SHOWCASE
OBSERVATION
ORGANIC PALETTE NATURAL SKIN HANDY NATURE
ORGANIC DESIGNOLOGY PERFECT NATURAL SHAPES THE INDIGENOUS BRANDING
OrganicISM
05
9 772226 654008
ISSN 2226-6542
05
NO 05
OrganicISM
TREND-LEADING
Inaugurating the future narrative of brand values !
PUBLISHED BY Sendpoints Publishing Co., Ltd. PUBLISHER Lin Gengli CHIEF EDITOR Nicole Lu EDITED BY Editorial Department, BranD Magazine EXECUTIVE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ryan K.L. Jiang ART DIRECTOR Lin Shijian
2012 / Oct. ( ISSUE 05 )
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ISSN 2226-6542
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Editorial T he compelling visual elements and rules from the nature have taught us not only the way we understand the nature, but also the way we shape the human outputs. T he products we make, the machinery we produce, the way we interact, the way we consume and even the way we work creatively are inevitably connected with the organicity of our being in relation with the nature. T he universe evolves around a chaotic yet organic rule. As designers, we make things real; we make rules in the way people interact with visuals or other media. T herefore, we need to understand the way “natural” is interpreted in Design, creative methodology, art direction and even marketing. Notwithstanding that the brand designers are limited to a couple of media, brand designer are enabled of the chance to have the most direct interaction with the client and the consumer, as the key to bridge the organicity of brand values to the other end.
Ryan K. L. Jiang Executive Editor-in-chief
Committee
GERMAN DESIGN COUNCIL
PANTONE LLC ASIA PACIFIC
Rat für Formgebung | German Design Council
X-Rite/Asia Pacific 36/F, 169 Electric Road
Stiftung | Foundation
Hong Kong, China
Messeturm, Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 49
Tel: +852 25686283
60327 Frankfurt am Main
Fax: +852 28858610
Tel: +49 (0)69 74748639
www.pantone.com.hk
Oriental Motifs in Modern Design presents the motifs and patterns derived from the thousands of years of
Fax: +49 (0)69 74748619
development in Oriental culture. Each motif has its
www.german-design-council.de
unique meaning and origin as well as a great potential to be applied in modern design. The book introduces 27 traditional motifs divided into three categories, and modern design works inspired by oriental motifs. DVD-ROM that contains all the vector graphics introduced in this book is attached.
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CONTENTS
BRAND +
LIGHTBOX SYMBOLISM 12
OXYGEN IN THE PARK
16
FORMOSA ECOLOGY TEA GIFT SET
18
MOOMAH
74
COCONUT
75
FOUNDING FARMERS: TRUE FOOD & DRINKS
76
STOLL&STOLL - ALIMENTOS PREPARADOS
78
ROOTS – PLANT YOUR OWN
22
VERDARIUM
24
RICE GARDEN
TEXTURE
26
SOUNDWICH
82
FAT COW
28
THE MANCHESTER FOREST
84
RRRIOT SHOP
30
ROOTS SOAP CO.
88
FARMEX
32
M-IDEA FOREVER
90
KAI DASE VIOLINS
36
ALBERI MONUMENTALI – MONUMENTAL TREES
92
DÁVID PETRÓ
38
BREITENTHALER
94
LA CANYA
40
THE SUSSEX PRODUCE COMPANY
98
SELF PROMOTION
44
SAVON SU MIDI
102
WORM UND PARTNER
104
LA CABANE D’HENRI
COLOUR 48
ABOVE & BELOW
50
ADELA
52
LES STORE
54
PLANTED PLANT
56
HEIM
60
CATALAN WINES
64
SEMOLINA ORGANIC PASTA
66
EKSTRÖMS WILDBERRY SOUPS
68
WALNUT CREEK RANCH
70
JÓ ERIKA
72
KENNZUR URBAN SPA
108
NATURAL TEA
110
HERBARIUM. NATURAL FABRICS WEAR SHOP.
114
ALTUNA VIAJES
116
DELICATE MATERIAL
120
AMIO
122
JACU COFFEE ROASTERY
126
ODIN GROOMING ESSENTIAL KIT
130
ORGANIC PALETTE
144
NATURAL SKIN
156
HANDY NATURE
( SPOTLIGHT ) 168
ORGANIC DESIGNOLOGY
178
PERFECT NATURAL SHAPES
188
THE INDIGENOUS BRANDING
26
LIGHTBOX
28
24
INDEX 32
30
38
36 40
SYMBOLISM 18
76
54
12
44
16
72 70
22 52
66 50
COLOUR 64
75
48
T EXTURE
78
126
98 94
88
56 60
102
82
74
110
90 84
92
122
120
104
68 108
116 114
SYMBOLISM
OrganicISM
OXYGEN IN THE PARK Federica Marziale
Federica Marziale Studio
2012
During the first days of sunshine in Milan, walking with David Beltran, the Art Director of Oxygen, a Communication Agency based in Milan, the designer and David made an inspection of one of the most beautiful park in Milan: Sempione Park. A walk, a warm sun and some flowers ready to bloom... this was the moment when the idea of “Oxygen in the park” was born. The project’s primary aim is “back to the nature”. “Oxygen in the park” wants to attract people every Sunday in the park and wants to invite them to live in contact with nature by healthy activities: yoga, good music, picnic, sport and food. A hippy idea hides behind this concept: an idea of freedom in the respect of the nature. In a poetical vision: the idea of picking mushrooms in the woods, of eating flowers and of making love with nature. The design of “Oxygen in the park” identity wants to be a simple communication, warm and natural with contemporary-vintage savour. It’s a little message, an invitation to let oneself go and a suggestion to live healthy. The identity has involved the design of: image, logo, visit cards, opening invitation, free cards, tickets and clothes for picnic.
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FORMOSA ECOLOGY TEA GIFT SET Xinyu Zhang
Victor Branding Design Corp.
2012
The tea leaves are selected in a series of high-quality tea garden in Taiwan, which are fully grown and harvested, using the unique technology of professional tea baking masters; the taste is wonderful. On each of the tea packaging, there is an illustration of one endangered animal. During tasting the tea, people can recognize these beautiful animals. Many unique species disappeared because of human beings’ seizing their living space, because of the selfishness of them. When the silent voice roared, human beings should be humble to learn how to coexist with the ecological environment, so that each life could live peacefully in their space.
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MOOMAH Apartment One
The design team first looked to identify the essence of Moomah and simplified it into four core values: connect, create, discover, and
2010
nourish. They then developed a robust visual brand language that would convey those ideals,
When the design team first met with founder Tracey Stewart, she
designing variations of the logo with everyday
expressed a desire for Moomah to be a space that would encourage
objects that represented each value.
creativity and connection between parents, children, and friends, a place where imagination and wonder would feign. They sought
They pushed the boundaries of traditional
to develop an organic and dynamic brand language to translate
identity development by extending the brand’s
Tracey’s vision for a multigenerational collaborative space into a
identity beyond the logo and name and
memorable brand.
creating an ownable graphic vernacular that encapsulated the whimsy, wonder and heart of
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the brand.
