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Uniform Wares: Series Mailers / Stationery / Gift Vouchers

Uniform Wares design and produce timepieces based around a philosophy that is firmly rooted in classic British design and contemporary styling. Their wristwatches are intended for everyday use by individuals with an eye for meticulous detailing and a passion for diligent, modern design.

Six worked closely with Uniform Wares to create a series of promotional mailers to be distributed at the Capsule Men’s show in New York (and later through their stockists), along with a redesign of their existing stationery suite. Templates for letterheads, invoices and delivery notes were designed to be integrated within the back end system of their forthcoming website. Six were also asked to produce a range of watch box inserts, gift vouchers and supporting gift wrap materials.

All of the printed collateral has been designed to reflect the simplicity of the companies pared-down aesthetic. Highlighted by the subtle use of the identity, applied in a grey, gun metal foil across a sophisticated dark grey colour palette and applied using an off-white foil on the letterhead.

The mailer itself is printed on a premium, smooth, coated stock to contrast the dark grey, uncoated belly band which is capable of holding a single series mailer. A further belly band with a spine was created with the capacity to hold all the series mailers. The ability to hand out the series mailers individually or as a collection was an important factor within the design. The promotional literature needed to be flexible and react to the way individual stockists buy into certain ranges which suit their products and audience.

Once the belly band has been removed, each mailer is bookended with the line artwork for the front and the back of the relevant watch. The mailer then opens like a book revealing a short history behind the company, the inspiration behind the series and information about the straps and watch finishes. Finally it opens out to A2 revealing lifestyle and closeup imagery of the range alongside the technical specifications for the series. Once opened out it can be used as a print which can be pinned to the wall. Each series mailer incorporates the range colour and a metallic silver is used as a subtle reference to production materials and engineered surface finishes found within the product.

Typefaces Used: FG Uniform-Medium198 (Uniform Wares Logotype), FG Uniform-SmallCaps198, FG Uniform-Text

www.uniformwares.com

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Kirschner
Kirschner is a cycling apparel brand hailing from Santa Catarina, Brazil. As a start-up, they required everything from a name and identity, right through to the apparel design and promotional collateral.

The final logo and overall direction was designed to convey a contemporary brand that recognised and celebrated the pedigree at the root of the sport. The modern styling with vintage nuances give the brand its own unique identity within an increasingly competitive market.

Paul Calver was appointed as lifestyle photographer and videographer, completing the visual direction for the Kirschner brand.

Typefaces Used: Champion, Modern 216

kirschnerbrasil.cc
calverphoto.com

A Few Words from the Editor

In the tradition of ‘Less is More’ (asserted by the legend that is Mies van der Rohe) today’s Friday Special features 1 recent and 1 brand new project from UK based creative consultancy Six, the design director’s of which just so happen to be (in no particular order) the talented Mr Darren Firth and the talented Mr Iain Follett ;)

Big thank you once again to Darren and Iain for making this feature possible and let’s not forget the Uniform Wares Exclusive! I hope you (dear SI reader) enjoyed this feature and I bade you a great weekend. PS. Thank you for all the kind words on Twitter, much appreciated as always :)

ADDITIONAL LINK WORTH CHECKING OUT

Six — Recent Projects Special
www.madebysix.com

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Mulberry
Construct continue to work extensively for British design company Mulberry. Over the last 12 months, Construct has refined the original Mulberry logotype and the famous tree motif. This newly updated design has been applied across an extensive variety of applications including components that feature on all products, shop signage (in collaboration with Universal Design Studio), business stationery, a multitude of seasonal items and – most challenging of all – a huge gold inflatable Bayswater bag balloon.

Photography by Paul Greenleaf

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Mulberry 40th Birthday
For Mulberry’s 40th anniversary, Construct produced a celebratory book charting the growth of one of Britain’s most cherished luxury brands from its beginnings as a West Country-based lifestyle label to a globally recognised high-fashion label. Photographer Venetia Dearden spent two years capturing beautiful, everyday moments in the lives of the people that built and continue tom build the brand. Each book is packaged in a pass-the-parcel style gift wrap, each layer revealing a new and different phrase that encapsulates the brands personality. Construct were heavily involved in producing various promotional materials to support the book’s launch, from sticker sheets and ribbons, to postcards and cake slice boxes.

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Mulberry SS12
As part of the Spring Summer 2012 Campaign, Construct produced an exclusive retro-style newspaper that is rolled and hidden in what looks like a traditional style seaside stick of rock. Alongside, Construct designed a look-book and selection of postcards housed with a cover and belly band insipred by an ice-cream cone.

