The new visual identity of the Plaza was developed by the Schaffter Sahli studio following an invitation-only competition.

The identity highlights the close relationship between architecture and typography. By playing with vertical and horizontal lines, as well as reading directions, it opens up an infinite range of graphic possibilities. Optical effects and multiple combinations evoke both the glow of the cinema screen and urban illuminations. Letters take on the appearance of neon signs, and the logo transforms into a luminous display.

This dynamic visual language expresses the richness and diversity of the Plaza Centre Cinéma’s programming, a space envisioned as open, surprising, dynamic, innovative, and inclusive. Its bold, distinctive graphic identity allows for adaptations tailored to each of the Plaza’s components: the cinema-hotel Nuits Blanches, the Brasserie Europe, the Bar Glacier, and the Fondation Plaza.

Cinema, and more precisely, cinematograph, etymologically means “writing movement” (from the Greek kinēma, “movement,” and graphê, “the art of writing”). The designers took this definition literally, crafting a visual vocabulary that draws on the motions of reading.

Inspired by the spirit of the New York School, an artistic movement influenced by the European avant-garde and modernism from the 1940s to the 1970, the Rand typeface conveys a certain character and distinctive warmth. Its organic texture and balanced rhythm soften the rigor of its modern design.

The new visual identity will gradually appear across all communication materials and throughout the spaces of the Plaza Centre Cinéma, culminating in the launch of the new website later this autumn.