When São Paulo-based studio Polar was tasked with rebranding one of Brazil’s most important cultural institutions – the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo Symphony Orchestra), better known as OSESP – its solution was an identity system that doesn’t just depict classical music but actively embody it. OSESP’s previous identity had served it well, with its 2003-2007...
The Beams is ‘an expansive new venue and event space on the Royal Docks in the heart of East London’ (that’s as long as you prefer your cartography loosely impressionist). Manchester-based Only Studio was tasked with branding the former Tate & Lyle sugar factory. The award-winning agency has previous form in the field of London industrial-eyesores-turned-cultural-juggernauts: it was also responsible...
It is fair to say that rebrands of music organisations, of which there have been a number in the past few years, have benefitted from the recent explosion of graphic design into the world of sound and motion. Music has always inspired other forms of art, but these new digital tools are uniquely suited for producing design solutions for these...
For a type-nerd (hello!) there are few things more seductive than a beautiful, beguiling letterform. But what makes such shapes even more siren-like is when they leap off the page and come to life, not just in motion, digitally; but in a physical environment. The branding for new private members club Curve Club, then, certainly ticks a lot of boxes...
How to make a data business approachable yet hold gravitas? Can it be engaging yet authoritative, sage yet cool? These are the implicit tensions NY-based Gretel has grappled with in its branding of Mode, a data intelligence and technology business seeking to widen its appeal. Gretel has established a brand identity which is triumphant and clean. It balances the contradictions that so...
Train related rebrands are often some of the most divisive when it comes to the design community Twittering classes. That’s perhaps unsurprising when you consider the ubiquity of Standards Manual books on design studio coffee tables – and the fact that they’re among the rare graphics projects that get broadsheet attention (for better or worse, as the swathes of National...
2022 was, let’s say, an interesting year for Forskningsrådet (The Norwegian Research Council). The public institution, which provides public funding for research and innovation across a wide range of fields, usually operates without controversy or intense public scrutiny. This changed in September 2021 when Norway held its national elections and got itself a change of government. And along with that,...
Straight up, I’ll admit that I struggle to resist a condensed sans typeface set in uppercase. I’ll also confess that I’ve spent the last hour (no lie), trying to identify this one… Helvetica? Hell no. Railroad Gothic? The wrong track. Söhne? Sö not. Must be Knockout? Another blow. For Druk’s sake is it Druk? Well, whatever it is, it’s neatly...
Den Norske Filmskolen (The Norwegian Film School) provides a broad range of practical film courses taught by a full-time teaching staff and guest lecturers and instructors with active careers in the national and international film industries. It is the only one of its kind in Norway, developed as a separate department at Lillehammer University College in 1997 and now part of Inland Norway University of...
14 Islands is a Swedish digital development studio that focuses on the design and build of distinctive and creative user experiences for companies such as Google, Adidas and Plume. Although its products are diverse, and include websites, apps and web-based games, these are linked by the studio’s commitment to balancing good design principles and technical performance with natural and playful...
Planned Living Architects (PLA) is located on Australia’s Mornington Peninsula and has an architectural portfolio that shows a sensitivity and responsiveness to the uniqueness of each site, is environmentally-consciencious, materially mindful, beautiful and functional. The studio is well-regarded, has decades of experience and expertise working within coastal and rural areas, is known for its pared-back style, and has a philosophy that is...
MOAA Architects was founded in 2010. It has an office in Hamilton, New Zealand, and a portfolio of new builds and renovations that span the residential, education, commercial and public sectors. Highlights include their work on St. Johns Church, a square plan rotated 9 degrees off the street grid, and Piako House, a renovation and extension of 1940s domestic planning to meet a 21st...