Logo
The Salesian Congregation in the world
Origin
The coat of arms and the logo perform complementary functions. The coat of arms expresses identity, history and institutional belonging: it has a symbolic and traditional value, often linked to formal use. The logo translates this same identity into a more immediate, flexible and recognisable visual sign, designed for the needs of contemporary communication.
Today communication requires a clear and simple image, reproducible on any medium and easy to apply: a solution that makes the identity immediately recognisable and understandable in the current visual language.
The coat of arms tells your identity, the logo makes you recognise it at once.
The current Salesian logo dates from 2003 and was created as a contemporary visual identity project. It combines elements taken from the logos of the German and Brazilian Provinces; the idea of merging them arose from a survey on the new logo conducted throughout the Congregation and from the contributions of the General Council, and it is built around the central theme “Don Bosco and the Salesians walking with the young in the world”. The artistic work of fusing the two was carried out by designer Fabrizio Emigli, of the company Litos in Rome.
The colour of the logotype identity is:
For white / black
House – RGB: 0,0,0 or Web: #9A9A9A
Background – RGB:154,154,154 or Web: #9A9A9A
For the colour
House – RGB: 255,189,167 or Web: #FFBDA7
Background – RGB: 245,6,38 or Web: #F50626
Symbolism of the modern logo
The logo is composed of two overlapping pictograms. In the background there is a stylised “S”, which recalls the Salesians, drawn in negative inside a circular shape similar to a globe of the earth; on the sides two cuts of hills or dunes appear. This ensemble visualises the Salesian journey in the world.
At the centre is an arrow pointing upward, supported by three vertical stems with three full circles: they are three stylized persons. The central figure is taller, at the apex of the arrow; the two lateral ones seem to form an embrace around the central one. The taller figure is interpreted as Don Bosco in the act of embracing the children.
The three persons and the arrow also form an elementary house: the arms become the sloping roof, the bodies become the pillars. This refers directly to the Salesian oratory as an educational environment: the SDB Constitutions describe Don Bosco’s first oratory as “a home that welcomes, a parish that evangelises, a school that prepares for life and a courtyard where friends meet and live in joy”.
Charismatic sources of the logo
The logo is inspired by articles 7, 21 and 38-40 of the Salesian Constitutions. Article 7 speaks of the solidarity of the Salesian vocation with the world and with history, of openness to cultures and of pastoral action guided by the needs of young people and of popular settings.
Article 21 presents Don Bosco as father and teacher, in whom the service of the young becomes a unified plan of life. Articles 38-40 recall the Preventive System, founded on reason, religion and loving kindness, the active and friendly presence among the young, and the Oratory of Valdocco as a permanent criterion of Salesian action.
The modern logo translates the Salesian charisma graphically into a contemporary language: Don Bosco, the Salesians, the young, the house-oratory, the journey, the world and the upward thrust.
