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About
Fundición Gamboa is a family-owned Mexican metal casting company. They have been specializing in manufacturing top-tier cast furniture since 1954. To this date, Fundición Gamboa is a recognized and prestigious company within the manufacturing sector in Northwestern Mexico and the Southeastern United States. The company has exported to Europe, the Caribbean, New Zealand, Australia, and Israel, among other countries.
The research
Every logo redesign begins with a comprehensive research phase. This process is crucial, as it equips us with the necessary insights to create a logo that truly represents the essence of the company. My research is guided by two primary objectives. First, I delve into the existing competitors' logos, which provide valuable information about the main visual elements and colors prevalent in the industry. Second, I study the company's background, aiming to capture and convey its unique essence in the new logo. In addition to reviewing or creating the brief with the client, I strive to gather as much information as the company can provide, from their history, challenges, and achievements to their existing branding elements.
During the competitor's logo research, I found over 50 logos indexed in the most popular search engines. I understood that the crucible is the most representative element when designing a logo for a foundry. I confirmed that I should use warm colors, and I learned what design ideas and sketches I had to avoid to save time and focus on uniqueness. To this point, there was no need to reinvent the wheel but to craft a unique one.
The next step was to check the company's background, history, and branding elements, if any. Most companies start with a logo because they have to, not because of what the logo could represent in the long run for them and their target market. Having a logo is intrinsic to new businesses. It has become a part of the process of starting a company, but in most cases, it doesn't go beyond that. The big mistake, however, is to believe that a logo is all you need to make your company successful, but the truth is that the logo is a tiny spot in the world of branding.
Perfecting branding is a complex task, and for most business owners, starting a business with branding in mind is an even tougher challenge. It's important to acknowledge the difficulties and complexities involved in this process, as it helps us understand the unique journey of each business owner and business.
With Fundición Gamboa, branding happened naturally thanks to its founder, Don Alfonso Gamboa. He started his company from scratch in 1954 and crafted the first logo and slogan with no design skills. According to the client, Mr. Gamboa tried to design molten metal being poured from a crucible to his best intentions, but the logo didn't look like it. It looked old and hard to understand. However, that didn't stop Mr. Gamboa from growing his company.
Over the following decades, his work, last name, philanthropy, and entrepreneurial spirit gained popularity in the community and industry. Unfortunately, Mr. Gamboa passed away due to health reasons, leaving the entire foundry to his wife and young children in 1991.
Later, the production manager redesigned the first version of the logo. Although it was a better one, it still had a few issues I needed to solve, starting with the most important one: originality.
The outcome
As I was trying to find the missing piece, I discovered the blurred tagline under the crucible which happened to be their slogan: "Forging Efforts." It turned out to be the crucial inspiration I needed to redesign not just a logo but a symbol that would honor the Gamboa Family's hard work and sacrifices spanning over half a century. Driven by a clear vision, I starting drafting numerous sketches until I eventually crafted the perfect one.
The digital concepts in the image below show the evolution of the primary mark, with colors inspired by the natural hues reflected in the crucible when filled with molten metal, starting from white and progressing through yellow, orange, and red.
The new logo needed to possess the finest attributes—uniqueness, timelessness, scalability, and versatility, suitable for a wide array of applications including metal casting.
I also envisioned incorporating their last name initial into every product they produce. What better way to encapsulate everyone's dedication than to depict molten metal forming the letter 'G' of Gamboa pouring from a crucible?
As for the company name, I selected the Allumi Std Extended Bold typeface in capital letters, adjusting the tracking to ensure scalability and balance among the elements.
To convey the impression of witnessing molten metal being poured from a crucible, I shifted the orange circle one square downward while maintaining the center alignment for the rest.
The result? A distinctive logotype for Fundición Gamboa, adaptable for various applications such as embroidery, web, casting, and printing—ensuring readability, versatility, and significance.
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