The Broadview Hotel by Blok, Canada
Posted: August 29, 2017 Filed under: Graphic Design Reviews, Leisure and Tourism, Logo Reviews | Tags: Black Block Foil, Brand Identity, Brand Identity Reviews, Branding, Branding & Packaging of 2017, Branding Blog, Branding Reviews, Business Card Design, Canadian Design, Coaster Design & Beer Mats, Condensed Logotypes, Condensed Typography, Design Blog, Design For Print, Design News, Design Opinion, Design Reviews, Designed by Blok, Fonts in Use: Grouch, Fonts in Use: GT Sectra, Fonts in Use: Neuzeit, From Toronto, Graphic Design, Graphic Design Blog, Hotel Logos, Logo Design & Branding Blog, Logo Design Inspiration, Logo Design Resource, Logo Designs, Logo Opinion, Logos, Logotypes, Sans-serif Typography, Stationery Design, The Best Graphic Design Work of 2017, The Very Best Brand Identities of 2017, The Very Best of 2017, Type Foundry: Grilli Type, Typography, Wordmark Design Comments Off on The Broadview Hotel by Blok, CanadaOpinion by Richard Baird.
The Broadview Hotel is located within one of Toronto’s most recognisable architectural landmarks. This was built in 1891 by a wealthy businessman who recognised the strategic importance of the East End as the city was expanding. It has been home to a business centre, acted as a political and social hub, and used as a hotel, boarding room and more recently, a strip club.
The building, over the last two years, has undergone extensive restoration and renovation, and now features a distinctive glass structure and new floor on the roof. This was done with great consideration for the original architectural details. Interior design, created by DesignAgency is inspired by the local community and is infused with a contemporary yet old-world grace. The hotel is made up of public spaces and 58 private bedrooms. These are peppered with what is described as a witty eclecticism that pays homage to the building’s past, with certain rooms featuring the original brass poles from the strip club. These homages are set alongside modern finishes and amenities.
Canadian graphic design studio Blok worked with the hotel to develop a visual identity that would embrace and express the building’s contemporary new voice, possess a similar wit and attitude, and finally acknowledge and celebrate the hotel’s East End roots. This is achieved in the contrast and collision of image and type, emphasised by a simple colour palette, and in the variety of secondary typefaces. This run across and links a plethora of printed assets. These included business cards, menus and coasters as documents here, but also wayfinding and signage.
Maven by Design By Toko, Australia
Posted: August 11, 2017 Filed under: Architecture and The Built Environment | Tags: Architecture Logos, Book & Magazine Cover Design, Book & Magazine Design, Brand Identity, Brand Identity Reviews, Branding, Branding & Packaging of 2017, Branding Blog, Branding Reviews, Business Card Design, Colour in Use: Red, Design Blog, Design For Print, Design News, Design Opinion, Design Reviews, Designed by Toko, Designed in Sydney, From Australia, Graphic Design, Graphic Design Blog, Graphic Design Shortlist 2017, Logo Design & Branding Blog, Logo Design Inspiration, Logo Design Resource, Logo Designs, Logo Opinion, Logos, Logotypes, Monochromatic Brand Identities, Monolinear Typography, Overprint, Sans-serif Typography, Stationery Design, The Best Architecture Logos, The Best Business Cards of 2017, The Best Graphic Design Work of 2017, The Best New Logo Designs of 2017, The Very Best Brand Identities of 2017, The Very Best of 2017, The Very Best of BP&O, Typography, Wordmark Design Comments Off on Maven by Design By Toko, AustraliaOpinion by Richard Baird
Maven is described by Design By Toko, the Sydney-based design studio behind its recent rebranding, as a top-tier architecture recruitment agency operating worldwide. Drawing on the built environment and with the intention of expressing the agency’s prominence within the architecture industry Toko developed a brand identity of simplicity and impact through bold solid form and single colour that links business cards, brochure and soon to launch website. This use of form and colour, its dominance across each touchpoint, establishes a strong continuity, yet is softened using lighter colour and over-print in its implementation across Maven Publishing’s Chasing the Sky, a book that showcases twenty of Australia’s leading women in architecture.