Landscape of Opportunities. X5
X5 came to us with a request for a restyling, but in the process it became clear: the company needed a full-scale rebranding. In the minds of a wide audience, X5 was perceived as a holding managing the retail chains Pyaterochka and Perekrestok. Meanwhile, major internal changes were underway. The rebranding relied on a strategy developed by the Signal (part of ONY) team together with the client. The task was to present X5 not just as a management company, but as an omnichannel leader and a platform for next-generation retail.
We retained the logo and the proprietary typeface X5 Sans, but made the brand more accessible and warmer: instead of X5 Group, we moved to the concise X5, so that the name would sound friendlier and clearer to a wider audience.
At the core of the new visual system lies the metaphor of the landscape of opportunities. It refers both to a leaf, and to a field, and to the soil where products, services, and technologies grow. The landscape of opportunities became the anchor of the style and the central element that allowed us to combine organic and technological qualities.
The main challenge of the project was to bring together the natural and the digital: to create a language that would be equally lively and human for users, while also convincing and technological for partners and investors. An additional complexity was that the concept had to be developed simultaneously for several areas of X5. It was necessary to show how the style tools would work in B2C, B2B, HR, and youth communications, and then combine them into a single visual style. As a result, the brand divided its communications into two large blocks — B2C and B2B — while maintaining a consistent language and flexibility for different tasks.
The color palette became an important tool in shaping the brand’s atmosphere. Warm shades — soft, muted, close to natural materials — address a wide audience, creating a sense of comfort and trust. They work like wood or textiles in an interior: inviting, welcoming, making the environment more human. Cool accents — cleaner and sharper — set a different mood: businesslike, focused, precise. They are intended for communication with partners, employees, and investors, where transparency and structure are essential.
In the CGI style of X5, different sensations meet: smooth, strict surfaces emphasize technology, while rough textures bring back the warmth and tactility. Warm shades soften the coldness of industrial materials and create an atmosphere closer to people. This balance allows the brand to remain modern, yet still alive and open. During the work we expanded the design system: added new graphic techniques, developed a 3D style and a photo style, and introduced collage principles where graphics interact with interfaces and photography. All this works like a constructor set: internal teams can quickly assemble layouts without turning to complex resources.
The new style made X5 closer to people and clearer for employees, while preserving the seriousness and technological qualities important for partners and investors. Warm shades and tactile textures create a sense of humanity, while strict accents support business confidence. Today, X5 is perceived not as a closed holding company, but as an open company — with its own character and visual authenticity.
