Design is at the center of our thinking and activities
The unique signature with the double S has stood for the Viessmann brand since 1965. Our secret of success then, now, and in the near future is: we want to know our brand identity inside out and develop it with care.
Our brand personality is an expression of how we see ourselves. The Viessmann corporate values – team-oriented, responsible, and entrepreneurial – serve as an internal guideline for our employees in their day-to-day work. They also let the outside world know the high demands we place on our products and services and how we act towards our partners and customers.
Our design not only reflects our high demands placed on the quality and reliability of our products. The clear design language offers our customers guidance on how to use our equipment and solutions in a world of increasing technical complexity.
The product and design are closely linked
Dr. Hans Viessmann already recognized in the 1960s that good products alone are not enough: a company’s success also depends on a clear, holistic brand identity. He collaborated with the constructivist and trailblazing graphic designer Anton Stankowski and developed a consistent corporate design in 1965/66. The design is clear, concise, and straightforward, and it continues to shape our identity to this day. The design approach is applied to every aspect of our company because corporate design requirements aren’t just relevant for our products but also for our whole company – from company buildings to office design and trade fair booths to cafeteria dishes.
Numerous examples are provided in our image database. Stankowski based his design on the ideas of the Bauhaus and lived by the dictum: omit, simplify, rationalize, humanize. Besides creating the corporate color “Vitorange,” he also developed Viessmann’s world-famous logotype with the superimposed double S, which still serves as our calling card today. The double-S design is based on a coil heat exchanger, which is an essential part of conventional burner technologies.
A visual concept for Viessmann product design was also created at the same time in the 1960s. Hans Gugelot, a lecturer at the renowned Ulm School of Design, developed the then little-known concept of modular industrial design. In 1967, Viessmann boilers were the first to introduce design into the boiler room, with color also being added just two years later. Boilers had either been gray or industrial green up until “Vitorange” became the new standard color. Good design has been with us ever since, and our products still regularly receive prestigious design awards, such as the iF GOLD AWARD 2019 for the new liCasing design of the Vitodens 300.
Functional graphics are the key feature of our corporate design, which was developed by Stankowski. We use mathematics and geometry and keep our designs simple because the technology used in our products stands out on its own. Simple products for complex systems is one of our principles. That is why designers and product managers who work at Viessmann operate hand in hand right from the get-go. We always start with the users and their needs, looking at making our products user-friendly as well as providing easy-to-read and understandable information about them. A series of icons was developed by Stankowski, for example, which make it easier for our customers to understand technical processes.
Guide to a strong brand
In the process of digitally transforming our company, the Viessmann design team carefully expanded the legacy left behind by Stankowski to meet today’s requirements. We focused on the relationship between individual sub-brands and then created transparency, for example, by developing new logotypes for digital products. Stankowski’s functional graphics were further developed for use on digital interfaces and thus help create a dynamic, interactive, and above all forward-looking user experience. Making complex relationships easily accessible for users was once again our focus, as it was back then.
The Viessmann Brand Guide – a detailed guide to the Viessmann brand – was created during the revision process. The modular concept makes it possible to continuously develop the brand identity with our employees and partners and to apply it in ever-changing situations.
