The Bank für Tirol und Vorarlberg, commonly known as BTV, is an Austrian regional bank headquartered in Innsbruck. Its visual identity has evolved through two significant phases: a 1982 logotype by Austrian graphic design pioneer Othmar Motter, and a comprehensive rebranding that began in 2011 under the name BTV Vier Länder Bank.
Design and History
In 1982, Othmar Motter designed a logotype for the Bank für Tirol und Vorarlberg. Motter, who co-founded the Vorarlberger Graphik studio in Hard, Austria, in 1950, was one of the most influential Austrian graphic designers of the 20th century, known for his minimalist, strictly objective logo designs and his internationally successful typeface designs such as Motter Tektura.[1] The 1982 BTV mark is documented as a logotype with initials, attributed to Motter and dated to that year.[2][3] The mark is also listed in the design reference book Trademarks & Symbols of the World, which identifies it as a 1982 Austrian design by Othmar Motter for the bank, reproduced in black and white.[4]
In 2011, the bank began operating under the brand name BTV Vier Länder Bank, reflecting its engagement in the regions of Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Vienna, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and German-speaking Switzerland.[5] The new name was used in the logo from 2011 onward, though the official legal renaming to BTV Vier Länder Bank AG only took place in 2024.[6]
Around the same period, the bank’s corporate design was completely overhauled as part of a comprehensive brand and positioning project. The Vienna agency Wien Nord developed the new brand appearance for the bank, which was communicated through an advertising campaign.[7] Since 2015, the Vorarlberg-based agency Sägenvier has been responsible for the corporate design and most communication design tasks for BTV, following a competitive pitch held at the bank’s headquarters in Innsbruck.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The bank’s own brand documentation describes the introduction of the BTV Vier Länder Bank brand as a historical step that distilled and made conscious what BTV already stood for in people’s minds. The brand identity is built on three core values that guide employee behavior: responsibility, courtesy and entrepreneurial thinking.[8] The bank describes itself as “refreshingly conservative” in its self-understanding.[5]
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