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An Austrian environmental planning office fulfilled its dream by opening “the Verdarium“ in a little town near Vienna. The green oasis (3000 square meters) is an experimental garden and a place where completely weather-resistant furniture is
VERDARIUM Anouk Rehorek
moodley brand identity
sold. With a very subtle, atmospheric and, most importantly, individual design, the special character of the Verdarium has been captured and a logo which lives up to the
2009
expectations of the special place has been created. Clients are able to experience the atmosphere, materials and spacial reference for themselves. This experimental component was conveyed by creating a playful logo, the digitalisation of the customer’s handwriting.
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RICE GARDEN Guiping Xu
Victor Branding Design Corp.
2012
This project is inspired by a Taiwanese saying: dish cannot be good without a better bowl of rice. It not only reflects the eating state of the local people, but also expresses the native Taiwanese spirits. The design concept is simple and clear, to connect local food culture with seasonal vegetables.
The intimate relationship between rice and dish is united by depicting different seasonal vegetables in different months collaged with the image of rice in the calendar. This concept reminds people of the original food culture in Taiwan, the excellent taste of rice with dish.
present local Taiwanese family food specialties. The beautiful colours, wonderful smell and excellent taste of the rice with dish are all reflected in the images, which makes them irresistible for people.
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As for the visual images, the design team selects one seasonal vegetable each month, using family food idea, to fully
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SOUNDWICH Atelier Nunes e Pã
2012
“Soundwich”is a concept that mixes music and food, in the form of a sandwich created by seven renowned chefs from Porto. It is also a space where it can be experienced,
The sonority of the logo was achieved so that it resembles a vinyl record, and the entire graphic
a kind of escape from
image was created and developed to translate and enhance this concept. It evokes the feeling
everyday life, to be enjoyed
of chic, cool, nature, vintage and has a strong identification with the city where it’s in.
with cool music in the middle of the city park.
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THE MANCHESTER FOREST Teresa Sweeney
2012
A competition brief was given to Teresa Sweeney through her university to create, name and design branding for a museum of trees. She chose to bring the excitement of the countryside to the lives of busy city dwellers with “The Manchester Forest”, a place where families would be able to discover all of nature’s possibilities in the urban environment. She has created various promotional materials including business cards and poster designs, making the most of the beautiful organic patterns and textures typical of the subject. She has used delicate lines of detail to create a strong brand identity that would be suitable for a family audience and would be easily transferrable over a whole range of brand material.
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ROOTS SOAP CO. Darren Cools
Darren Cools Design
2011
Anna is a second generation soap maker, and she makes many different kinds of soaps as well as herbal salves and all natural laundry soap. Darren Cools, her husband helped design the soap branding. When setting out to brand Roots Soap Co, they wanted the packaging to reflect simplicity, tactility and natural values. They chose to print mostly on chipboard for its rough, textured look and feel, and it has the added benefit of repurposing a normally discarded product. The vision behind the design is rooted in the earth and nature, and takes its cue from a time when most OrganicISM
products were handmade and hand packaged, just like their soap. It was important to let the soap itself be the most striking thing in the presentation. Brown paper, simple, classic fonts and minimal embellishments help emphasize the natural beauty and quality of the product.
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THE SOLUTION The Carbon Concept contains and supports the brand values and can, on several different levels of abstraction, be used as the DNA and source of inspiration for the creation and evolution of the whole identity.
Under different influences from its surroundings, Carbon can take various physical forms, each of which possesses completely unique and diverse properties, although they are identical in their chemical composition. Looking at the raw graphite and polished diamond, it is fascinating to imagine that they are both composed of the element Carbon. Just like Carbon, the brand, M-IDEA FOREVER brand is characterised by its diversity. The new brand is based on a unique style composition, which mixes poetic Avant-Garde and functional Technology. Although it is very different, and sometimes even opposite, the two elements of M-IDEA FOREVER are tied. The black and soft Avant-Garde is expressed through the raw graphite. The bright and hard technology grows out of the polished diamond. The Carbon Concept unites them.
M-IDEA FOREVER Per Madsen, Line Arlander & Christian Steen Jørgensen
Scandinavian DesignLab
2011
THE TASK To create a visual identity for the new Chinese high-end men’s fashion brand, “M-IDEA FOREVER”, based on a strong concept, which expresses the brand’s two fundamental characteristics; Avant Garde and Technology.
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Apart from the fact that the element Carbon forms the basis of all known life on Earth, it is exceptionally because of its diversity.
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Anche loro hanno un’identità
www.alberimonumentali.it
ALBERI MONUMENTALI – MONUMENTAL TREES Paz Gutierrez & Giorgio Favotto
2012
Alberi Monumenatli – Monumental Trees is a project that creates the brand identity for the oldest trees found in the Italian territory. With the existence of numerous and unofficial sites, the purpose was to gather all this existing information about these trees and put it all into one project, one that establishes the identity of these extraordinary trees. The term “monumental” is used to describe a tree that is remarkably old, large in size or just simply very beautiful. The concept of the logo was inspired by the tree-rings, which help to determine the age of the tree. Along with the visual identity, an advertisement campaign was created, as well as the signage system. The signage system was one of the key elements of the project; the information panels for each individual tree provided all the relative information, such as the history and stats. The goal was not just to create a corporate identity, but the attempt to distinguish and “unearth” these remarkable creatures.
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BREITENTHALER Anouk Rehorek
moodley brand identity
2011
The Austrian company “Möbelbau Breitenthaler” stands for creative design combined with craftsmanship, for extreme aesthetic appeal and a true passion for materials, forms and colours. The result is timeless, beautiful furniture whose focus is always on the material: wood. With the renewed branding, moodley brand identity has set up a monument to this timeless material. It equally unifies all values described above what the company stands for.
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COMPANY Megan Young
2012
For her final project at University, Megan Young decided to combine her experience in branding with her interest in sustainable living and design practices. “The Sussex Produce Company� identity design project is based on a small restaurant and shop in Steyning, West Sussex. The produce in store and the menu operate on a seasonal basis; therefore, the packaging must be easily changed. Her branding uses paper bags, food wrap papers, stickers, tie-on labels and clip on signage so that everything is easy and cheap to change. The emphasis of the branding is to promote organic, locally grown and produced foods, seasonal eating which is sustainable, and to minimise packaging and cost. A selection of simple sticker labels means that a wide range of reused or recycled containers can be used, helping the shop to be more eco friendly. The flexibility of the packaging and labelling, and ability to easily amend the labels lowers the costs spent on printing and design, leaving the most money possible to be spent on the quality food products in store. Megan Young likes to work with handmade process, and combined mono-printing, screen printing and letterpress to create the aesthetic for this project. She feels that this hands-on less refined approach is very well suited to the aesthetic of the store and to their intentions.
OrganicISM
THE SUSSEX PRODUCE
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SAVON SU MIDI Carla Cascales Alimbau
CCA Studio
2012
This is a packaging, illustration and brand design for Savon du Midi. The packaging is made of recycled and recyclable natural products like craft paper for the box and printed with ecological ink, using only black colour. Each variety of soap has a different handmade illustration related with the natural ingredients of the soap. Savon du Midi is made of shea butter and certified organic vegetable oils. The fine blending of these oils creates its unique quality. None of them contain animal fat. The soap is manufactured in small factories with the knowledge handed down from generation to generation in Provence (France). The brand has the intention to transmit the simplicity of an organic product in order to highlight the natural qualities of the soap.
