Originally an interior sales agency, Wool brings up-and-coming Nordic brands – such as MENU, TEKLA and Santa & Cole – to East Asia. High-quality products that are reflective of the slow-living and holistic ethos of a Scandinavian lifestyle. Now with a studio store located in Hong Kong (slow living meets the city’s bustle), it was only a matter of time before the company expanded its reach with an online store.
When Y Combinator Research – the research arm of Y Combinator, best known for its start-up accelerator – rebranded as OpenResearch, it sought an identity reflecting its mission of promoting open and collaborative research across various fields. As a nonprofit independent collective of deep thinkers, strategists and researchers who dare to ask and investigate complex, open-ended questions, such as unconditional cash in the U.S., the organisation needed an identity that would respond to the intricacies of their work without being too complicated itself.
On a mission to empower the world’s most customer-centric companies, DevRev – the world’s first developer CRM – connects developers to customers by delivering a system of record, social experience and a suite of platform connections. With $50m in seed funding secured and a team of tech heavyweights on board, they engaged Standard Projects to craft a strategy, story and design system that presents DevRev as the future it represents: converting curious viewers into committed customers.
When OpenAI decided to host its very first DevDay – a one-day conference for hundreds of developers from around the globe – it began looking for an identity that would capture not just the forward-looking spirit of the company, but also this new venture that creates a space for a diverse pool of talent to meet and exchange ideas. San Francisco-based design studio Play, working alongside OpenAI’s Design team, took on the challenge and delivered a brand for the conference that feels both fresh and fitting, but in order to do so, they had to take a step back and look at the bigger picture for a starting point.
Cloakroom is a bi-annual magazine that explores exceptional people and the space they inhabit. With a witty, rigorous and inclusive attitude to storytelling, their aim is to refresh design publishing with a new perspective. The magazine investigates the friction between good and bad taste, and the allure of that contradiction. Issue 1 arrives with an array of interviews and photographic portfolios, including an insight into the life legendary actor Harrison Ford.
In a refined explosion of colour and candour, Cape Town-based designer Candice Bondi has crafted the identity and packaging for South African nut butter brand PetitGrain, mirroring the sophisticated nature of its product line through a frank typographic execution and poignant colour palette.
MAPP MTL is a non-profit organisation that showcases the boundless potential of projection mapping through an annual festival in Montréal, Canada. The 2019 theme of ‘Collective Imaginaries’ marked the festival’s fourth edition; and for the second year in a row, they collaborated with local studio Demande Spéciale on the visual identity and campaign.
Our interview series The Designers delves deep into the world’s leading design studios through a series of in-depth conversations with the individuals that make them tick. For entry 42, we had the pleasure of talking to Shivani Parasnis, an Art Director at Spotify. With a career trajectory unlike most, Parasnis tells us about how she made the switch from the sterile glow of lab lights to a realm of colour and sound, eventually landing her role at the world’s leading music streaming platform. From the expansive nature of her day job to the nuggets of inspiration in her personal practice, Parasnis offers an intriguing glimpse into her creative universe.
Apex Wheels, a California-based company with over 15 years of experience, is not your typical wheel maker looking to make an easy buck. With a team of dedicated engineers who are also diehard motorsport enthusiasts, they create wheels that are not just about aesthetics but real performance. They take a stand against the unregulated wheel industry, striving against misleading claims and protecting motorsport enthusiasts from underperforming products.
The story of the boutique hotel, CHAMP, is tied to its location in many ways. To begin with, it’s based in the city of Hermosillo in Mexico and sits on a street called Campodónico, which gets its name from recognised waltz composer Rodolfo Campodónico, born in the city in 1866. The hotel, in keeping with the idea, also draws its name from Campodónico, who was lovingly nicknamed ‘Champ.’ On the other hand, the significance of its location is felt even during the shortest of stays at CHAMP, which celebrates the desert, the city, the local spirit and Sonoran traditions. To distil the many stories that led to the making of the hotel into one comprehensive identity, CHAMP collaborated with Sonora-based designer Jesús López.
Energy Manifest is a one-day conference that takes place annually in Bratislava, Slovakia. Speakers from all around the world show data, analyse challenges and offer feasible solutions for the energy sector, focusing on a specific topic each year. The 2019 edition concentrated on energy storage technologies, whose significance has grown considerably in recent years. If we are to move towards carbon neutrality, how we store energy will play a hugely important role.
In a refined explosion of colour and candour, Cape Town-based designer Candice Bondi has crafted the identity and packaging for South African nut butter brand PetitGrain, mirroring the sophisticated nature of its product line through a frank typographic execution and poignant colour palette.
On the southeast coast of Australia sits Bega, a small town known for its scenic landscapes, delectable food and wine, and a thriving local arts community, poised to grow. To connect Bega’s art scene with the wider world of art, culture and ideas, the town’s existing art gallery underwent a dramatic transformation to become the South East Centre for Contemporary Art (SECCA), a conduit between the remote, beautiful region and the rest of the world.
In an age where digital reigns supreme, it’d be easy to think that paper-based applications of brand identities are becoming obsolete. Design studios are proving otherwise, pouring creativity and innovation into all things print and paper, finding fresh and exciting ways to optimise type and layout. Envelopes are an oft-overlooked yet integral object for a brand that could often become a vehicle to inject some personality and flavour into the brand’s world, and designers know this. Through clever design techniques and thoughtful use of materials and textures, studios are ensuring that envelopes continue to be an unexpected, yet dynamic and effective medium for showcasing brand identities. Here are eight examples that make the case for us.
Australian design studio MAUD have worked with contemporary fashion house Romance Was Born on the development of their identity; the result of which is an exuberant, typographic graphic language. Already making a name for themselves through appearances at international shows and museums – the brand is sharing space with some of the industry’s biggest hitters, including Burberry, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent.
Sydney-based studio SCCO Studio designed the identity for local Italian restaurant Ragazzi. The pasta-bar concept is the vision of chef Scott Williams and two of Sydney’s most popular wine bars, Dear Sainte Eloise and Love, Tilly Divine.
In the thousands of graphic design projects we’ve featured on The Brand Identity over the years, there is almost always one thing that ties them all together: beautiful photography. Behind every close-up of a logomark’s glistening foil, or the careful capturing of a flat-lay is an expert photographer, bringing out the very best of the brand. The photographers we’ve highlighted in our list here go beyond the tried and tested, instead, producing imagery that feels at one with the project it’s a part of; bringing complimentary colour, composition and character to already brilliant creations.
In the ever-evolving world of health technology, Spectrum.Life stands out with its mission “to change and save as many lives as possible.” A pioneering digital platform focused on mental health and well-being, the Irish healthtech company provides counselling, wellness programs and educational resources – all aimed at helping people lead healthier, happier lives through accessible and personalised care. Requiring a brand identity that not only encapsulated its essence but also propelled its international ambitions, they reached out to UnitedUs, a strategic brand and design agency based in Brighton, UK.