Featuring a wide range of content in the award-winning book “Zürcher Wasser Zeichen” by Zürcher Kantonalbank.

  • Client Zürcher Kantonalbank

  • Sector Finance

  • Engagement Concept, Content, Project Management

Video flipping through the book “Zürcher Wasser Zeichen”.

The Project

ZKB wants to give the people of Zurich a gift. We crafted the book “Zürcher Wasser Zeichen”.

How can a cantonal bank express its solidarity with the people of Zurich? With something tangible—a book that offers the best mental cinema. That’s why Zürcher Kantonalbank has been publishing books with stories from the Zurich living and business environment since 1973. In 2023, the bank wanted to continue the tradition of its “Züri” series. What could it score points with?

Water flows through the city and canton of Zurich, as it does through our lives. We therefore thought about how we could make the liquid element appealing to the people of Zurich, but also to municipal representatives. Together with journalists, authors, artists, illustrators, photographers and experts, we have shed light on Zurich’s water life in all its facets. Hilda design matters did the layout of the book.

Blue linen cover of the book “Zürcher Wasser Zeichen” with an embossed title.
Detail of the spine with a light-blue ribbon bookmark of the book “Zürcher Wasser Zeichen”.

Textile designer Bernhard Duss developed the cover in a linen look with embossed printing. He is inspired by fabrics, space and fashion. He has designed collections for Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood, among others. It goes without saying that only a high-quality thread binding with a bookmark would be suitable for his design. It was realized by BuBu.

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Many companies and design studios from all over the world faced the judgment of our international jury. We evaluated countless entries. The fact that this book emerged as the winner is testament to the exceptional quality of the work.

Professor Dr. Peter Zec, Founder and CEO of Red Dot
Music video for the song “Hydrosphere” by Boris Blank for the book “Zürcher Wasser Zeichen”.

Boris Blank, the sound painter from cult band Yello, composed the song “Hydrosphere” for us. He filmed raindrops on a fountain in Zurich and ice crystals in Lake Sils in the Engadin. And he created a video from his collection. Let’s dive into the cool water with multimedia!

50k
Views

The soundtrack “Hydrosphere” by Boris Blank was viewed about that many times on social media.

4x
Gold

Our book also impresses experts: it has won gold at the Red Dot Award and three times gold at the Best of Content Marketing Awards.

400
Hours

That’s how long we spent researching fresh inspiration for 170 book pages on two types of paper.

Book page with a photo of a fountain keeper on a ladder at a Zurich fountain.

From underwater archaeologists to fountain keepers: many people are called to the water. Photographer Basil Stücheli visited them for us.

Open book “Zürcher Wasser Zeichen” with a portrait and feature about the phenomenon of crying.

Is it difficult to cry on command? Talented actors from the ZHDK tried it out for us. Maurice Haas provides the proof with his photos.

Open book with colourful illustrations of a story by the water.

As comic freaks, we wanted a graphic novel: it’s great that Andreas Gefe and Noyau have created one for us—inspired by wild waters.

Book pages with historical drawings and postcards of buildings.

Bathing like Zwingli once did: historian Martin Illi set out on the trail of Zurich’s old country baths for us—and discovered some amazing things.