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Porto Montenegro
Luxury port Porto Montenegro is fast becoming the destination of choice for members of the European yachting scene. Construct were involved in revitalising the port’s brand producing a number of corporate assets including a brochure, carrier and tote bags, stationery and website.

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Claridge’s
Construct remain heavily involved in the extensive rebrand of luxury Mayfair hotel Claridge’s. Recent work includes the design of menus for a variety of locations within the hotel, including the stunning Foyer and Reading Room, the Claridge’s Bar and the Fumoir.

To help new employees understand the history and grandeur of the place and the privilege of working in one of London’s finest hotels, Construct produced a brand book, given to new staff. Filled with facts and figures as well as inspirational quotes from Spencer Tracey to Tom Ford, the 12 page hand-sewn book has gold and black paper tip-ins. A gold foiled Claridge’s crest features through out.

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Maybourne Papers
Now in their 8th issue, Construct continue to design and edit quarterly newspapers for Claridge’s, The Connaught and the Berkeley.

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Jacqueline Cullen
Designer, Jacqueline Cullen has developed innovative processes and formats that celebrate rather than disguise the inherent flaws and inclusions of Whitby jet (a black-as-night fossil of prehistoric trees). Construct crafted the identity and produced a toolkit comprising a variety of stamps (wax, embossing and ink) to reflect Jacqueline’s work.

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Carolina Bucci
Carolina Bucci creates modern and vibrant fine jewelry that echos her family’s rich heritage. Construct created a hand drawn logotype using watercolour paint that is a sentimental and nostalgic reference to Mediterranean holidays of the later 20th Century. A mixed palette of cool blues evokes sea and sky, long summers spent idling with loved ones on beautiful yachts and aperitifs on the terraces of harbourside restaurants.

With images by French Photographer Fred Pinet, Construct art directed and produced an oversized lookbook showcasing Carolina’s jewelry. Carrier bags and boxes are currently in development.

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Villa
A double bound brand book was produced for the employees of Villa, a cultural and gastronomic venue in Budapest. Featuring open edged binding with black stitching. Pages inside are french folded with pictures of Budapest hidden from view on the inside of the fold, while a beautiful story unfolds on the outer. The brand book is secured to a leather bound notebook using a leather wraparound cord. Each book features the Villa logo blind embossed onto the front.

A Few Words from the Editor

Today’s SI Special arrives just in time for the Bank Holiday holiday weekend — there should be enough here to keep you lot going for a few days ;) The studio in the spotlight today is none other than Construct, a London-based creative studio that produces nothing short of beautifully crafted work for clients in luxury/lifestyle sectors (for a more a more depth bio, read on here). This feature chronicles what they’ve been up to in the last 12 months.

Big thank you once again to Peter for making this feature possible ;)

ADDITIONAL LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

SI Special — Construct: Part 1
SI Special — Construct: Part 2
constructlondon.com

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Converging Paths
Award winning theatre company Slung Low has created five new performance pieces for five North Yorkshire Festivals. A series of new pieces based on the novel The Ground Remembers by Matthew David Scott. Set in unusual and unique locations, the shows re-examine how audiences go and see a piece of theatre.

The creative solution explores the notion of ‘real magic’ and plays on the common water theme through refraction. Working with Mezz Davies, a combination of site specific location photography and studio shots were captured. Layers of sediment are suggested through the use of stacked typography, line work and photography. Fenner Paper helped to make effective use of budgets and stocks. Evolution Print produced the promotional print utilising die and laser cuts.

Converging Paths plays in 4 more festivals this year. www.convergingpaths.co.uk

Photography: www.mezzdavies.co.uk
Print: www.evolutionprint.com
Typefaces: www.swisstypefaces.com
Design, art direction and branding: www.leegoater.com

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Leeds Inspired
Leeds Inspired is part of the Leeds City Council Olympics Cultural Programme but will run beyond the 2012 games. The web element is designed to bring arts, cultural, digital, community and social events together in one place for the first time in a listing site curated by multiple event organisers. The idea is to make this information available as a plug-in for other sites promoting Leeds and to incorporate independent comment and news.

Leeds Inspired allows users to search and promote events and access funding for cultural activities in 2012 and beyond. An accessible and inclusive solution needed to communicate the Leeds Inspired values and vision to an extremely diverse audience without alienating or risking a snubbing from the cultural elite. Kilo 75 defined the user experience and built the site.

