Visual identity and typography for exceptional marble

Ilhet, a small village in the Hautes Pyrénées, situated at an altitude of 620 metres and home to 120 inhabitants, has been famous for its marble production since 1692.

This exceptional material, quarried since ancient times, now has its own name: Opéra Fantastico. Because of its fragility, Opéra Fantastico marble is mainly used for interior design projects. It can be found in some of the world’s most exceptional buildings, including the Opéra Garnier, the Château de Versailles and the Empire State Building.

However, Opéra Fantastico marble is not sufficiently promoted in its native land. Most of the processing and design is done in Italy.

To address this lack of recognition in France and reclaim its origins, the district of Ilhet has set up a large-scale project to promote its heritage and revitalise the area.

In 2023, Graphéine designed the visual identities for the Opéra Fantastico marble and the Atelier des Marbres respectively.

A project to highlight Ilhet’s heritage

L’Opéra Fantastico and Atelier des Marbres

The marble of Ilhet acquired the moniker ‘Opéra Fantastico’ during the time of Louis XIV. The aim of this ‘product’ brand is to promote the village of Ilhet and its marble throughout the world.

In the heart of the village of Ilhet, the Atelier des Marbres is a place of creation, exhibition and education. It’s a place where one can learn all about the skills involved in working with marble. The Atelier is also a café and artists’ residence, where designers and creators rub shoulders.

To reinforce the unity and coherence between the two identities, we chose to use common visual cues.

Logotypes

Right from the start of the project, we wanted to design the logos using typography. The sober, elegant wordmarks reflect the conventions of luxury and nobility associated with marble. Both logos are monochrome, black or white. This sobriety balances the texture and the diverse colour palette of the marble.

The logos are characterised by the use of a common graphic cue: oblique cuts on both sides of the wordmarks. These are inspired by the slope of the ‘A’, but also by the slopes of the mountains. These cuts add rhythm to the composition and reinforce the uniqueness of the logos.

The Opéra Fantastico brand emblem is inspired by the qualities of the marble itself, a fusion of shapes and materials. It embodies the idea of transforming and creating a design object from the smallest pieces of marble. It is a fusion of the letter O and the letter F, but also of a circle and a triangle, of the soft and the sharp, of the curve and the line.

The Atelier des Marbres emblem cleverly hints at the workshop building seen from above. The workshop was built around an old village school. The refitting done to the building has given rise to an atypical space, designed with the mountains in mind.

Typography

We designed bespoke letterforms and developed an uppercase typeface.

These shapes are inspired by historical lapidary typefaces: Roman capitals, also known as Capitalis monumentalis.

These give the typeface a monumental, statutory dimension, reminiscent of the nobility of marble. The neo grotesque influences, inspired in particular by Franklin Gothic, add a touch of modernity to the whole, as does the choice of the accompanying typeface, Alegreya. With its humanist design, Alegreya adds further sensibility to the identity, a nod to the fine, brittle character of the marble.

This revitalisation project of the Opéra Fantastico marble marks a key stage in the reclamation of the Ilhet district’s heritage. By combining expertise and contemporary design, the Atelier des Marbres is breathing new life into the area.