Schober Design’s new communication campaign for Kusch+Co’s Sóley chair is a continuation of the gradual renovation of the contract seating company’s brand. The Sóley chair, named after an Icelandic flower, is a re-release of a Valdimar Harðarson 1981 design. The updated version was released at the 2012 Orgatec exhibition held in Cologne, Germany and took centre stage at Kusch+Co’s stand. The identity project for the range included a logo, an advert, a brochure, package design and a flyer.

The challenge for the creative team at Schober Design, under the management of Creative Director Damian Schober, was to find a fresh way to interpret the design of the chair whilst still creating an homage to the original. Starting with the logo the team used a mix of old and modern typefaces, Baskerville and ITC Avant Garde, as a tribute to the mix of old and new found in the product.

An additional benefit of using ITC Avant Garde, is its perfectly round letter “o” which reflects the circular nature of the chair. The team also felt that words such as “classic” or “vintage” had been overused in the advertising world and would not help to differentiate the product from the myriad of re-releases in the market place. Therefore, they drew their inspiration from the one aspect of life that everybody can relate to and reminisce about: past loves. They needed a tag line for the advert that underlined the fact that this was a retro design for today’s market. Bearing these elements in mind, they took their inspiration from a Hollywood film and struck upon “a chair to remember”. They felt this tagline avoided clichéd text and played upon rekindling love and devotion for the original product.

The simplicity of the chair’s aesthetic meant that it was particularly adept at being used for illustrative purposes and once the tagline had been settled, using the chairs illustrated in a heart shape became the perfect accompaniment for the print advertisement.

The Sóley project follows on from the success of the communication campaign that Schober Design created for Kusch+Co’s Trilogy range of chairs. The Trilogy campaign was recently awarded a red dot award:communication design 2012.

When contemplating the solution for this brief, there were three main influences that the designers took into account. The wood and production methods used in the manufacture of this range which was so inherent to the personality of the chairs. The Scandinavian roots of the product designers and lastly the fact that the range was made up of three distinctive yet complimentary chairs. These were the elements that the creative team felt were core to the branding strategy in this case. Starting with the logo, the team played with the negative space and used a cut out letter “o” similar to the equivalent letter found in Scandinavian languages, this alluded to the origins of the chair whilst also helping to give the logo a woodcut appearance which was used to full effect on the cover of the accompanying brochure. In addition, the letter “g” was replaced by the number “3” in the logo to subtly provide extra emphasis on the triality of the range.

As mentioned, the cover of the brochure was designed to look like a piece of wood. In keeping with this, the team used uncoated paper on the inside pages. This was done so that the reader would benefit from a texture and smell similar to wood rather than finished paper, giving the audience a more holistic experience. In addition, blocks of wood were carved with the product identification numbers at the Kusch+Co factory and then photographed. These photographs were used as the product introduction pages, done in this way rather than using Photoshop added a greater gravitas and texture to the brochure than a manipulated photo. The natural choice for the location of the photo shoot for the brochure of course was in Scandinavia, an old watermill in Sweden located in the forest – a fitting backdrop. The creative team purposely chose a studio with decor, metal and glass, that was in direct contrast to the aesthetic of the products. This allowed the chairs to stand out and not be lost amongst a wooden background, a far more interesting juxtaposition. The location of the studio was not only appropriate but coupled with the glass walls, gives an extended vista – an eloquent and natural production line – source material to finished product in a gentle and eco sensitive manner.

Schober Design has worked closely over the last few years with Kusch+Co not only in designing individual identities for their range of products but also collaborating with them to give the company a more innovative and modern face. This opportunity has given the design studio the chance to work on varying projects and in different mediums as well as honing their brand strategy skills. Projects have included designing the wayfinding and distinctive signage for the factory in Hallenberg, Germany. Designing their exhibition graphics for the various shows that they attend each year as well as packaging design for their products. Schober Design has also produced and directed a recent image film for the company entitled “Past, Present, Future” which showcased the firm and its products, it can be seen on their YouTube channel at - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_A1YS0YC14

Schober Design is a London based design agency, founded in 2008. Their expertise lie in creating brands and developing communication solutions in the form of corporate identities, corporate literature, print advertising, book design, exhibition design as well as image films and animation.

