CaixaBank is the listed banking group of the Spanish “la Caixa” Foundation, created in 2011 when the group’s financial operations were transferred to a new stock market listed company. Its visual identity is built around the famous star symbol originally created by the artist Joan Miró for “la Caixa” in 1980, making it one of the few corporate logos in the financial sector with a direct authorship by a major modern artist.
Design and History
The origin of the CaixaBank logo lies in a corporate identity project begun in the late 1970s. At that time, “la Caixa” had used various anagrams since its founding in 1904, sometimes simultaneously, creating identity and image problems. In 1979, the institution hired the American firm Landor Associates to begin a process of image renewal. After a period of reflection, it was determined that the new image should have a close and innovative visual identity, without any territorial or sectoral reference that could limit future expansion. The Landor team presented several symbol proposals, but the more conservative and traditional options gradually gave way to the need to explore more novel paths: the “Miró concept.” Inspired by Joan Miró’s pictorial universe, Landor had designed a blue eight-pointed asterisk, but this was soon discarded, because what mattered was not a specific drawing but the fact that it was made by a Catalan and Balearic artist of international fame with a timeless and universal language. Finally, “la Caixa” decided to commission Miró himself to create a work from which an element could be isolated as the entity’s logo. Miró accepted the commission and, together with the textile artist Josep Royo, created a large tapestry containing his now-famous star, which can still be seen today at the entity’s headquarters in Barcelona. In 1980, the star and its colors became the institution’s symbol. The symbol’s grand debut took place at the inauguration of the “la Caixa” Science Museum in 1981, and it gradually began to be installed in offices. The success was resounding, and the appearance of Miró’s star for “la Caixa” represented a radical break with the prevailing patterns of banking identity of the time. [1]
In 2011, following the group’s restructuring, the CaixaBank brand was created for the listed company. On 30 June 2011, the group unveiled the new CaixaBank corporate logo at its headquarters in Barcelona, with the “la Caixa” brand featuring on the tallest tower and the CaixaBank logo replacing the Criteria CaixaCorp logo on the smaller tower. The “la Caixa” logo retained its prominent visibility and strong brand recognition, as all retail banking operations in Spain continued to run under that trade name, meaning the “la Caixa” brand was still used at all branches, the ATM network, online banking services, mobile banking and all other financial services. The CaixaBank brand, meanwhile, was reserved for the group’s stock market listed company, used for stock market activities and contractual documentation. [2]
Following the merger by absorption of Bankia, completed in March 2021, the CaixaBank logo replaced the Bankia image on emblematic buildings, including the Kio Tower in Madrid that housed Bankia’s headquarters. The bank detailed that the star logo already appeared on the north and south faces of the tower, and that the brand would begin to change in offices over the following fifteen days. [3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The CaixaBank symbol consists of a five-pointed blue star accompanied by two round celestial bodies, one yellow and one red. This composition was taken from the tapestry created by Miró and Royo, which “la Caixa” commissioned seeking an iconic element for its corporate image. The star and its colors, so Mediterranean and typical of Miró’s work, became the institution’s symbol in 1980. [2] According to “la Caixa”, the symbol represents “the cultural and social values of the entity” through a language that is “eternal, universal and dynamic”. [4]
The “la Caixa” Foundation, which owns the brand, describes the star as an emblem that goes beyond the institution, forming part of the country’s imaginary as one of its most readily recognised symbols. [5] In 2011, the group launched the slogan “You are the Star” for its first corporate advertising campaign since the creation of CaixaBank, placing the customer at the heart of the brand. According to CaixaBank’s Deputy Managing Director for Communications, Institutional Relations, Brand and CSR, Jaume Giró, “the customers are ‘la Caixa”s very identity; its star.” [6]
Typography and Design
The CaixaBank trademark registration, filed in 2011, describes the mark as featuring the word “CAIXA” in blue and the word “BANK” in black appearing beneath the design of a blue star having yellow and red circles appearing to the left. The colors blue, yellow, red, white and black are claimed as a feature of the mark. [7]
CaixaBank provides official logo downloads for media professionals through its Brand Center, accessible from its media resources page. [8]
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