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COLOUR
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ABOVE & BELOW Joshua Middleditch
2012
Above & Below, a museum of trees, focus on engaging people mainly
Museo Sans is the brand typeface. It has a contemporary feel but also
aged between 16 to 25. The visual language applied is cotemporary but
possesses a natural, organic form to the letterforms.
accessible throughout the brand. The museum itself would be within a natural outdoor environment with one main building consisting of a shop,
All printed campaign material would be reproduced on recycled stock
cafe and information centre.
and substrates. Drafting paper and thick greyboard has been used to represent the contrast between the strong structure of the trees and the
Trees have a distinct anatomy that exists above and below the ground;
fragility of their leaves.
the logotype has been crafted to convey this structure. The logo’s graphic emblem is constructed from the cross section of a tree. This gives the type
The website reflects the Above & Below concept by enabling each section
grounding and provides a visual link between the two. A graphic pattern
to move into the window using up and down navigation.
has also been designed to take the above & below concept further by visually representing the anatomical similarity of tree roots and branches.
As part of the first campaign, posters would be wrapped around trees in
This pattern also helps to create an atmosphere of being surrounded by all
towns and cities; they would invite you to “Be a Tree Hugger” and also to
things tree-like.
download an app. This would extend the integrated campaign by enabling the use of phone cameras to take pictures of individual trees. This could
The brand itself has a unique colour palette that changes with the
then provide information such as what type of tree it is.
seasons, reflecting the colours of tree foliage. Campaign material would therefore change every three months; this would keep the brand fresh and seasonal.
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ADELA Luis Othón, Uri Wapinski, Rosario Meraz, Jose Angel Pérez & Alejandra Kawas
Adela
2012
The intention was to create a Mexican furniture brand starting from the branding process, followed by the business plan, development, product design, etc. If it is started with the development of a business from its image instead of first designing the product, a different approach could have been accomplished. In that way, the products could adapt to the brand’s visual language and maintain an interesting relationship between the products and the graphic design that surround them. The brand is inspired by some of the Mexican indigenous communities from the north of the country. Most of the imagery used is directly related to them. A symbol system, logo, and colour palette, along with its stationary and other selected items was developed, and at the end of the brand development, a simple item collection that involved a table, lamp and a floor cushion was designed.
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LES STORE Balykin Pavel
Playoff communication agency
2011
Les Store is a network of brick and mortar store handbags, accessories and leather goods and furs. The project is to develop a corporate identity including the modernization of the logo, design elements and systems stile modular solutions for interior and shops outlets.
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PLANTED PLANT Michal Doktorchik
2012
This is a “branding a festival” project that Michal Doktorchik did in a branding course at “Minshar
-A fabric bag that can be functional for many
for art” college. She came up with the idea of a “planting trees festival” in order to help and
uses. The bag is patterned with trees that can
recover the “Carmel” forest that damaged seriously in the Conflagration of 2010. His idea was
be found in the LOGO as well.
to raise the awareness of our beautiful nature by bringing a big amount of people to plant trees.
-A small shovel.
He gave the festival a name in Hebrew -“shtol shatil” which means “plant a plant”. It has a
-A pack of seeds. On the package you can find
catchy sound and meaning. As part of the branding, he designed a kit that was given to each
the name of the plant with a little illustration.
participant in the festival:
- A bulb of a plant wrapped with a green thin recycled paper. For each of the bulbs you can find a little label with the required information and the name of the plant in three languages: Latin, Arabic and Hebrew. For the lunch break each of the participants gets: - Set of environmental paper plates. - Cutlery that is wrapped by recycled paper.
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The brand is inspired from the mighty Alps through forms, colours, photo style and names. The language used is Norwegian Nynorsk,
HEIM Robert Austnes
which makes a difference compared to other brands in the same category. Every piece of the brand is numbered, and makes each piece a limited edition; the photos as well. Every tag
2011
is a part of a big picture from each area around Sunnmørsalpane. Heim is an urban clothing brand based on the Alps of Sunnmøre
Heim means home in Norwegian Nynorsk. With
(Sunnmørsalpane) and the colours and nature around it. From the
Heim, the design gives you a little bit of the
grey and white summits through the green forest, it stretches itself all
designer’s home, the beautiful Sunnmøre.
the way down to the blue fjords along the west coast of Norway.
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CATALAN WINES Gerard MarĂn & Iris Tarraga
toormix
2012
The branding, graphic and communication code are for a catalan wines promotion project for the domestic and international audience. The project was aimed to improve the consumption and the presence of the local OrganicISM
wines at catalan cellars and restaurants. The brand with 12 different variations (as many as wine designations of origin in Catalonia) and the synthetic graphic combined land, terroir and climate of the different D.O. through a graphical code different from that of the typical wine. Within the project, toormix worked on the brand extension for communication to the point of sale (restaurants and wineries), ads with opinion leaders quotes about catalan wines and the different support and merchandising materials.
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Doron Baduach
2011
The project consisted of a series of packages for a made-up pasta company called Semolina Organic Pasta. Semolina is the coarse, purified wheat middling of durum wheat used in making pasta. The graphic concept was to use as little tools as possible to create a lot of interest. Tried to use the pattern amongst other elements, all the prints were made using only one colour, along with the positive negative effect, to create a varied feel. As for the material, wise, recycled cardboard was used which is strong enough to contain the pasta; it has the textural organic character that I was looking for.
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SEMOLINA ORGANIC PASTA
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EKSTRÖMS WILDBERRY SOUPS Krister Lima
2012
This was a student project. Ekströms Wildberry
The shape of the package was also an important
Soups, whose current design was outdated
aspect for the final design. Again Krister wanted to give
and needed a new and fresh approach. The
the impression of homemade and organic. The shape
series contains of three different flavors:
he came up with was practical considering shipping
blueberry, raspberry and blackberry.
and displaying in the store shelves. It also gave the impression of the paper bags that mothers used to
From the start, he wanted a homemade and
pack her child’s lunch before he or she went off to
handmade feeling to the design. He wanted
school in the old days.
the new package to be more organic and down to earth, giving the package a more believable
The typography is also a key part of the main
and personal look. This was achieved by the
design. He wanted a font that gave the impression of
right use of paper, typography and shapes.
handmade and fun. The font he chose was fun and had beautiful curves to illustrate the movement for the
He wanted to clearly define and show the
hand.
difference between the different flavours that offered by showing a big picture in front of
Since a big part of the concept for the package was
the package. The water drop underneath the
organic thinking, he thought carefully on how he could
berries shows that by blending the powder with
make it more environmentally friendly. Compared to the
water, we get the final product, and in the end,
old packaging it uses, 33% less paper on the outside,
the water falls into the glass, ready to drink.
and the paper bags inside that contains the powder uses 50% less paper. This again helps the package to look and feel more organic and handmade. The feedback was very pleasant; people loved the overall look of the project.
