Client
Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Year
2023
Type of sector
Governance
Type of work
Digital
Urban digital twins - virtual city replicas built from real-time data - offer a powerful way to simulate and improve urban life. But translating their complexity into something citizens can understand and trust is often a challenge. vCity is a cutting-edge platform for such urban digital twins, developed by the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre. These digital twins enable urban planners to test potential interventions in a virtual environment before implementing them in the real world. vCity is designed specifically to empower citizens by offering a greater understanding of the changes happening in their cities, to foster a more informed and engaged community.
Our goal was to create a visual and verbal identity for vCity that would resonate with both the citizens that this data represents, and the experts putting it to use. We focused on designing an identity that highlights the project's human-centric nature, emphasising accessibility and transparency. By crafting a visual language that encourages interaction through the website, we aimed to bridge the gap between complex data and the everyday lives of urban residents, making the platform both approachable and informative.
Beyond the traditional graphic branding system, we developed a complementary visual language using AI-generated imagery. These visuals were intentionally warm, accessible, and abstract—allowing us to communicate complex urban topics like mobility, 15-minute cities, or sustainability without depicting any specific location. This approach not only enriched the brand’s identity but also provided versatile tools for use across the wider vCity ecosystem.
The project involved navigating the complexities of an emerging technology with significant ethical considerations. With a diverse audience—ranging from everyday citizens to expert policymakers—and strong political implications, the challenge was to build a brand that felt both approachable and authoritative. We struck a balance between these tones through thorough research and careful language design. Alongside the brand book, we also created a UI kit to support the team at 300.000 km/s (an urban think tank in Barcelona) in developing the interactive maps that would be integrated into the platform. Additionally, we designed the vCity landing page to clearly introduce the platform’s purpose and functionality to a wide public audience.
The resulting brand and digital presence translate a complex, emerging technology into a clear, human-centred system—designed to make urban data feel tangible, trustworthy, and rooted in everyday life.; it was made possible through close collaboration with Laura Elías (UI and graphic designer) and Veronika Gryshchuk (AI image designer), whose contributions helped bring the visual ecosystem to life. Visit the website → vcity.tech
