaging.
We chose a name that was able to represent  the typical values that emphasize the concept of social network (socializing, friendship, community) for an audience as large as the world and we adopted a logo, born after months of designing, which totally revolutionizes the ” old “image.  Fresh, solar and with a friendly “mascot” that will accompany us in the change and identify us with the community.

To better explain every aspect of the change of visual identity, we had a chat the person who designed our new logo.  In the resulting interview Sergio explains what it means to  rename and restyle an  image, and tells us about the difficulties encountered in the design phase and explains the reasons for the new brand Hello People.

Qbr changes its name and logo.  How awkward of  a moment it that for a company?

Very tricky. I have always thought that deciding to change your logo is a sign of corporate maturity, propensity towards the future and generally of a positive outlook in regards to business. All of the latter is even more accentuated when dealing with a name change.
In this case, however, I do not think we should speak of a simple renaming: Hello People is much more. It collects and reinforces the important legacy of Qbr, enriching content and new stimuli that certainly the users will welcome and appreciate. Hello People has already explained in its name the reasons for change: it is composed of two words, both international and both simple and direct. We can talk to the whole world through a universal language, the language of the network, the language of social networking.

A logo is a vital communication tool for any company but communication is the very essence of a social network:  so just how important is the logo for a  company like ours?

There are several types of trademarks, logos, and there is always a certain reason that prompts the designer to find a  particular form, style and color. The brand for a community, however, is rather different, it  must  “say” something  straight away and it must be able to speak to those who watch and immediately communicate some values (a welcome, the community, being together) that are typical of a social network. It represents the first level of interaction, the form through which the network communicates itself and distinguishes itself from others, strongly promoting its own  characteristics. The logo, becomes a key element, that  not only determines the new identity of the portal, but also defines the new way of communicating, and of presenting itself from within and to the whole world.

The implementation process of the new Ciaopeople logo was lengthy and well thought out.  What difficulties did you encounter?

Every project presents some difficulties and they increase whenever you try to focus too precisely on a certain goal.  We wanted to be sure no mistakes were made. Perhaps  this was our primary source of stress throughout the first phase of the project. As I said before, Hello People collects the legacy of Qbr; a demanding legacy at that. We felt a big responsibility towards all those who had put their trust in us.  An important challenge in design was interpreting the reactions  to change. We have managed to obtain, a form that is absolutely “friendly”  for our  past users, that communicates  great freshness and novelty, but that can also speak with equal effectiveness to all new users who, while not previously knowing Qbr, will join and be a part of this great community.

The transition to the new logo also marks a drastic chromatic change. What are the reasons for the transition to the new corporate colors?

This was a topic that had us thinking very hard about what to keep and what to leave behind of Qbr. We finally decided that the change would be stronger, and more firm if manifested not only through a change in form and name, but also through a clear color revolution.  Almost the opposite in the spectrum of colors compared to the “old” green and blue, we chose orange in an attempt  to expand and outreach to a broader target. It  is a solar color, harmonious, not aggressive, that communicates through its warm and welcoming tone, great freshness and novelty.

What do you expect the reaction from users to the new trademark to  be?

We have worked very hard. We have studied the target audience and we have learned to know and understand the users in years of experience. Any change is, by definition, traumatic, and certainly may lead different  reactions from different types  of Qbr people. However, we are very confident that the change will be successful and the reactions positive.  I am also convinced that people will  soon grow fond of it because the new trademark speaks and looks to the people, has a lot of people, and has the noble purpose to remind users to never lose touch with reality, and that any social network, no matter how big or  complex it may be, is made up of many individuals.

The characteristic element of the new brand, in addition to the lettering, is the orange smiley with black eyes. How was that conceived? What lies behind this choice?

It is an attempt to break through the monitor. When designing the new trademark, I immediately felt the need to have the support and help of somebody, a kind of “little being” to lead us all in step, and that could be the face of the new community. We are still looking for a name for him, and we thought the best way to do this was to involve all our users, in a sort of creative competition in search of the perfect name given by the community itself.  In terms of design, the actual symbol represents  the synthesis of interaction among users and the user himself, with his personality and character. For this reason, the lines that make up the “face”, are precise and distinct, but not overly worked, because it could be the face or non-face of anyone. It smiles  with its eyes, and speaks a universal language, a language of symbols. It communicates vivacity and welcome and invites you to participate, it makes you feel one of us, and tells you that this is not a dangerous world, but  a place where each and every one of us can also be a smiley, smiling with its eyes.

Our new logo had been ready for months now and is loved by everyone at the company. We shall be waiting for the verdict of the community!

Claudia Saputo
Ciaopeople Press Office

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