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Caitlin Workman, Maggie Hirschi & Katie Mehan
OrganicISM
WALNUT CREEK RANCH 2010
This is a collaborative project resulting in an identity system and collateral work designed around a locally owned and operated ranch in Lawrence, Kansas, USA. Brand attributes include emphasis on authenticity and trustworthiness of natural foods. Their products include grass-fed beef, natural honey, and free-range chicken eggs with hopes of expanding to natural scrub and bath soaps. Operator, Tim Hamil, noted that their differentiation as a company included history of the property and ranch owners. He emphasized that the family history played a major role in his brand recognition because this created a relatable story to his customers. The ranch came to life through humorous imagery and playful copy to create an approachable and friendly brand.
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JĂ“ ERIKA Peter Muller
2012
The designer got the assignment from Erika Jo. Her identity is for handmade products. She loves nature and flowers, so she chose the tulip symbol.
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Vinicius Costa
COMMGROUP BRANDING
2012
The Kennzur, an urban spa in S達o Paulo city, Brazil, is recognized as an oasis in the metropolis. The project design and brand identity were created with the thought of a strong element that could communicate with the luxury market in an efficient and aesthetic way. All items of ID, signature elements, environmental and other materials such as gift card, were designed to bring one into contact with this brand identity, to a place of well-being and quality of life capable, and to communicate with every customer like an encapsulated time by this spirit of living well.
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KENNZUR URBAN SPA
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COCONUT Nguyen Tra
2012
White and dark brown was used to symbolize the coconut powder company in Vietnam. The main concept of this branding is to make people to recognize coconut easily. In the logo, circles with different weight lines were combined to create a coconut image.
Senior Account
FOUNDING FARMERS: TRUE FOOD & DRINKS Peter Verastegui Guasace
2012
Since September 2008, the award-winning Founding farmers has
began with a long process of brainstorming. Starting with the logo to the
been one of the country’s leading restaurants to offer farm-inspired
stationary, these had to suggest quality, especially the logo, because this
American true food and drinks in a modern, casual and eco-friendly
image was to reflect the company’s idea and vision of themselves which
setting. From their modern farmhouse, breakfast, lunch, dinner and
are independent of time, therefore not based on fashion or trends of the
brunch menus includes homemade and “scratch-made” traditional
moment. It should be memorable, simple and coherent. Peter approached
American classics inspired by the heartland & the American families.
it in a different manner. He was not supposed to have a preconceive notion of what the end result would look, instead the research that came
At the Corcoran College of Art & Design, the Identity project was a
with the design process would determine the end results, and indeed the
big project of the semester; the companies each student got were
final product came after many sketches and a long mood board.
already established but without a well resolved identity or brand. This project made emphasis in the design process from start to finish. Focusing in process made the students find that ideas that contained a visual statement were the most successful; the project
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STOLL&STOLL - ALIMENTOS PREPARADOS Caico de Paula, Cristian Zampieri & Caius Marcellus
095design
2010
“Simple” was the word that drove the concept ideas for this job. The whole project was based and developed on simple font
In 2009, Brazilian brothers Thiago and Leandro
families, geometrical forms and illustrations
Stoll decided to set up Stoll&Stoll, a frozen food
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to keep it easy to understand on a visual
boutique brand with a simple purpose: tasty
perspective. This “simple” concept provided
meals for those too busy to cook. From Brazilian
a happy and friendly way of communication
favourites, such as Feijoada and Meatloaf, to the
with customers, making use of clear and
world’s icon lasagne, ten dishes are now being
colourful icons to represent each principal
offered. All of them made with fresh ingredients,
ingredient from each dish. This also creates
some of which grew in the factory’s own garden,
a nice atmosphere when having a rich
re-enforcing the healthy and tasty philosophy.
flavoured, healthy and easy-to-cook meal.
Customers can buy these meals on their own store at the factory or at most Brazilian southern estates supermarkets.
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ROOTS – PLANT YOUR OWN Jodie Smith
2011
Roots is a “pack” for recent allotment members. It comes with a helpful booklet and bits and bobs. One of the main aspects is making it a family occasion; therefore, there is a kid’s pack
Inside each seed packet is a helpful note card that explains which months are best to sow and
inside too.
harvest depending on the seeds inside. It also
One of the main design features is how most of the elements are screen-printed. The box, bag,
Inside the kids packet is a tick list for children to
provides a helpful tip at the bottom.
seed packets and pegs have all been screen-printed onto the elements.
get involved with the planting and tick of all the seeds they have planted, some fun fact cards, stickers, poster and seeds. Two of the other items in the package are a calendar that can help the customer keep track of when they have planted the seeds and when to sow, harvest etc. and a tote bag. The customer can use it to carry home all the vegetables they have grown. OrganicISM
The package aims to get families excited about growing their own.
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TEX TURE
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FAT COW Gwen Chan & Bryan Lim
Foreign Policy Design Group
2012
Fat Cow is a beef restaurant employing the Japanese way of picking, cooking and serving beef. Drawing inspiration largely from the Japanese aesthetic, Wabi Sabi, with traits that include simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty and the appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes, wood is used primarily as the platform of this brand communication. The non-uniformity and texture suggest the Wabi Sabi beauty of imperfection. The mark and the searing on the wood are also reminiscence of the branding of cattle.
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RRRIOT SHOP Stefania Capellupo
2011
This project includes logo and stationery design for the shop Rrriot, located in Torino, Italy. Rrriot is a clothing shop, and an independent label. The owner Yoanna is a fashion designer. She designs and produces her fashion collection and she’s also constantly looking for unusual brand that sells in her shop. The logo represents a pair of scissors, related to the production of tailored clothes and wants to convey a retro but at the same time strong atmosphere, revolutionary as the name of the shop suggests.
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FARMEX PIOTR PODGORSKI
CREATIVE MASHUP
2011 current company status. Design for the project was inspired by mountains
and experience. Their main products are graves, interior elements
and raw nature of the stone. Various colours of the stone were transferred
and commercial construction stone parts. They operate in local and
into brand new colour scheme, based on shades of white, gray and pale
international markets, providing high quality services and products to
blue. New logo, website and stationery were in scope of the project.
differential customers. Reaching the point where FARMEX established
The concept included elegant, simple style and clear communication of
solid market position, they have requested to adjust their brand to
company values as tradition, precision and quality.
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FARMEX is a family stonemason company with over 25 years of history
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KAI DASE VIOLINS Matthew Melling
2012
Kai Dase Violins & The Strad Lounge is a small business in Nottingham, England. Kai handcrafts violins in his workshop upstairs whilst The Strad Lounge downstairs is used as a showroom for his completed instruments as well as a space for performing and learning, whether it be music, dance or art. It has even been used as a recording studio. The challenge here was to condense all this information into one identifiable mark, which successfully represents every aspect of the business. To do this, the designer used curly brackets, known in music as a brace. The brace signifies 2 or more parts of music to be played at once. He took this and created a container to fit the company name.
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DÁVID PETRÓ Boglárka Nádi
2011
The identity is for Dávid Petró, a book and paper restorer in Sopron, Hungary. The goal of the project was to couple the friendly atmosphere of the small manufacture stylishly with classic and cleared shapes, in order to satisfy a wide range of audience, by taking into account the tight budget of the client.
