Bulgarian Extreme
and Freeskiing Association

BEFSA is a nonprofit organisation established in 1998 by a group of Bulgarian freeskiers. The mission of the Association is to develop and popularise the freeskiing sport in Bulgaria and within the Balkan region, as well as to represent the needs and interests of the Bulgarian freeskiing community.

In order to fulfil their mission, BEFSA organises events such as Big Mountain and Freeride competitions and demonstrations, ski meetings, ski excursions and small-scale expeditions. It also helps foreign raiders visiting Bulgaria with information, accommodation assistance and guides and also invests a lot of time and efforts in education, especially in avalanche awareness training.

More information at befsa.com

The Symbol

The BEFSA symbol is a blend of traditional Bulgarian embroidery "shevitza" and the intricate shape of ice crystals. Both very geometric and fractal in nature, enabling the identity system to grow from a very primitive shape to very complex ones, depending on the use case.

Traditional Bulgarian Embroidery

Ice Crystal

Similar to how ice crystals are formed the symbol uses a hexagonal symmetry. The rugged square appearance is a reference to embroidery motifs found in traditional Bulgarian embroidery and the grid-like essence of stitch-work itself.

The System

The goal when designing the BEFSA logo was for it to be as legible as possible when viewed at different sizes. Especially when applied in small scales - both in print and digital applications. It also had to be simple enough to be applied to various types of merchandise.

Further expanding the visual identity, we can determine three levels of complexity. By adding detail to the initial symbol we can extend it by a factor and get a derivative that is suitable for certain branding situations where we have more room to play with. We can continue to expand the visual until it becomes an abstraction.

Primitive Shape
3x3 Grid

Medium Complexity
9x9 Grid

High Complexity
Larger Grid

Explorations

The visual system, as it is, enables a practically infinite array of variations. We can then use those to generate unique brand visuals for different use cases and applications - personalised graphics on business cards and stationery, non-identical abstract patterns applied to textiles, etc.