This post entitled: Sóley Chair Branding is written by Stuart and originally featured on Logoholic.org - Logo Design Blog | Graphic Design Inspiration

Thomas Manss & Company‘s new symbol for the German Fachhochschule Brandenburg University replaces the abstracted depiction of the college building with a mark that is less literal without betraying its roots.

Both, the old symbol and its successor, are inspired by the architecture of the former army barracks the university calls home to 3000 students in Brandenburg an der Havel. “The gate depicted in the symbol might be the formal main entrance of the college but very few members or visitors actually use it. Nevertheless, the identification of staff and students of Fachhochschule Brandenburg with this architectural feature is high,” explains College President Dr. Hans Georg Helmstädter.

The Fachhochschule Brandenburg City Emblem

The Fachhochschule Brandenburg’s Former Logo

However, while the old mark could be associated with the Bachelor and Master degrees in engineering, business administration and economics as well as information technology and media, it was felt that it also presented a staid image of an institution that prides itself on its progressive programme of global cooperation in research as well as teaching. Students enjoy partnerships and exchange programmes with 50 international universities in Europe and overseas.

“The challenge was to evolve the existing identity, building on the existing goodwill invested in the architectural symbol, yet, conveying the state-of-the-art nature of the educational programme,” according to Thomas Manss & Company Partner Andreas Lerchner.

Initial focus groups research revealed that, in addition to the academic programme, the idyllic surroundings with their myriad of waterways and leisure facilities were a big draw.

The Fachhochschule Brandenburg University Main Building

The newly designed mark takes into account these findings and adds the water theme with a simple design intervention that leaves the symbol still proudly displaying its architectural origins.

College President Dr. Hans Georg Helmstädter comments:

For the uninitiated punter the new mark represents an instantly recognisable, abstract, calm and modern shape. For people familiar with the campus, it evokes the main building and the four squares are also reminiscent of the gates depicted in the shield of the city – illustrating the college’s unequivocal commitment to Brandenburg an der Havel.

The new Fachhochschule Brandenburg symbol has been implemented across a wide range of applications including stationery, posters, brochures, presentations and the college website. Andreas Lerchner explains: “The visual identity had to be implemented easily and efficiently by college staff as well as numerous external suppliers.”

All designs and templates have been documented in an easy to use design manual and were presented to staff and students alike during a dedicated launch event.

Fachhochschule Brandenburg

With the founding of Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences in April 1992, Brandenburg upon Havel became a university town for the first time in its history of over a 1,000 years. Brandenburg University offers attractive, cutting-edge degree courses in three disciplines: engineering, business administration and economics as well as information technology and media.

Nearly 3,000 students are enrolled at Brandenburg University, studying in modern teaching facilities and laboratories in a leafy campus setting. All courses lead to the internationally recognized degrees, Bachelor and Masters. Students particularly appreciate the project-orientated courses on offer. Course content is defined in co-operation with partners in industry, commerce and public administration from around the region, giving students the chance to get to know their future field of work hands on right from the start. The university promotes with particular emphasis international exchange in teaching, research and study. Brandenburg University has more than 50 partnerships with universities across Europe as well as overseas.

Thomas Manss & Company

Founded in 1993, Thomas Manss & Company is a multidisciplinary design consultancy with offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Brazil.

As designers, we set out to make a difference to the companies and organisations that we work with and it is our belief that this is best achieved through close collaboration with our clients.

Working for cultural institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery, the William Morris Gallery and the British Museum, as well as for publishers such as Phaidon, Thames and Hudson and Ivory Press, we have developed various projects for the arts and design sector, from campaigns to books and identities to signage systems. We also have a strong portfolio of clients from architecture, technology and luxury industries including the architects Foster + Partners, the manufacturer of high-end speakers Bowers & Wilkins, the Italian group of papers Fedrigoni and the luxurious hotel group Ritz-Carlton.

This article was written by, and all images are copyright of Thomas Manss & Company as a Guest Post for Logoholic. We are always open to submissions or guest posts to logoholic.org – if you are interested in becoming a contributor, please email: submit@logoholic.org

This post entitled: Fachhochschule Brandenburg is written by Stuart and originally featured on Logoholic.org - Logo Design Blog | Graphic Design Inspiration

Coppa – The future of coffee? And its serving, too.

That must be the best way to address and describe this beautiful project, done by the uber-talented Jean Maxim Brais for the 8 Bis agency . They were hired to define and design the brand for a new bar called Coppa – and they nailed the assignment.