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In the case of the business cards, they ended up printing one side of them and stamping the other one by hand. It allowed a smaller type size for the contact details (more legible too) and it was so much easier to have the cards cut by someone else. The same philosophy applies to almost everything. They did the lamps with wood from fruit boxes and wood leftovers from the walls. They also got the neighbourhood involved since the opening and asked them to bring old books with them.
LA CANYA Sergio Mendoza
Sergio Mendoza Studio
2012
The design team did all the woodwork and kept it simple and friendly. The same idea was applied to the branding and all that is printed. They designed a system and a “set of tools� to use, so everything is actually co-produced by the staff.
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SELF PROMOTION Ida Louise Andersen
2012
In this self promotion project in college, Ida started with thinking of how she wanted to present herself, what she stands for and who she is as a designer. She wanted every little detail to be representative of who she is. She wanted to do something different and interesting, so she decided not only design her business cards, but also the A2 portfolio for her project, A3 suitcase for her sketchbooks and a net for packaging dummies. Ida appreciates good handcraft. This is something that seems to easily be forgotten in the digital world that we now live in. She wanted to use the old techniques in combination with a modern and playful
Why the unicorn
expression that shows her personality in the best way. She therefore
Ida has been told that her work capacity is like a farm horse. As she sees the farm horse dark brown
chose the Universal font which is a tall san serif font in contrast with
or black, it stamps in the mud and does the same thing every day. The unicorn on the other hand has
ITC Cheltham which is very nice and soft serif font. She used wood,
the power of the horse. The mane and the tale have shapes like flames to empower it even more. The
matt uncoated yellowish paper, leather and steel as materials. She
unicorn is unique and strong and represents something magical. Ida wants people to wonder why she
applied bold colour to give it a playful feel and the steel to make it
chose the unicorn, and through that, to add some mystery and humour to her choice.
more rustic.
Why the symbols
Ida has used 4 symbols throughout her profile. They stand good where the unicorn is not used and they build good patterns. They also make it easier to remember the qualities and values she stands for. The star stands for quality; smiley stands for humour, lightning stands for will power and hart stands for passion for the work.
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WORM UND PARTNER Raffael Stüken
Büro für Grafik Design
2010
The expertise of insurance brokers “Maklersozietät Worm und Partner” focuses on providing personal insurances. In order to gain a more concise public presence, a new corporate design was created, which is based on a flexible word mark and an emotionally appealing world of imagery. Tree barks serve as a metaphor for the difficult terrain of the world of insurances. Connecting lines visualizes the brokers’ daily work: the professional comparison of complex insurance-products.
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LA CABANE D’HENRI Marie-Laurence Carrière
2012
La Cabane d’Henri is a Bed & Breakfast, located next to the Bic National Park, Quebec. It has a very unique cachet with beautiful rough woodwork. When the designer first started working on this project, it was essential to create a brand that would express the Inn’s hearty side. When he was looking for some typography and materials, he needed to find something that represented the structure and identity of the hotel. The idea of using wood became an important part of his work, so he used this material for the identity cards, menus, keys and coasters. When it was time to create a publicity campaign, he had the idea of using pictures of different famous personalities named Henri on the posters and postal cards. He liked the idea of mixing photos and paintings from different times. It was really important to create a brand with a multi platform consistency.
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NATURAL TEA Riska Tiofani
RiskaTiofani Design
2010
This Natural Tea Packaging Project is actually one of Riska Tiofani’s compulsory school projects. Basically, the project was about creating an eco-friendly and sustainable packaging that was made to support our global warming prevention issue that happened recently. That’s why in this project, Riska decided to use natural materials in each of layer of the packaging.
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In this project, she came out with a tea packaging set which consists of 3 different sizes tea boxes. Two of them were designed for loose leaves tea and another one was designed for potbags tea. All the materials that she used were 99% environmentalfriendly, started from the primary packaging to the secondary packaging. The primary packaging were made from organic gunny that would keep the loose leaves tea dry, while the secondary packaging were made from recycled board and paper which was very sustainable and environmental friendly too. The boxes were designed to be user-friendly as well. It’s easy to open and reusable.
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HERBARIUM. NATURAL FABRICS WEAR SHOP. Artem Maslov
2012 Herbarium is a natural fabric women’s clothing shop. Those fabrics are mainly made from linen, cotton, wool clothes (and leather too). There are young unknown designer’s works in it. You can see herbarium-dresses on the walls, which is the conception idea for this shop. All purchases here are packed with special textured craft paper or put in craft pocket.
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Firm style constants: self made font
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ALTUNA VIAJES Ezequiel Norry & Juan Pablo Bustos Peralta
ESTUDIO TRICOTA
2012
This Identity trademark design was created for a tourism agency from Nogoyá, Entre Ríos, Argentina. The client’s instructions were to achieve an aesthetic identity which looked classic and formal. The first stage of the process was the “naming” phase, in which, conjointly with the client, the designers chose to associate his surname to the concept of reliability. At the same time, they developed a solid concept on which they could base the design, since this allows for a more fluent relationship between the design and what it communicates. Considering these premises, they aimed at economizing resources and maximizing their utility. After a process of experimentation and concept development, the designers believe that the typographic type choice for the make was sensible and accurate. After that, they wanted to play with the contrast between a rustic material as support and a copper-coloured ink as the principal tint in the palette. This combination results in a sober and elegant piece of design. -114-
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DELICATE MATERIAL Oleg Babich
Babich Design and Branding
2011
Delicate Material is a handmade soap produced in a private workshop and distributed all over the world. Natural ingredients and handwork, everything in harmony, Delicate Material is nature itself. Therefore, the primary metaphor of the brand is the elements of nature: air, water, earth and fire. The elements communicate with us through invisible, ephemeral channels, our sensations. What is a world of sensations? Ether, a delicate material fills the world.
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AMIO Praefa Uennatornwaranggoon
Sai Uennatornwaranggoon
2012
The brief was to create a complete brand identity from a logo to brand publications. AMIO is a Maori word meaning to travel and to roam around which was inspired by Hannah’s travels. The concept is to create a simple identity which reflects on the brand and the clothing itself. Sustainability is also another major factor included while the line was designed. The brand’s target audience is people who enjoy the outdoors and backpacking. The identity was inspired by patterns often seen used by the Maori tribes of New Zealand and also the fact that a lot of Hannah’s garments are multi-functional.
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JACU COFFEE ROASTERY Tom Emil Olsen
Havnevik Advertising Agency
2012
The Jacu bird lives in South America and is known for something quite extraordinary. It flies from one coffee plantation to another and picks and eats the tastiest coffee cherries. The fruit makes its way through the bird’s digestive system, and the seeds of the fruit, coffee beans, come out perfectly processed. These coffee beans are among the most exclusive in the world. This story has inspired the deisgners, and the bird has lent its name to the new micro-roastery in Ålesund, Norway. Jacu Coffee Roastery was established in 2011. Like the Jacu bird, they pick and roast only the best beans. They look for great plantations, optimal processing and the roasting profiles which will make the most out of each bean. They work with passion, patience, and without compromise.