The Leeds Inspired site is has launched for beta testing. www.leedsinspired.co.uk

Web: www.kilo75.com
Print: www.evolutionprint.co.uk
Design, art direction and branding: www.leegoater.com

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Mobile Museum
Working in collaboration with We Love Technology, Leeds Galleries and Museums and young people from the region, Mobile Museum used creative writing and mobile phones to help young people make new connections with the objects on display across the different galleries and museums throughout the city. Newspapers with content part created by the youth groups, along with maps, napkins and a labelling a system were created to engage children, young people and families and encouraged them to read, write and share poems through the use of mobile phones.

Design, art direction and branding: www.leegoater.com
Technology: www.welovetechnology.com
Photography: www.mezzdavies.co.uk
Print: Guardian Press Manchester

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NSCD 25
To celebrate the 25th anniversary, an identity and print promotion was commissioned by the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Having worked closely with NSCD since 2006, it was a great opportunity to re-visit some of the promotional material created over the past years. Working primarily with NSCD’s photography archive and recent brand photography by Chris Nash, an identity was developed and applied to invites, posters, banners, programmes and posters.

Design and branding; www.leegoater.com
Technology: www.welovetechnology.com
Photography: www.chrisnash.net
Print: www.northwolds.co.uk

A Few Words from the Editor

I have three fairly large updates to push out today, so the ‘few words from the editor’ section of each feature will be fairly sparse — It’s not like anyone reads this section anyway ;).

Thank you once again to Lee for making this feature possible and for the kind words and support :)

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Identity Website
New website designed and developed for Identity Press containing a beautiful collection of print work by various design studios (Ico, Marque, Spin, Design Assembly, Spring, Designwerk, Mulberry in-house, Powell Allen, etc).

www.identityprint.co.uk

Copywriting
 by Regard
Design by Morse Studio
Photography
 by Lee Mawdsley

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280 High Holborn — Marketing literature
280 High Holborn is an residential development in Central London. The theme of high specification carries through into the marketing materials.

This large-format brochure was printed on PhoeniXmotion Xenon and features a number of finer details, including a short cover in Colourplan Real Grey with a Sandgrain emboss, laser-cut numerals and green thread-sewn binding.

Designed by Spin (spin.co.uk)

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Heron Tower — 
Marketing literature
Heron Tower is a newly-built, state-of-the-art commercial tower in the City of London. The marketing materials reflect the scale and ambition of the project.

The book is case-bound with a metallic stock and is housed in a bespoke wrapped box, which features a matching lining paper and marker ribbon. The print remit involved large-scale full-colour work, consistent solids across a variety of stocks and typographic details in holographic foil.

Designed by ico Design (icodesign.com)

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Lascivious Lingerie
 — Spring/Summer 07 lookbook
Lascivious produce exquisite handmade lingerie. Attention to detail is the brand’s key quality, which naturally translates into design and print.

The saddle-stitched book is an intriguing combination of tactile paper stocks, short pages and an oversized cover. A mixture of black and white and colour photographs are printed on Naturalis Absolute White Smooth.

Designed by Marque (marquecreative.com)

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McDonald’s 
Colour Code Guidelines
As part of a major change in strategy, McDonald’s introduced a new colour directive, illustrated beautifully in this comprehensive guidelines kit.

The format, as with most guidelines documents, is an updatable binder. However, this one features a magnetic closure and a cover bound in custom-dyed cloth. Other special features include clear, white and yellow foil blocking throughout, a throw-out contents page and a routed foam panel to carry a selection of interior material samples.

Designed by Morse Studio (morsestudio.com)

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Mulberry
Autumn/Winter 11 invitation
Mulberry may have roots embedded in English heritage, but the brand is truly progressive. This invitation shook the preconceptions of accepted formats.

Packaged in a black covered box with a slip lid, this invitation is quite an elaborate piece of hand-finished paper engineering. The only way to describe it is as a ‘fortune-teller’ format, where the corners unfold to reveal the various details of the event. The finely-detailed artwork is produced in a combination of foil blocking in metallic gold and screen-printed white on black uncoated stock.

Designed by Mulberry in-house design team

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Osman Yousefzada Spring/Summer 12 lookbook
Afghan-British fashion designer, Osman Yousefzada, is British fashion’s best- kept secret. Like his work, this book is simple, crafted but attention-grabbing.

Full-page images, image textures and solids are printed on Naturalis, and the loose sheets are scored and collated as an A3 format magazine.

Designed by Spring

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Panthalassa
 — Marketing literature
Panthalassa is a 184 foot luxury super-yacht with interiors by Foster and Partners. The sophisticated marketing materials present her in suitable style.

