Logo and Branding: Paul Loebach
Posted: July 18, 2012 Filed under: Art & Design, Logos & Branding | Tags: Art, branding, design, Furniture, geometry, gotham, graphic design, identity, logo, logo news, logo-mark, logo-type, Paul Loebach, Studio Lin, typography 4 Comments »
Paul Loebach is a Brooklyn based three dimensional designer who specialises in product, furniture and emerging manufacturing technologies. His new identity, developed by Studio Lin, is a wonderful union of craft, structure, space and geometry that neatly reflects his use of both traditional materials and contemporary processes.
“Descended from a long line of German woodworkers, Paul’s grandfather built airplanes for the U.S. military in the 1940’s, and his father is a manufacturing engineer who developed new plastic molding technologies for Union Carbide in the 1970’s. His work is a part of an idealistic transformation from a craft-based past to a design/engineering oriented future.”
“I’m interested in design for the basic purpose of giving objects meaning. Design is a structured language that holds a balance between the continuity of recognizable imagery, and the poetic shift of innovation as we adapt objects to our changing lifestyles. The future of design is an embodiment of the profoundly human need to structure our environment as a reflection of ourselves.”
- Taken from the Paul Loebach website
This is a fantastic piece of work but for me the strongest aspect is its clever mix of colour and material. A craft blue, uncoated and unbleached substrate, monochromatic abstraction of light and shadow (also reflected through a UV print treatment) feels perfectly suited to a business that works within the field of three dimensional design and utilises both handmade and machined approaches. A simple and generously spaced sans serif logo-type and logo-mark deliver a sense of utility, practicality, functionality and neutrality that appropriately frames a diverse portfolio of work, is reflective of a rich engineering heritage and Paul’s personal philosophies. The consistent single line weight of the type and geometric form of the mark alongside the catalogue’s simple grid based layouts, use of space and monochromatic finish is a smart resolution of a pragmatic approach with subtle architectural sensibilities that deliver a machine-like precision and sense of high quality throughout. The unapologetic over-sized application of the logo-mark across the headed paper is an unusual but bold direction that suggests confidence and authority, something a lot of designers would feel uncomfortable doing but looks spot on here.
Visit the BP&O Logo Gallery for a chronological guide to all the identities reviewed on BP&O.
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Richard BairdRichard is a British freelance designer and writer who specialises in the development of logos, branding and packaging. He has written for Brand New and Design Week, is an editor for The Dieline, has featured in Computer Arts magazine and also runs the resource Design Survival. |
It’s a simple pleasure, but I really enjoy the way the letters of “Paul Loebach Furniture Design have been arranged on a grid. It is a subtle but effective peek into the precise and orderly world he must both inhabit and create,
Restrained, respectful of materials, tactile and intelligent. l’d describe it as something like “luxuriously industrial”, a very satisfying conceptual juxtaposition.
My only question would be about writing the two paragraphs of “I-About” in the third person. I’d have liked Paul to tell me that story, but perhaps the aim was a degree of objectivity.
I wonder if this continues in Paul’s studio, or his shop? I’m looking forward to seeing it someday.
It takes a certain chutzpah to slam a logo of that size on a letterhead. Bravo. But I wish the photographs had included how the blue letterhead (if it is a letterhead) would look once the text of a letter had been printed on the sheet. It always narks me off when such a fundamental element of the finished design is omitted.
Blissfully short rant.
Completely agree about the logo-type and the letterhead (I think ‘make the logo bigger’ now has merit). I was going to say the I in I-About was a Roman numeral but it appears not looking at the other pages.
Hi Richard. I think the paragraphs about him use Roman numerals as the second column contains II-Process. However, the work on the inside pages uses normal number glyphs. Separating the cerebral from the physical perhaps?
That’s an interesting idea and observation. I wondered whether you would consider penning a guest review? I’m looking to expand on the opinions featured on BP&O and I think a different voice might be good to have. (I may have already asked so my apologies if I’m repeating myself).