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ODIN GROOMING ESSENTIAL KIT Giang Nguyen
2012
This is a student project to create an identity & packaging design for ODIN, a company producing and retailing men’s grooming supplies & skincare. The brand targets contemporary, young and dandy gentlemen. ODIN promotes the qualities: gentlemanly, wise and poetic. It is classic but not ritual, old-school but not hipster-like, fashionable but not fancy, refined but not luxurious. The design solution has the look and feel of old apothecary sold by sailors at the port in the old world. The packaging design aims to promote that ODIN’s products are naturally made, hand-made and finely-crafted, limited & made to order rather than commodities industrially mass-produced.
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G R O
N I C A
Organic style is a nod to the stability of nature. It is an appreciation for the calm persistent attitude of nature, one that is comfortable with itself, with its ease of steady growth and of the balance of rebirth and death. Organic style is a reflection of our attraction to not only the stability of nature, but its ability to carry forward no matter what the weather brings. It is also a sign of our current distain for excess. We don’t need flash right now, nor can we afford it. We seek comfort in what we have, that it may carry us to the next stepping-stone, wherever it may be. We frown upon excess as it signifies greed, creates jealousy and portrays injustice. Excess is the imbalance of capital in a time when people crave harmony. In nature, we find that no one tree is greedier for sunlight than another, but natural organisms create symbiotic relationships with one another so that they all may thrive. Particularly in our capitalistic economy, a dog-eatdog society where individualism reigns, we are seeing a desire for community, to triumph as a whole, and we can
perceive this attitude in the clothing we buy, labels on the beer we drink, and paint on the cars we drive.
E
answer. There is no specific property that renders an individual colour as organic. On the other hand, we might deem every colour to be organic, as each is our perception of a wavelength of light born in the natural, physical world. Reception of light through the eyes, and its translation by our brain to what we describe as colour is an organic process. How, then, can we proclaim one colour to be more organic than another? Perhaps it lies in the process of colour-making, in the origins of colours. We are more likely to find an organic palette in colours that are made from organic materials, such as purple which comes from the mucus secreted by a Mediterranean snail, or the blue dye that is produced from the leaves of the woad plant.
Whether a colour originates from an organic process or not, its organic nature ultimately resides in our perception and association with it. A shade of green may make one person recall their experiences as a boy at By Jordan Shevell, American Graphic Designer
summer camp in the middle of wilderness. It may be the shade of pine trees, and the perception of that colour brings fourth memories of moose, canoe trips and campfires. Add browns to the palette and his memory may be enhanced to recall the dirt that got under his fingernails while pitching his tent, or the kindling he collected to build a fire.
We are in a time of recession, an era of uncertainty toward our future. We seek out comforts that remind us that everything is ok, even if it isn’t. Our attitude and desire for comfort is reflected in the colours we surround ourselves with, the colours we make, and the colours we buy. Colour is one of the many tools we use to understand the natural world around us. It is a tool that gives brands an opportunity to communicate a message about themselves to their consumers based on the experiences people share with colour. We can see distinct colour trends in fashion, art and brand design; we can even witness these colours in the new drinks that Starbucks puts out. We are in the midst of an organic style both in colour and lifestyle.
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That same shade of green might mean something different all together for someone else. Perhaps it is the colour of a car that broke down in the middle of a family road trip, thus becoming a colour of distrust and unreliability for the driver who had to wait hours without air conditioning for AAA to arrive. For someone else that very same green might conjure the smell of crayon wax along with memories of colouring in the lines of her Disney colouring book. Though the sense of smell is much more visceral in that it can transport you to a different time and place, we create association with colour in much the same way. Colour therefore holds its meaning in subjective experience and its meaning varies and is created by the individual.
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P A L
T T
E
What is organic palette? It is not a question with a black-and-white
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I’d like to take this moment to discuss the difference between the current trend of organic style and
Can we then define a palette of colour as being organic,
“going green”. Organic colours have been trending increasingly since the early 2000’s, contrasted
even though the nature of its meaning lies so much
by the vibrating pastels, acids and neon colour palettes of the 80’s and 90’s. The green movement is
in the eye of the beholder? As human beings we share
another term for environmentalism, a movement rooted in American transcendental philosophy that
many commonalities in our experiences. We share the
dates to the 1840’s. Hippies and Richard Nixon’s administration largely popularized it in the 1970’s
same sky over our heads, rejoice in the warmth of fire, and
and 80’s, and the ideology continues to integrate itself in current business practices. The movement
walk on the same earth. Though we experience our world
has since evolved from uniquely the conservation of nature, to prompting individuals and corporations
as individuals, many of its characteristics hold meaning that
alike to make eco-friendly decisions about their practices, such as recycling, keeping toxins and chemical
has ancestral roots. Sky blue gives us a sense of tranquillity;
enhancements out of our food and water, and keeping hazardous waste out of landfills and oceans.
imagine a time when pillaging, war, hunger and disease were more abundant than iPhones, and making it through to the next
Organic style and environmentalism are separate topics, but they do influence one another. We have been
day was not as certain as the rising sun. Seeing the blue sky of a
challenged by many catastrophic events since 2000, such as 9/11, major natural disasters, climate change,
new day would have been relieving, even rewarding.
global warming, and war. More and more people are concerning themselves with living more efficiently: Whether our psychological responses to colour have been carried on through our biological makeup or traditions in design is almost irrelevant. It boils down to a question of the chicken and the egg, of nature versus nurture. What matters is that we do have
driving hybrid cars, growing gardens, recycling and compost, engaging in more eco-friendly behaviour. In a consumer-driven economy where the consumers are going green, the sellers must follow suit if they intend on staying in business. It makes sense to use colours that reflect and communicate messages that speak the visual language of our time.
specific associations with colour that evolve with our experiences and impact our lives on a daily basis. Think of yellow signs on the road that warn us of possible dangers, or the poster red that has us salivating for fast-food. Perhaps our association between red and food stems from medieval pleasures of roasting a pig over the red ambers of a fire, or comes more simply from the individual experience of a good burger at McDonalds.
from communal to national, all the way to associations we share as members of the human race. Red is a colour that adds humanity to a palette because we all share the same colour of blood, yet its combination with white and blue becomes distinctly American. Despite these many differences in colour association across people and cultures, the palette of colours we find in nature has many similarities that we can relate to as creatures of the
Like all languages, colour has different meanings across cultures. Colour combinations and their associations are strongly tied to local traditions and ideologies. Where black and red can have passionate, sexual, even ominous connotations in North America, it stands for happiness in China, making it a popular palette for their wedding invitations. Brands and designers must be attentive to the impact of colours and their meaning across cultures, as people will respond differently to colour choices made for logos, product design, packaging and advertising.
