When in Salzburg … start a business.

With 10 years of experience in Munich’s agency, the craft of communication – and with effective concepts for the hotel industry, they opened the Brand Design Studio Solid & Bold in 2015. That was a success. First for the two of them, then for other talents that made the duo a team, and ultimately for the customers who from now on had a local partner to implement their visions. Everyone was happy. The End. Not!

Our goal then as now: to provide the tourism, gastronomy, and hotel industries with a necessary offer through strategic brand design. Many Austrian premium houses offer a sophisticated product, but they cannot »prove« this in their own brand image. Many have not yet recognized or understood the potential of design as a problem–solving and design process. This can be the decisive lever to accompany the company in its transformation into the future. The hospitality industry in Austria traditionally looks back on a long and glorious past – but unfortunately, it has become a bit too comfortable. That is what we want, will want, and will change.

Why Salzburg as a location for contemporary brand communication in a global environment? Because the tourism location is in the middle of Europe, it is an ideal starting point. And because we are surrounded by true beauty here. Walking through Salzburg is a non–stop source of inspiration. From Mozart, countless grand buildings, and a world stage for top–class cultural experiences. This blend creates a special atmosphere and has made the city a magnet for centuries. Here, the local and the global merge into something new. So, still on the pulse of the times? Yes, say the trend researchers, speaking of the sociocultural trend of glocalization.

It inspires us every day anew and makes us question our own work: Is it good? Is it consistent? Is it handcrafted precisely? A comparison to our own work in the fast–paced and short–lived branding world would be presumptuous. Nevertheless, the traces that the city’s cultural heritage leaves on us are ubiquitous. For example, in our search for the true, the beautiful, and the good.

Perhaps that’s why I fell in love with my former hometown of Salzburg again, which is now not just the birthplace of Mozart, but also that of Solid & Bold.