The case-bound book is wrapped in Winter & Company’s Napura Khepra Madera, a wood-textured cover material, while their Papvr stock in pale blue was used for the end papers. The text stock is Mohawk Superfine Ultrawhite Eggshell. Other finishing details include an extremely delicate foil blocking in metallic blue, an Astralux slip sleeve and internal short pages.

Designed by Powell Allen (powellallen.com)

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Design Assembly — 3
Design Assembly was a challenging online design forum. This printed archive celebrates their third and final year in action.

The book comprises three different-sized volumes, glued together as one book. The three constituent parts each have a different binding method: Centre-sewn, PUR-bound (Polyurethane reactive glue) and naked-bound (without a hard cover). The combination of single-colour and full-colour print is complemented by foil blocked detailing in a gunmetal finish.

Designed by Matt Judge (madebyassembly.com)

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Design Museum — 
Wim Crouwel retrospective invitation
Identity were the official printers of the Design Museum’s highly anticipated Wim Crouwel retrospective in 2011.

The invitation comprised a triplexed Colorplan board, a large-scale foil blocking in silver and a wraparound dust jacket, also in Colorplan.

Designed by Spin (spin.co.uk)

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UEFA Champions League
 — Brand Guidelines
The official UEFA Champions League brand guidelines has become the benchmark for best practice within the sports marketing industry.

Two hardback books are housed in hinged slip cases, which are wrapped in Perigrina Majestic, lined with suede and finished with silver ribbons, glued in under the lining. Incorporated within the books is a football-shaped USB device, which sits in a kiss-cut recess in the double thickness cover board, and a folded A1 poster in a pocket. The print includes silver litho and silver foil blocking.

Designed by Designwerk (designwerk.co.uk)

No additional words from editor because he’s busy…

But I will say thank you to Hugh for taking the time to send all the imagery and text over ;)

ADDITIONAL LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Hugh Morse SI Special #1
Hugh Morse Recent Projects Special Feature
morsestudio.com

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Typo Book
Typofaces is a limited run book designed by Construct, showcasing portraits by London artist Paul Davis made during a dinner for the speakers at design conference TYPO London. Guests at the dinner included Erik Spiekermann, Lawrence Weiner, Michael Beirut and graphic legend Neville Brody. A gatefold front cover with a white foil hides a unique portrait, signed by the artist and given as a gift of thanks to each speaker. The book is perfect-bound with a cloth spine. GF Smith provided the paper and the book was digitally printed by Gavin Martin Colournet and limited to just 100 copies.

How to get your hands on a copy of this book

This week SI has teamed up with our lovely friends at Construct to give 1 lucky soul a chance to own a perfectly bound (pun intended) copy of ‘Typofaces’. All you need to do is: follow @septmbrindstry and @constructstudio on Twitter if you haven’t done so already (yes, we both appreciate it :) then compose a Tweet to us saying something.

Read those last 8 words carefully ;)

A winner will then be picked at random — out of a digital hat — and contacted either by myself or Construct for contact details etc.

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JK&
A magazine and website for John Kenney &, a photo agency.

Typefaces: Custom, Titling Gothic, Chalet

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BLK DNM
Elements of the identity for BLK DNM, a new fashion label from Johan Lindeberg. Custom type for a spread from the BLK DNM Gazette.
Typefaces Used: Franklin Gothic, Typewriter Elite

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TRUE & CO.
Logo/identity for an online lingerie store.
Typefaces Used: Custom, Gotham

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BOBBY FISCHER | HARRY BENSON
A book of photographs by Harry Benson of the chess legend Bobby Fischer.
Typefaces Used: Tungsten, Century Schoolbook

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TOWERS OF POWER
A series of oversize match boxes with motivational messages.

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SUPERFUND
Exhibition featuring a series of 4 large-format prints.

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DIA: FALL GALA 2011
Invitation for Dia Art Foundation’s annual Gala.
Typefaces Used: Akzidenz Grotesk

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SIGMUND’S
Identity for a New York Pretzel bakery.
Typefaces Used: Gloucester, Clarendon

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DYLAN COULTER
Identity and stationery for photographer Dylan Coulter.

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AIGA 50/50
Exhibition design for AIGA’s 50 Books 50 Covers competition.
Typefaces Used: Custom, Nomo

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SCHMIDT BROS.
Identity and packaging for Schmidt Brothers Cutlery.
Typefaces Used: Futura, Ironclad

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BEST OF NEW YORK
One of a series of custom type treatments for New York Magazine’s “Best of New York” issue.