Basing their inspiration on the Italian Futurism movement of the 1930′s – to define a modern, innovative place with an high-end quality and esthetic feel, they designed the logotype around the fusion of two concepts: the name “Coppa”, Italian word for “cup” and a P – making the right part and the handle of the cup.

The execution is made with a vertical, diagonal striped approach, to retain growth and quality. This also acts as the base for some awesome patterns, to be used on various applications – most notably on the breathtaking mobile website – were we can also see the limited use of an orange palette – a clue to what the first version looked like. Containing pure red accents on the pattern as well – a version that unfortunately is not available anymore on the net. What a shame. I also remember some awesome wallpapers picture from the bar.

The typographic logo itself is as simple as it is beautiful, using one uppercase sans-serif, describable as modern, elegant, sophisticated whilst open and friendly due to the welcoming spaced kerning – things that clearly link with the brief and its scope.

A little side-note on the project could refer to the logo and pattern usage on the cups themselves – they could have been handled better, with various figures covering the surface completely, maybe with orange accents too? – and the logo on top.
The present design make use of a lot of unbalanced white-space, something that is not present anywhere on the brand, making it lose it’s integrity, I think making them look ugly.

Apart from this minor forgivable error, I would certainly love sitting in this bar, making my eyes wonder through all the aforementioned beautiful design, while sipping some high-quality coffee.

Wouldn’t you?

All images are © 8Bis Branding agency

This post entitled: Coppa is written by Dario and originally featured on Logoholic.org - Logo Design Blog | Graphic Design Inspiration

Pixelated imagery is a common occurrence online, especially within the restrictions of the 72 pixels per inch ‘rule’. The blurry, artifact-ridden edges are something you need to steer clear of when presenting digital work due to the ugly nature of the small, off-coloured squares that make up your pictures. Deliberately pixelating to censor is also a common technique used to mask details that need hidden, for example on documents, registration numbers, people’s faces and nudity.

Recently, I was blurring an image through the ‘mosaic’ filter in Photoshop, in which, a small portion of the logo became blurred. The interesting thing was that the logo itself retained shape, and therefore remained recognisable. This led me to question how far a logo could be blurred or pixelated, without making it unidentifiable.

Below is a selection of classic logos, arguably the most recognisable globally – surely the best place to start the experiment? Let’s see how they hold up to the treatment.

Overall, I think it’s pretty clear that the ‘brand colour’ plays a central role in the companies’ visualisation. McDonalds for example, could be pixelated to twice the level it was done here, and still be identified by a five year old – due not only to the giant “M”, but the red and yellow brand colours. Both eBay and Google succeed in holding their colours under pixelation, although the flaws of the Google logo become a little easier to see. For more thoughts on that please see my post on the Google Logo Redesign.

The Nike tick exemplifies the key qualities in logo design, making it recognisable down to favicon-level sizes. Here, the pixelation barely distorts the shape, especially when compared to Starbucks or Nintendo where the background and logotype blend to make it essentially unreadable. Text in general is difficult to work with at particularly small scales, or in this case distortion. It’s also interesting to note how spherical and rounded edges can be built from squares, or pixels. Usually this is not a concern because the pixels are so small, but in the case of this experiment, the Audi rings only look circular when you squint.

Breaking down a logo into it’s key form, in it’s primary colour is the most effective way of retaining legibility. Any visual stylisation, such as Mercedes’ 3D bezel approach is lost under pixelation; fortunately their logo works well in black and white, free from any effects.

A similar trick I use when testing the adaptability of a logo design is to squint my eyes at varying levels and distances. This has the same effect, where details are blurred and you can focus on the core shapes and contrast. If you can still make out the important facets, then the logo has a decent level of adaptability. If it becomes a blurred mess of shape and colour, it may be worthwhile trying to draw things back to their basic communicative functions.

It may be a helpful exercise when designing your next logo to consider how it would look when pixelated, if only to see how it holds up. It can be done easily in Photoshop – Go to ‘filters’ then “Pixelate” –> “Mosaic” and push the sliders as far as you can before it becomes an unrecognisable set of shapes.

This post entitled: Pixelated Logos is written by Stuart and originally featured on Logoholic.org - Logo Design Blog | Graphic Design Inspiration