Courting apps have turn into dominated by nameless swiping and opaque algorithms, however CERCA is making an attempt one thing a bit completely different. Now, with a brand new identification by New York-based studio Saint-Urbain, that proposition has a model world to match.
CERCA is described as “a relationship app redefining fashionable connection by introducing individuals by means of mutual mates reasonably than strangers”. In an period the place relationship platforms can really feel more and more transactional, CERCA positions itself as a extra intentional various, grounded in proximity, belief and shared social context.
Whereas the product already challenged class norms, its visible identification had but to completely articulate that distinction. Saint-Urbain was introduced in to reposition the model and create a cohesive system that would reside throughout digital interfaces, metropolis streets, and real-world gatherings.
The brand new identification centres on daring typography set towards a restrained black-and-white basis. In accordance with Saint-Urbain, the strategy was designed to ascertain “a way of confidence and readability usually lacking from the class”.
Slightly than leaning into the pastel palettes and soft-focus sentimentality widespread in relationship apps, the system displays CERCA’s core promise that assembly by means of mutual connections gives a safer, extra grounded strategy to join.
“CERCA would not introduce strangers. It introduces individuals who exist already inside your social orbit,” says Alex Ostroff, founder and artistic director of Saint-Urbain. “We needed the model to really feel as assured as the thought itself. Assured, human, and unmistakable in public house.”
To steadiness the typography’s power, the studio launched a free, line-drawn illustration system. These sketches seize moments of curiosity, vulnerability and closeness, including heat and emotional texture. Candid images additional anchors the model in on a regular basis actuality, favouring intimacy over spectacle and shiny perfection.
Out-of-home performs a central position within the rollout, too. Subway posters, billboards and installations use restraint and beneficiant spacing, permitting illustrations and brief, declarative messages to chop by means of visible noise. Phrases similar to “Security By Connection” and “This Is How Connection Seems” mirror each the product expertise and the model’s broader perception that that means resides within the house between individuals.
The identification additionally flexes into occasions and nightlife by means of ‘Be part of Our Circle’, CERCA’s real-world extension. Right here, a extra expressive script typeface and hotter visible language introduce a celebratory, social tone whereas remaining anchored to the core system.
Saint-Urbain got down to assist CERCA evolve past the conventions of relationship app branding. What they’ve created is each assured and culturally fluent, and managed to reframe digital matchmaking as one thing nearer to community-building.