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CRASS: 1977-1984
Catalog for an exhibition of albums and ephemera from the band Crass.
Typeface Used: Courier

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CIDRE
Custom lettering for the international campaign for Stella Artois’ Cidre.
Designed by Triboro for Mother, London.

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AI WEIWEI — CIRCLE OF ANIMALS
Book on the artist Ai Weiwei.
Typefaces Used: Miller, Gotham and Custom

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N/A
Identity/Business cards for a marketing agency.

A Few Words from the Editor

Friday’s SI Special goes up a little earlier than usual—a day early which technically makes it a Thursday SI Special—but I’m sure none of you (dear SI readers) are complaining! In the spotlight today is one of Brooklyn, NYC’s finest: Triboro Design. I’ve made it no secret on SI that I hold what David and Stefanie do in high regard and interestingly enough I even had the pleasure of working with them last year. With that said, they’ve finally got round to updating their portfolio with what can only be described as a diverse collection of beautifully crafted work. It should be noted that Triboro don’t rely too heavily on text to explain their work preferring that the images do most of the talking instead :)

Big shout out once again to David for spending his nights sorting/resizing/selecting all the images for the feature ;)

ADDITIONAL LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Triboro SI Special #1
Triboro’s One Colour Subway Map (High-res Images)
triborodesign.com

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AIAIAI Packaging/Art-Direction
AIAIAI is an audio design company dedicated to developing high quality audio products for everyday use.
AIAIAI’s modern, minimalist headphones and earphones deliver clear, amplified sound.

Headquartered in Copenhagen, AIAIAI is proud to contribute to Denmark’s worldwide reputation as leader
in acoustic and electro- acoustic design and engineering. Informed by a heritage of Scandinavian design,
AIAIAI strives to create high quality, accessible audio products that deliver value far beyond trend-driven aesthetics.

Font:
VAG Rounded

Creative Director:
Muggie Ramadani
Peter Mix Willer (AIAIAI)

Art Director:
Muggie Ramadani
Claus Rysser

Design:
Muggie Ramadani
Claus Rysser
Kasper Nørlund (AIAIAI)

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Estatum Branding
Estatum is a leading Danish provider of real estate investment opportunities.
The company is growing rapidly and today employs over 50 people.

Estatum’s real estate portfolio surpasses DKK 6 billion invested in 150 different
properties on the UK real estate market.

Font:
Freight Sans, Freight Text

Creative Direction, Art Direction & Design:
Muggie Ramadani

Commisioned by:
Bitsch+Lundquist

Photographer:
Mikkel Bache

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Mikael Simpson ‘Noget Laant’ Sleeve Design
Mikael Simpson´s fifth album is dark and melancholic, extremely evocative and intensely oppressive.
Simpson, once again establishes a special intimacy with the listener, who is sucked into his universe.

‘Noget Laant’ features soft and stout bass, subtle hissing drums, a distinctive piano sound and Simpson’s warm, deep and delicate bright voice which brings a hypnotic, polyphonic and refreshing quality to the record.

Font:
Akkurat Mono, DeVinne

Creative Direction, Art Direction & Design:
Muggie Ramadani

Photographer:
Mikkel Bache

A Few Words from the Editor

If the name ‘Muggie Ramadani’ sounds familiar it should; all you have to do is look at these previous SI Special features to be reminded of this Danish gentleman’s talent and he’s still very much a one-man band! I really have nothing else to add here folks, because (and here comes a bona fide cliché) the work does all the talking. Enjoy and thank you once again to my good friend Muggie for making this feature possible :)

About the Studio

Muggie Ramadani is an interdisciplinary designer specialized in creating intelligent solutions for analog and digital media. Experienced in developing effective visual concepts and information hierarchies to ensure clear communication of content, style, and aesthetics. Muggie’s work has been featured in several international publications, and he has won and been nominated for numerous high-profile design awards.
To see more of his work, again do check out these previous SI Special features.

muggieramadani.com

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Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson is an internationally respected young Australian Product Designer, with an ever-increasing profile in Europe, Australia, the UK and US. His practice is built around his belief that design should respond to a real need, an ethos we were keen to reflect in his identity. The brandmark was designed to reflect the crafted yet utilitarian nature of his products, where form and function coexist in harmony. We designed it to remain ledgible regardless of reproduction techniques. Whether it be stamped, embossed, or created with a branding iron, it retains its strength and identity while simultaneously absorbing the characteristics of whatever it is applied to.

