Form, beauty and function define Abmo’s identity for luxury sporting goods brand Hercule Studio

Embracing the philosophy ‘exercise beautifully,’ French branding agency Abmo has imbued the identity of Hercule Studio with style and grace in abundance – elevating the concept of fitness from mere physical activity to an art form. Founded by Joy Lucas and Jérémy Arbibe, the retailer creates high-end sporting goods and accessories that blend the innovative sporting know-how of their athletic backgrounds with the charming aesthetics of good design. Abmo’s approach to the project was therefore not just about creating a conventional sports brand but rather about positioning the brand at the intersection of fitness, fashion, and interior design – “something simultaneously elegant and dynamic, classic yet decidedly contemporary.” Hercule Studio’s identity is characterised by a striking series of twelve monograms – one primary logo and eleven variations. Drawing inspiration from the twelve labours of Hercules, each monogram reflects a unique aspect of Hercule’s brand persona. For the primary monogram, “inspiration came from the work of Julien Priez, a French calligrapher and typographer,” explain Co-founder & Creative Director Dez Gusta and Brand Strategist Sonia Cordier. “His Boogy Brut typeface designed for Bureau Brut provided the perfect foundation, striking a delicate balance between refined type design and fluid calligraphy. The resulting monogram expresses movement, tension, and grace in a way that feels both timeless and fresh.” Abmo’s work encompasses custom textile patterns, art-directed photography, and a cohesive visual language that seamlessly combines fitness with aesthetics. “In refining Hercule’s brand strategy, we embraced the concept of ‘exercise beautifully’ as our guiding principle,” explains Cordier. Their research stretched beyond the sport and exercise world, drawing from the minimalist power of luxury fashion and the form-meets-function philosophy of design furniture, culminating in “a quietly confident, somewhat introverted, yet distinctly assertive brand persona” that would feel at home in a high-end gym or designer showroom.