brand identity guide 路 june 2015 prepared by europa babbini
an introduction The client is the owner of a small but growing curio collection, with items ranging from skulls to shells. Keywords to describe the collection are: homegrown, curated, weathered, DIY. The primary target audience is anyone who takes an interest in natural sciences, antiquities and oddities, and generally obscure and/or dead things.
the objective Communicate a neo-scientific “curios for the masses� brand.
main logo The main logo is a type treatment. The typeface is a modified version of Museo Sans Condensed. The “de” is capitalized and “natura” is lowercase in order to differentiate the two words will still keeping them coupled. The “ra” ligature is unique to this brand.
Head: Museo Sans Condensed + modified ligature
Subhead: Perpetua Bold
displaying the leftovers of the world
Body: Perpetua Regular Would-be displays of naturalia must first be
the figures are based in function—to visualize
subjected to the tools of art and technology
the various structures of the human body.Yet, the
in order to enter the realm of aesthetics and
mode of presentation reconfigures the cadaver
become art themselves. As such, Wunderkammern
beyond a straight morphological study. He used
depended on an element of playfulness in order
contemporaneous technologies such as techniques
to maintain interest and prevent the object from
of the painterly method, the printing press and
becoming too functional. Fascination necessitates
exquisite woodcut detailing in order to amplify
a degree of exoticism or mystery for the creation
the results of his ongoing scientific investigation.
of intrigue. In this regard [Vesalius] established
The images explore the internal microcosm of the
his figures as spectacular in their own right to
human body, culminating in a didactic catalogue of
further the fascination of the reader. Admittedly,
die AlltagskĂśrperkammer.
type treatments The display type is a modified version of Museo Sans Condensed, 900 weight only. This type will be used for main headers only, such as the name of the collection or of an exhibit. While the ra ligature is not a standalone logo, it is a core identifying mark. Whenever possible, this ligature should be used in header text. Never use this ligature as the logomark, only within display text. Subhead typeface is Perpetua bold. All subhead copy should be lowercase only, no capital letters. Body text typeface is Perpetua regular. Body copy should ideally be 10/13, or at least with this ratio. Standard sentence case usage.
monkey’s hand red CMYK: 29, 100, 75, 30 RGB: 138, 43, 29
vortex black CMYK: 40, 40, 40, 100 RGB: 0, 0, 0
unicorn blue CMYK:84, 38, 14, 0 RGB: 10, 132, 180
color system Colors should be used very sparingly. The colors may be applied to the logo and other header and subheader text on items such as letterhead where no “natural” texture (see next section) is employed. Whites and blacks should be used in conjunction with the brand’s “natural” textures to avoid color conflict and to keep the focus on the texture.
“natural” textures A main visual theme for the brand is exaggerated macro texture of natural pieces. For example, taking a close-up of a shell’s pattern and altering the hues in an unnatural way. This abstraction of the specimen elevates the visual to an artistic level. This is important because exoticism and creativity of presentation is what separates a curio collection from a standard display. Modifying the colors to extremes adds a sense of modernity.