www.henrywilson.com.au

Typography: Lineto’s Type Foundry’s Lettera & Klim Type Foundry’s Founders Grotesk

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Nokia
To coincide with the launch of their new business handsets Nokia wanted to create a digital book celebrating the achievements of a select number of Australian entrepreneurs. We saw the bespoke nature of the brief as an opportunity to break away from Nokia’s traditional visual communication style and create a vibrant and friendly handbook filled with illustrated anecdotes and advice. Editorial in style, the book was designed to be approachable and compelling.

www.inhindsight.nokia.com.au

Typography: Kilm Type Foundry’s Feijoa, Lineto’s Type Foundry’s Akkurat & Fontsmith Type Foundry’s FS Sammy

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Meanwhile
Meanwhile is a new menswear boutique located in the exclusive Kings Cross Hills of Sydney. Stocking the finest Australian labels alongside such international greats as Dries Van Noten, Whyred and Dana Lee, Meanwhile is a most welcome addition to Sydney retail in general, menswear specifically. We created an identity using only inked hand stamps, making it cost effective and low maintenance, whilst still retaining the considered craftsmanship that Meanwhile represents. The Brandmark itself is the joining of an M and a W forming one icon that alludes to a tailors stitch.

www.meanwhilestore.com

Typography: Kilm Type Foundry’s Feijoa & URW++ Type Foundry’s URW Grotesk

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Edgeboard
New Identity, packaging and print for the handmade chopping board that possess a special feature; an edge which you use to gather and slide chopped food off. The edge prevents the inevitable spill associated with traditional flat boards and so became the key focus of the brand, through naming and application.

The brandmark is based on this feature, and is only fully revealed when placed around a corner. In this way we were able to create a brand that truly reflects the product, and its point of difference in the market, and hopefully engineer a sense of discovery; that ‘aha!’ monument that makes an identity stand out.
The natural anti-bacterial, sustainable wood sourced form the Byron Shire is also used throughout packaging and stationary further adding to the tactile impact of the product.

Typography: Bauer Type Foundry’s Futura & URW++ Type Foundry’s URW Grotesk

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Washed Up
Washed Up is a personal project by photographer Sean Izzard, exploring the flotsam and jetsam exposed and framed by the sands of Australia’s beaches. We used a broken grid to lay out a selection of his images, as well as designing a custom piece of typography to reflect the elegant simplicity of Sean’s photos. Limited to only 200 prints, the poster was sent out to a number of studios and agency’s, leading to a dramatic increase in work offers for Sean following distribution.

Typography: Custom & Monotype’s Plantin

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SoHi
SoHi is a contemporary lifestyle magazine showcasing the creative, art and fashion scene in the NSW Southern Highlands. We created the corporate branding and art direction for the print and digital publication, and continue to work with SoHi acting as brand guardian across all design content. Our design solution is visually clean and simple, to reflect the core values of the brand: Inclusive, Relaxed, Community.

Printed in a limited edition run of 2000 per issue, it has not only been embraced by locals and creatives, but the design has resonated globally including an interview in UK Grafik Magazine and a feature in Magnation where it was selected by Kate Bezar as her number one magazine…

www.sohimagazine.com.au

Typography: Monotype’s Plantin & Linotype’s Helvetica Neue

A Few Words from the Editor

It’s been quite a while since I’ve featured anything for the land of down under, which why I’ve gone ahead and featured the work of Maud, a multi-disciplinary studio based in Sydney (more information about the studio can be found in the usual place below). Suffice to say, studio’s like Maud are yet more proof of Australia’s thriving design-scene and I certainly hope to feature more talent from Australasia (no, that isn’t a typo) in the near future :). Thank you once again to Mr David Park for making this feature possible.

About the Studio

Maud is a D&AD award winning design studio based in Sydney, Australia. As passionate about the core idea as the images they create, Maud continually strive for creative excellence through consultation, collaboration and detailed execution, tailoring a strategic process for each and every client they work with to deliver effective and creative communication. Whilst there are many multi-disciplined thinkers out there, Maud has the skills and team to execute their ideas across print, motion and online.

www.maud.com.au

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Android Developer Kit
For the 2011 Google I/O Developer Conference, Manual devised an appropriate identity and packaging solution for Android’s Accessory Development Kit. The Android team wanted to inspire developers to create hardware and software solutions for the Android platform. Manual’s challenge was to create a low cost packaging solution.

Our design drew its inspiration directly from a piece of hardware included in the kit, an Arduino circuit board. We created a typographic illustration incorporating universal icons to hint at possible applications of the technology. Limited edition silkscreen posters and t-shirts were used as giveaways for developers.

