La Mole:
a generative identity for Ancona's new cultural hub.
La Mole is a historic building that over the years has hosted nationally renowned musical events and art exhibitions. Inside, it houses a permanent museum (the Museo Tattile Statale Omero), several municipal offices, and a nautical club. The identity of a place is formed within the imagination of those who experience it by interacting with their own background; in this way, every element contributes to creating the Idea of the whole.
Services
Client
Place
Year
Communication cores
The functional soul
Culture
Space
Identity project
A generative identity for La Mole:
the brand opens up to those who experience and interpret this space.
Naming
mòle [mò·le]
1 — Large-scale solid mass; proper noun for certain grand and imposing buildings.
2 — Unit of measurement for amount of substance in the International System of Units, symbol mol, equivalent to the amount of substance of a system that contains as many elementary entities.
Given that the Lazzaretto is now recognized by the local administration and population as "Mole," we confirm the intent to use a name derived from this designation, asserting the vision to develop a cultural hub of crucial importance for the city. We propose using the article "La" to emphasize the uniqueness of the "Mole" entity and phonetically strengthen the name itself. Stripped of adjectives, references, and ties, La Mole asserts the solidity of its identity, which requires no further specifications to gain importance and credibility.
Payoff
The initial reflection on this payoff is its openness toward an international audience as well as a local one. This leads to the selection of vocabulary that is easy to understand for the majority of Italians, while simultaneously capable of adding value to the "La Mole" brand. Where culture lives points directly to the place, describing it without being overly literal, but rather focusing on what happens within it and what it is capable of generating.
Culture "lives" in this place of exchange, which is—and aims to grow as—an Adriatic-Mediterranean hub. "Culture" remains generic to leave the door open to all types of arts and crafts that can be hosted inside the facility, as well as to all forms of culture that can be enjoyed thanks to this space returned to the city.
Communication
Communication structured on multiple levels
to speak to every audience.
Level 1 communication
First-level communication breaks down the core concept of the institutional identity, placing it across distinct layers. We can thus isolate a first typographic level, which acquires the formal variation unique to the brand; a second informational level; and a third composed of color palette and the La Mole signature. In this way, the identity is reinforced every time La Mole, as an entity, speaks to its stakeholders regarding its monthly programming or institutional events.
A publication dedicated to the entire process that led us to generate the communication languages and identity documents the project, serving as a tangible record of this in-depth design work.
Level 2 communication
In the second level, which we apply when the Mole entity generates a dedicated project, communication becomes vertical and three-dimensional, including in its visual identity. The communicative message adopts the formal dynamics of the brand, while introducing a distinct approach to the naming strategy.
The visual uses a two-color framework to gain depth, interpreting graphic or photographic elements through a predefined palette that is also used in first-level communication. The objective remains high personality in both visual language and communicative grammar, serving to reinforce the core identity elements.
A new challenge
The idea of defining a closed space as a place for expressing thought and action engages with its surrounding context, transforming it from a perimeter into a trajectory. We explore the concept of viewpoint across its multiple sensory expressions and meanings, establishing a generative process in constant evolution.
Today, La Mole is no longer merely a container; it is projecting itself toward the role of a dialogue partner capable of serving as a benchmark for industry professionals by providing resources and opportunities. Everything, starting from cultural production, is entering a second phase, and communication is acquiring more inclusive and dynamic tools to foster dialogue and participation processes.