Earth. We find grass and leave greens in vegetation, blues and blue-greens in the sky, rivers and oceans, yellow in the light of the sun and its violet complement in the night sky. We find neutral reds, oranges and yellows in the browns of soil, wood and the comfort of shelter. Bright colours may warn us of a venomous creature, a poisonous plant, but they also help a cardinal stand-out against the foliage to attract his mate, and a bee to find its nectar (which in return
We have explored the similarities and differences in the relationships we have with colour, the evolution of colour over time and culture, and have looked at possible origins of colour meaning. Understanding how to manipulate and implement colour to convey a specific or branded message takes a lifetime of practice, study and responsibility. It is important to speak truthfully through the voice of colour, the same way we must communicate advertising messages. Consumers may not analyze the reasons behind the use
allows the flower to pollinate).
of a certain palette in design, but they can tell the difference when a brand’s promise cannot follow through. Colour is a powerful tool that can make or break a brand, so know your market, do your research, and choose your colours wisely.
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The scope of colour association lies on a continuum from the individual to familial;
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INTERVIEW WITH YURKO GUTSULYAK Designer of “Design shop oooo.com.ua”
––– What is organic palette in your opinion? Where is it from? –––
DESIGN SHOP O O O O . C O M . U A
When we speak about organic palette, one should not imply the colour scheme only, but also a set of the materials and visual images. This is everything related to the pure innocent nature and individual products of civilization that have natural origin and are visually perceived as natural. Today the organic trend has got clearly shaped and quite well-known all over the world (in the countries with absolutely different level of economic advancement) and is easily read and understood by a wide circle of consumers. The organic palette is defined by the following components: 1. Colours. All the shades of green and brown, as well as white colour. The colour scheme can also be supplemented by
oooo.com.ua is launched to make things for private connoisseurs of design highlights, for home use, something that you could get for yourself or as a gift, in a word, for people.
other colours that are present in the traditional European nature (not the tropical one), for instance, sky blue,
At the beginning, it was essential to c reate a graphically simple name that is easy to read (first of all, visually) and quick to remember. It is all about the way a certain name looks, not the way it sounds. The name itself defines the project’s Internet address which should be conveyed to the target audience as simply as possible. It should be also equally perceived in Roman and Cyrillic fonts as well as graphic language.
wood, hemp twine and ceramics. Sometimes other materials can be used, such as leather, glass, stone, etc.
cherry colour, black, sunglow yellow etc. 2. Materials. Craft paper, recycled paper, brown cardboard, corrugated fibreboard, cotton fabric, linen fabric, sacking,
Grass, tree, green leaf; a landscape with a lawn, pond, river, forest or mountains; clear blue sky, white clouds; birds, animals and insects (non-exotic) in their traditional environment; images that represent handicraft; various products made of mentioned materials. The whole variety of the natural textures can also be applied. Organic palette is closely related to the ecological palette and craft palette. Very often they can be so similar that one can easily take one for another. All of them have a similar origin and similar or identical attributes.
So, the design team came up with oooo.com.ua name, where “O” is an object, a fascination and a display of emotion, and finally it’s a round or a circle which is one of the simplest basic figures. It is a constant basis for an infinite number of developments in absolutely all spheres of design. One of the main components of the oooo.com.ua identification appears to be an original decorative font designed specifically for this project. They called it Gerdan as each letter looks like small beads that decorate, and even emphasize a connection between contemporary design and traditional Ukrainian arts and crafts. Gerdan is a beaded necklace in a form of a narrow strip made of coloured beads that are strung on a beading thread or hair base. They create colourful geometrical ornaments.
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3. Visual images.
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––– What should a designer take into account when he/she applies organic palette in his/her design? ––– First of all, a designer must realize the task that is in front of him and answer the following questions: -How unique and individual, or typical and mainstream the design project should be? -How important the organic trend is for the target audience of the project?
using organic palette in brand design? –––
-Is the brand for which the design is created really aimed at conveying the idea of Organicity and organic values?
The major advantage is that the organic trend
-What physical products the design will be applied to and what are the
is well-known and positively perceived by the
technological possibilities to manufacture these products?
consumer. Besides, there are a lot of people and organizations that are ready to suppor t and promote this trend. This is one of the no-lose
––– What kind of implication can organic palette bring? Is there any help
strategies in the brand design. The disadvantage is
with the realization of brand values? –––
that the organic palette is quite limited and all the possible attribute combinations are used up. As a
Organic palette is used too frequently. Sometimes it is a success,
result, most of the design projects in the organic
sometimes not. The consumer very categorically interprets organic palette
trend resemble each other very much, and the brand
and it contains a set of clear promises. Therefore, organic brand obtains
individuality is lost.
absolutely specific values that must be proved by it in the future. But very often it becomes a profiteering tool and designers and producers abuse the consumer’s trust. That’s why the organic palette could be both helpful and
––– How can organic palette impact on consumers
harmful for the brand.
psychologically? ––– ––– What are the industries that you think are suitable for organic-
Organic palette has a great influence on the modern
palette branding? –––
consumer. People have got tired and disappointed
––– What colours do your use in your project “Design shop oooo.com.ua” and any reasons for those preferences? –––
with low-quality artificial products that are all As a creative person, I can imagine organic palette to be applied
around them and being stubbornly imposed by the
As I’ve already mentioned, organic palette is tightly related with the craft
in all areas without exception, even in the space weapons industry
corporations. People are in need of a psychological
and ecological palettes and all of them have the same or similar attributes.
or in a gay club. But the vast majority of people are not ready for
rest from the fake plastic environment pressure,
When making the identity of the Design Store oooo.com.ua, we rather
such radical rethinking of the world. Traditionally, the organic
as well as a return of their belief in the real price
used craft palette. I had the aim of creating a light, clear, commercial style
palette is applied in the production of food, household items,
and value of the things they are consuming and in
that would be reasonably trendy. I used the white and brown colours from
baby products, cosmetics, clothes, footwear and accessories.
themselves. People seek for values rethinking and
the organic palette as well as craft paper, recycled paper and corrugated
The organic palette is less frequently used in customer service
the new direction for development. And this is what
fibreboard. Orange and blue colours are also specific to the organic
industry.
the organic culture industry promises.
palette; however, they are not the determinant ones.
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––– What are the advantage and disadvantage of
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INTERVIEW WITH HEIDI ADAMS Designer of “Grove Market”
––– What is organic palette in your opinion? Where is it from? ––– An organic palette derives its colours from nature. Nature offers a plethora of colour variations that could be perceived as organic, but it’s the most common colours in nature that we typically think of as organic are browns, neutrals, greens and earthy tones.
––– What are the advantage and disadvantage
with rural farmers and merchants to facilitate
when using organic palette in brand design? –––
cultural exchange, resulting in a strong community If what you are branding has a strong tie to nature, then
that is more aware of Raleigh’s agricultural past
an organic palette becomes both fitting and inviting. It
and urban future. The packaging of this market
connects your product or service to your reputation. On a
was a reflection of the market’s values, as well as
more general scale, organic palettes tend to take on a more timeless feel because nature has been and will continue to
its modular structure and logo. In order to address
be a source of inspiration for designers. A disadvantage
the identity of the market, as well as the identities
would be that due to the palette, there is a fear of colours
of merchants, a system of tags and stickers was
and type blending together and losing the “eye-catching”
developed to be applicable to a range of products
quality often utilized to market a product, which is why in
from gift items to lunch carry-outs. The stickers
our design we developed strong, specific guidelines to our brand to reinforce elements not getting lost or blending in.
and tags were dominated by taglines of the market based upon the word “at”, such as “Bustlin AT the
––– What are the industries that you think are
crack of dawn”. The “at” emphasis distinguishes
suitable for organic-palette branding? –––
the market as a destination, while the variety of taglines portray the personality of the market,
The obvious are food related markets such as restaurants.
helping Raleigh citizens to understand the concept
Depending on what is (being) branded and its context, an organic palette could be the right pick for a variety of
of a public indoor market. The brown paper and
brands. It is more important to consider the history and
primary brown ink used reflect the food’s origins,
relevance of each brand on a case by case basis: Does an
bringing a raw, unprocessed feel to the market,
organic palette help tell this brands story?
supporting an understanding and appreciation of locally grown food.