Typefaces:
T-Star Mono Rounded

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The Slanted Door
The Slanted Door has defined modern Vietnamese food in San Francisco since 1995. Led by award-winning chef Charles Phan, The Slanted Door is situated in the Ferry Building overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

Manual worked closely with the Phan family to identify the values and personality traits of the restaurant. We devised a master logotype and supporting visual language that was as modern and sophisticated as restaurant’s food. The resulting mark references the ‘slanted’ aspect of the name and utilizes a single line to bring a distinct and memorable element to the identity. With family being a core value of the Slanted Door group, this unifying line also conveys the notion of connection.

A supporting monogram was used as a sign-off, bearing resemblance to a nautical flag – a fitting connotation given that the restaurant is situated in the Ferry Building and faces the water. This monogram is used as a supporting sign-off on branded items, and is also used to represent the umbrella company The Slanted Door Group.

The identity is applied in copper ink and foil across a muted, sophisticated color palette, with all paper menus folded at an angle, providing an unusual touch.

Typefaces:
Logo – custom drawn, initially based on Avant Garde Light
Supporting typeface – Lacrima

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Plywood for Good
Collective Good asked 30 local artists to use blank skateboard decks as a canvas for their thoughts on Japan’s earthquake and tsunami devastation. The decks were auctioned off at a fundraising event with all proceeds going to Direct Relief International.

Opting to deliberately steer clear of the obvious red and white Japanese icongraphy, our design uses universally understood building blocks and the title ‘Rebuild’ (Saiken) to convey positivity, hope, and creativity.

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Loose Leaf
Loose Leaf is an ongoing self publishing project by Manual. Published annually, each edition is a carefully curated selection of artworks by artists, designers, and photographers that have caught the attention of the studio. Part publication, part print series it exists in the form of a collection of unbound and large-format printed art works. It intends to celebrate images in a physical, livable form, a distinct departure from the online consumption of visual material that pervades our lives.

Each edition comes packaged and ready to be installed, not stored. Leaves are hole-punched for hanging on a wall with small aluminum push pins that come packaged. Its unbound format allows the viewer to edit, select, and reshuffle images on an ongoing basis, like a personal art gallery.

Manual specifically commissions and collaborates with select artists for the content of Loose Leaf. We view the project as an extension of the studio’s ongoing interest in contemporary visual culture.

Typefaces:
Aperçu, Aperçu Mono

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Spacelab
London-based architects Spacelab specialize in space and the way people use it, from offices and public venues to housing schemes and hospitals. Using a range of research techniques, they analyse how space is used in order to make it more effective.

In addition to an identity refresh, we designed a clean, bold website that uses a custom content management system, allowing the client to easily update and add content. We took the notion of ‘creating space’, as a driving factor in the design, allowing the content in the site to expand and collapse. This approach enables a clean, focused user experience.

The website’s layout, navigation and structure responds to the clean lines and bold colors used in many of the firms projects. The hiding and revealing upper navigation allows for the website to remain clutter free, yet provides the user with a ‘breadcrumb trail’ so all three levels of content navigation can viewed be accessed easily. By using section color coding, bold typography and dynamic sliding content, the design provides a vibrant and fluid interactive experience throughout.

Typefaces: Aperçu

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Wo Hing General Store
Wo Hing General Store, situated at the epicenter of the Mission district. The restaurant’s name pays homage to a small grocery store that Phan’s uncle and father owned in Vietnam after fleeing China in the 1960s. Phan intentionally wanted to avoid any visual reference to a general store, but asked that Chinese characters be incorporated into the identity.

The logo plays with the delicate nature of noodles, a main staple on the restaurant’s menu. We also noticed a similarity to the structure of tubular neon signs that are often associated with Chinese street food. In addition to the logo, we created a rich, colorful visual language using only the aforementioned humble noodle. Using a scanner, designers experimented with raw and cooked noodles to create a number of flowing, abstract images.

As a departure from the ubiquitous neon sign seen in many Chinese restaurants, Manual designed a flexible, printed electroluminescent sign that hangs in the restaurant window.

Typefaces:
Fugue (with customized W), Courier

A Few Words from the Editor

Funnily enough this was supposed to be an exclusive, but with advent of social media, keeping things a secret can be rather tricky these days ;) Nevertheless, for those of you that don’t know, SF’s Manual have given their site an overhaul with a fresh, squeaky-clean design in addition to a plethora of new work.

