When Words Become Space

Under the creative direction of KLAR Employer Identity, B. Braun Medical AG Switzerland set out to create a new employer branding visual system. When Scanderbeg Sauer joined the project, the concept of turning employer values into three-dimensional elements was already established. Our role was to transform this idea into a flexible production approach, allowing the campaign to work consistently across six sites, two languages and multiple applications.

We took responsibility for the full visual realisation: production management, location scouting, photography, CGI and postproduction. One studio, from the first brief to final delivery. Across a complex multi-location production, this kept decisions consistent and the timeline intact.

The scope of the project introduced significant complexity. Eight different employer values had to be realised in both German and French, in portrait and landscape formats. Motifs were photographed across five locations, each carefully chosen to reflect its respective value. Depending on the scene, between one and four employees interacted with the words, requiring every composition to work naturally across both language versions.

Early on, we faced a key decision: should the words be built as physical objects on set? After careful consideration, we ruled this out. Transporting and placing large-scale three-dimensional letters across five different locations would have introduced considerable logistical risk, limited our flexibility and reduced our ability to adapt quickly on set.

Instead, the words were developed as CGI elements. Each scene was photographed once, with both language versions integrated in postproduction within the same environment and with the same group of people. This reduced production complexity significantly and created a system that is genuinely adaptable.

To make the CGI integration seamless, every location was scouted and documented in detail: spatial measurements, lighting conditions, safety requirements and reference data for the 3D work. This groundwork was not overhead. It was the foundation that made everything else possible.

All scenes were photographed on location with B. Braun employees. Authenticity was central to the brief, and it shaped how we worked.

Throughout the production, both KLAR and the client were present on set. The crew was strong, the atmosphere was good and a make-up artist made sure the B. Braun employees felt comfortable and at ease in front of the camera. That comfort is visible in the images.

To ensure maximum flexibility in postproduction, each setup was captured in two stages: first the empty space, then with employees interacting within it. This approach gave us precise control when combining photography and CGI, while keeping the results natural and believable.

In parallel with the photography, the values were developed as three-dimensional objects. They were not treated as graphic overlays or typographic additions, but designed as physical structures with weight, depth and material presence.

Light, scale and perspective were carefully matched to each photographed environment. The goal was for the words to feel like they had always been there: not placed into the image, but part of it.

The final step was integration. People sit on the letters, lean against them, move through them. These interactions only work when they feel intuitive, when the scale, the shadow and the weight all make sense together.

By combining real environments with constructed elements, the imagery avoids the distance often found in employer branding. The result does not look like communication about a workplace. It looks like the workplace itself.

Working across two languages involved more than translation. Differences in word length and structure directly influenced composition, spacing and how people could interact with the words. A longer word changes the balance of a scene. The interaction between a person and a letter shifts. Each version had to function independently while remaining recognisably part of the same system.

This is where early planning paid off. Because the language variations were anticipated from the beginning, not solved in postproduction, each version feels considered.

It was one of those productions we still love to reflect on: a project that brought together strategic thinking, creativity, production expertise and a strong collaborative spirit.