Got the hunger pangs?
19 December 2008
The Docklands area is constantly growing and evolving. With the O2 Arena about to open the DDDA foresee a huge influx of people into the area, so they needed to highlight the amenities that exist. With over forty restaurants, bars and cafes in the Docklands area already, we
devised an elegant brochure solution which provides a comprehensive list of what’s available and where.
This restaurant guide is designed to serve a dual purpose. In one version it is available as a stand-alone brochure, which folds into an unsual size conveniently fitting into pockets and wallets. It is also available as a functional A4 tear-away pad for use in hotels or in tourist offices. Employees can write on the map side of this pad to indicate different areas or locations for tourists. Our choice of colour palette is understated, mostly using soft pastel tones. Our layout primarily emphasises strong direct typography allowing the content to be easily read. There is an unusual, yet interesting, tension between the typography and colour scheme of this brochure, if we say so ourselves.
The benefits of this brochure, for residents and tourists alike, is that it provides a complete comprehensive reference to eating out and socialising in Docklands.
National Vehicle Standards
13 November 2008
We designed this publication for the Commission for Taxi Regulation, it outlines their recommendations for establishing national vehicle standards for small public service vehicles within Ireland. Our cover design uses icon-based illustrations to represent the various categories of standards which are being implemented and links back to the related consultation document that we designed in 2006. Complex information is presented in a manner that makes it accessible to all, with the aid of technical illustrations and typographic detail. This publication has been distributed to all SPSV licence holders and all relevant organisations and is available to the public from the offices of the Commission for Taxi Regulation, or as a download from their website.
Labels: Brand Communications | Taxi Regulator | State
Delta Index rebranding
05 November 2008
On foot of a comprehensive strategic review, Delta Index, an Irish financial spread betting company, has redefined and focused its business strategy and market positioning. We were contracted to make this new strategy tangible by evolving their brand identity. Our methodology was to analyse which aspects of their existing brand identity we should retain and which we needed to update. We also identified the need to develop a far more robust brand mark which would excel both in on-screen applications and in newsprint advertisements. As the majority of their business is now conducted online, and they advertise frequently in the financial pages.
Their new brand proposition aims to enable intelligent trading. That is to provide the tools and support that help online investors become more knowledgeable, skilled and successful. Accordingly, our refreshed brand mark replaces their existing all-capitals logotype with a more potent and contemporary typographic treatment. We elevated a rich blue colour, which already featured prominently within their existing identity system, into the brand mark proper. We evolved their two-arrows symbol, enhancing the arrows with a richer three-dimensional bevelled visual treatment. These arrows still serve a useful didactic role (your investments may go up or down). Their new treatment opens up many potential applications in online and mobile environments: where they can be used as buttons and icons. Our brand road-map envisages scenarios where Delta Index can make far more evocative and creative use of their new arrows symbol within their brand communications. We have established is a visual language for this brand that is insightful, fresh and innovative. We have also developed a comprehensive visual identity system that compliments their updated brand mark. Their new brand identity can be seen in their current above-the-line advertising campaign.
This revitalised brand identity benefits Delta Index because it more accurately reflects their business proposition and the corporate personality that they are proposing to their customers. It also positions them well to grow their business outside of Ireland and to present a broader scope of new product offerings to their customers.
Labels: Brand Identity | Delta Index | Financial
Aiden lectures at IADT
31 October 2008
For the third year running, Aiden has participated as a Guest Lecturer for the School of Creative Arts at the Institute of Art Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire. Aiden gave a presentation on corporate and brand identity to the third-year Visual Communication students at the beginning of their corporate identity design module in September. He returned four weeks later at the end of the module for the final critique and assessment of their identity projects. Gerard Fox Lecturer in Visual Communication said “Aiden’s critique and his informed perspective was most helpful for our students, and it was of great benefit for them to get a fresh viewpoint from a designer with such experience in this particular field”.
Labels: Consultancy and Research | Education
Grand Canal Square
16 October 2008
For Dublin Docklands Development Authority we created a hoarding design for Grand Canal Square that captures the excitement and spirit of what will become a vibrant and exciting public space in the heart of the Docklands.
Our colourful, vibrant hoarding design uses oversized, impactful typography and lively silhouettes to express the atmosphere of this square, which has already been home to street theatre and outdoor concerts.
Designed by the American Landscape Architect, Martha Schwartz, Grand Canal Square is the latest urban space in the Dublin's Docklands, a large open area that can host a variety of cultural activities, anything from music gigs to theatrical events and providing a unique urban environment to stroll through. The square itself will be flanked by the contemporary five star hotel (designed by Manual Aires Matue) and the Grand Canal Theatre (designed by Daniel Libeskind). While the building work is being carried out, a hoarding design was required to give passers by a flavour of how the square will be used in future times.
Our panels depict silhouettes of people from all ages. Families strolling through the space. A hive of street activity, from street performers to musicians and singers. We even featured business people passing by in a hurry to get to that all important meeting. Vibrant hues of reds, greens and blues were influenced directly from the square, the red glow sticks (dispersed throughout the square), green vegetation and finally the blue of the water. By overlapping and combining these three aspects of illustration, photography and colour, our hoarding conveys the hustle and bustle of Grand Canal Square in times to come.