A very big thank you once again to Tom for providing the high-res images and info for the feature and for giving SI the heads up in advance. Sorry things didn’t work out as planned – time differences can be a real nuisance ;)

About the Studio

Manual is a design and visual communication studio. Our work strives to uncover the intangible essence of a brand and express it through unique visual solutions. Through our process of conceptual design thinking, we help businesses and organizations articulate their unique offering, giving them more value and distinction.

While we are passionate about design and continually push ourselves and our clients, we like to be collaborative and flexible in our approach. We work with a broad range of clients—from startups to the world’s most revered brands—and maintain a consistently high level of execution and production across print, packaging, and digital media.

Manual practices its craft in San Francisco, California.

Manualcreative.com
May 2010 – SI Special
OCtober 2010 – SI Special

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Laughing Man — Identity/Stationery/Packaging/Website/Architecture
We were asked to develop a brand, identity, packaging, website and retail store for Laughing Man Worldwide, a charitable organization set up by Hugh Jackman, whose first venture was to be the sale and distribution of coffee and tea. Albeit focused on the premium quality of the product, a secondary subtle undertone of social conscience was required.

Established wanted to convey the Laughing Man brand’s core spirit of ‘all be happy’ with a collection of packaging that was at once gourmet, joyful and modern. The product’s quality credentials called for luxury, so a silver and grey color palette and clean typography were used. Meanwhile the custom chalk type graphics used across the brand connote the idea of a hand-finished barista quality. The casually applied, unique laughing face stickers on each product are designed to reflect the universal nature of laughter, goodness and ethical-mindedness, which are fundamental to the Laughing Man brand.

The concept of constantly changing stickers also invites the consumer to interact with the brand directly by uploading their own laughing face on the website, for a chance to be used on future packaging.
The overall aim was to create a brand that broke the mold of ethically responsible products being packaged in a rustic, hessian and often ugly way. Laughing Man aimed to be a product that would look at home on the shelves of a luxury food hall as well as on a supermarket shelf.

Typefaces Used: Houschka Alt Bold, Foco Bold, Landry Gothic and Laughing Man Regular (Custom)

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Round Hill Music — Identity/Art Direction/Website
We were asked to design a brand, identity and website for a boutique music rights management company with a very high profile catalogue of product, including artists such as The Beatles.

Established wanted to illustrate the diverse qualities of the company; namely, its trustworthiness as a serious financial business and also its emerging reputation as be an artist-friendly home of music management, in contrast to the corporate powerhouses that form their main competition. The layout of the type and the way it is formatted on the page evokes a classic, old school feel. Meanwhile, the use of a piece of bright pink masking tape across the logo refers to tape’s common use in all aspects of the music industry, from notes on a grand piano to markings on a recording studioís mixing board to taping plectrums on the microphones during a live gig or damping snare drums.

Established created a library of computer-generated images for the company to use in all aspects of its business dealings that playfully show the pink tape in its multitude of uses in the music industry, thereby giving Round Hill an instantly recognizable brand icon which illustrates its music industry insider credentials in a very premium way.

Typefaces Used: Signal No1 D and Blair ITC Light

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Bar Milano — Identity

Typeface Used: Futura Bold

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Aschen and Voss — Identity

Typefaces Used: Garage Gothic Bold, Galaxy Polaris Light and Garamond Regular

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Brooks Brothers — Brand Brook

Typefaces Used: Redrawing of the logo and various weights of Gotham

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Brooks Brothers — Existing Collection Packaging

Typeface Used: Various weights of Gotham

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Joh Bailey — Identity/Stationery/Packaging/Architecture

Typeface Used: Gotham Black

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Pack Back Fleece — Packaging

Typeface Used: Too small for me to make out… ;)

A Few Words from the Editor

This past month I’ve probably been the busiest I’ve ever been, hence the occasional ‘bi-weekly’ wait for new updates. For the record ‘bi-weekly’ can mean twice a week or every 2 weeks ;) Nevertheless, it’s Friday which can only mean one thing: SI Special with plenty of high-res imagery! The studio that has been given the “SI treatment” today is Established a multi-disciplinary studio based in NYC. Not only is it great to feature more talent from the States but this studio may come as a pleasant surprise to those of you who were previously not acquainted with their work. Enjoy :)

Big thank you once again to Sam and Felix for supporting SI and of course for making this feature possible.

About the Studio

Founded in 2005 by British designer Sam O’Donahue and Becky Jones, Established is a full-service, boutique, creative agency based in New York that offers architectural, graphic and product design all under one roof.

establishednyc.com/