Branding proposal for DANZ Barcelona
DANZ, an international eyewear brand with Armenian roots, wanted to enter Spain from Barcelona and to refresh its brand to do so. We built its positioning strategy and, from there, explored a range of graphic routes until we arrived at an identity of its own.
- 01Positioning
- 02Graphic routes
- 03The symbol
- 04The wordmark
Positioning strategy
Two cultures, one way of seeing.
Before we draw, we position: who DANZ is, who it speaks to and what place it wants to hold in a new market. The idea that organises everything is the diaspora: a brand that carries its origins with it and reinterprets them in Barcelona, without folklore.
Graphic routes
Each route, with its own rationale.
From many routes to one wordmark: simple, but not simplistic.
The project
The challenge
DANZ is an international eyewear brand with Armenian roots that wanted to enter the Spanish market from Barcelona and, to do so, refresh its brand. It needed a contemporary, approachable identity, with the warmth of the Mediterranean and a nod to its origins, without slipping into folklore. And one that would work where it is hardest: at a few millimetres, on the arm of a pair of glasses.
The approach
We started with positioning: a pre-briefing with the owners, a strategic report and a narrative that organises everything, the diaspora. “Alma armenia, cuerpo barcelonés” (Armenian soul, Barcelona body): a brand that comes from elsewhere and wants to belong here.
From there came a range of graphic routes, each with its own argument: Armenian geometry, the rhythm of the word, the arches of its architecture, the gaze, symmetry, sculpture and the sea, and the sun. Every route was drawn, reasoned through and discussed with the client.
The sun, because glasses protect us from it, became the symbol, and we explored it in many variations. Until the product itself set the course: DANZ is manufactured in volume and the symbol would go on the frame as a single piece. That is how we arrived at the wordmark: a typographic logo, simple to produce, with the D as its axis, tested at actual size on the arm.
The result
A complete positioning strategy and a range of reasoned graphic routes that lead to an identity ready to be chosen, with its palette and its application to product, case, bag, stationery and shop. The project stopped before implementation; the applications on this page are simulations of the proposal.
Frequently asked questions
Who created the brand proposal for DANZ Barcelona?
Mariona Agency, the strategic and creative agency from Barcelona, in 2025: positioning strategy, narrative and identity proposal for DANZ’s entry into Spain.
Why so many graphic routes?
Because branding is decided, not guessed. Each route starts from a different reading of the positioning, and each conversation with the client narrowed the path: from concept to symbol, and from symbol to wordmark.
What is DANZ Barcelona?
An international eyewear brand with Armenian roots that wanted to enter Spain with Barcelona as its base.
Was the identity ever implemented?
No. The project stopped before implementation; the applications on this page are simulations of the proposal.