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OrganicISM
Grove strives to bring together urban consumers
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––– How can organic palette impact on consumers psychologically? ––– I think there is a part of each of us that resonates with nature and it’s that common inspiration that warms (“warms us to an organic palette...” or “draws
––– What colours did your use in your project “Grove Market Identity” and any reasons for those
us to an organic palette…”) to an organic palette.
preferences? –––
It seems honest and natural, beautiful without flaunting. Our goal in branding with organic
For the Grove Market, we combined prominent use of a dark chocolate brown with supporting
palettes, and taking advantage of what it lends
earthy tones with a bright pop teal colour. We also used Kraft paper in a lot of our materials. We chose this palette to support the core values of the market; we wanted it to feel home-grown, organic
were assured of a quality product via a personal
and fresh but we brought in the pop of teal to show the juxtaposition of returning to older methods
interaction. The emotional connection we sought to
of buying foods but appealing to today’s generation and desire for fresh food where the process of
establish was inviting and personal.
buying food is a delightful experience and not a chore. It was important for us to know the Grove’s application. Knowing that we wanted a publication, yet needed signage to attract attention in some areas more than others, we needed a softer colour, like the chocolate brown, to be a bit warmer than
––– What should a designer take into account when
just setting our entire publication in black, while the teal warmed easily on the Kraft paper, yet
he/she applies organic palette in his/her design? –––
stood out on signage.
A designer should take into account the story of the brand they are telling. What are the contexts? How will people interact with the brand? What is the mission? And then how can colour palettes help tell this story. It is always valuable to perform case studies. This project was designed and researched specifically for downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, which informed many of our decisions in the system design of our branding as well as the physical product.
––– What kind of implication can organic palette bring? Is there any help with the realization of brand values? ––– Any palette will bring implications and undertones to the people who interact with the brand. The way that a colour palette is applied will determine how someone is influenced by the palette and if it aligns with the rest of the brand. When done right, it should reinforce the core values of a brand. -140-
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itself to, was to resonate with our patrons that they
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PHILIPPE GUIGNARD Designed by Emilie Mattille, >moser
Philippe Guignard is a creative and enthusiastic Master pastry cook, a model of the highest demands in the perpetual quest for perfection. He is noble-hearted, an authentic lover of OrganicISM
flavours and local produce, he defends high human values and has accumulated an exceptional body of experience. Having opened his first bakery-confectionery shop in 1989 at the age of 26, he today heads a vast company and holds the fate of several hotels and restaurants in his hands. After having selected >moser to create an identity for his new fast-food outlet in Lausanne, Philippe Guignard finally completely revamped his branding system and the overall image.
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Materials directly from nature without over treatment, though rough, give a feeling of simplicity and sincerity and what’s more, give the consumer emotion experiences. We have a close relationship with our mother nature who provides what we rely on to live since the very moment we came to the world. Nature is a great source of fun, especially to kids. Many of you must have played with sand when you were in your childhood. A shovel in hand, a few hours, one afternoon, or even the whole day, that is a great experience. We might say that the “sand” is a code, which could evoke our memory of nature. Organic material in some sense works just like the “sand”, which can touch the consumer’s heart by calling back we have established a deep attachment with the nature.
Apart from the emotion experience, some other advantages of organic materials can also account for the popularity of organic packaging: Eco-friendly: Organic materials come from nature, unprocessed and untreated; therefore, they are degradable and renewable, which are environment-friendly. Organic aesthetic: Organic materials are natural, simple, original and unique that are pretty different from plastic packages with pompous appearance that can be copied. They cater to people’s visual desire and sought to be one of the standard of aesthetic in packaging. Low cost: Compared with other materials like plastics, organic materials, in most of the times, can lower the budget in a lot of ways.
Organic materials are commonly seen in some industries like foods, fashion and cosmetics. Even though there is no boundary for organic material utilization and all the organic materials, the same, give us feelings of nature, safety, healthy or the like, some brands show preference to a certain material. Take the example of “Mediterra”, a homemade brand, sackcloth bags, cardboard and brown newsprint With the rapid development of packaging technology, the number and the style of commodity package are increasing
paper are used to emphasize its local origin and high quality; while “Maori Exotic
day by day. In recent years, however, modern package brings forth different kinds of safety issues while we are immersed
Deli” takes Maori bamboo-woven container as its package, with which these two
in tons of fancy packages. Designers in the graphic design world begin to ponder for a solution, and the solution is
packaging are endowed with their regional cultures.
packaging with organic materials. Utilizing organic materials for package not only meets the requirements of What is organic material? Accroding to Sai Uennatornwaranggoon, organic material is “retrieved from a natural source
consumers’ pursuit of green and organic life, but also helps the brand promote
with the capability to compost”. There are various kinds of materials that could be used in package design, such as
its image and brand values, increasing brand’s market share and winning more
bamboo, textiles, wood, unbleached paper, stone, coconut shell, dried gourds, luffa and grasses.
customers and benefits.
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NATURAL SKIN
the past memory. It is probable that there is no gap between the nature and us, or
Cipmann was asked to create the visual identity and packaging for the homemade honey and honey-based products that would emphasize their local origin and high quality. The designers came up with the brand name, Mediterra (“med” is Croatian word for honey, and “terra” is Latin for land, earth) and the identity that evokes natural balance and puts the bee in the primary focus. The package design is inspired by traditional jars of homemade food which were extremely simple and had just a name sticker on them. The label on the jar is as simple as it can get. If we were to remove just one more element, it wouldn’t function any more. The colour of the honey is actually the primary differentiator between the products, as it was in the old days. The designers think that the unobtrusive label lets the rich colour of the honey speak for itself. And it speaks volumes. The jar also contains a coaster doubling as a business card, situated under the jar’s “cap”, so the jar doesn’t stick to the surface.
MEDITERRA
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INTERVIEW WITH CIPMANN Design studio of “Mediterra”
––– Is the package locally resourced? Where is its origin? ––– Ye s, the packaging for Me diterra honey products is in its majority locally resourced. The glass jars and bottles have been acquired at the local shop, as well as the sackcloth, the cardboard coaster and brown newsprint from the local print shop. When we say local, we mean Rijeka, Croatia. The only thing ordered from abroad is the green labels (Fasson Pastel Offset Green).
––– “Terra”is Latin for land, earth. How did
––– What’s organic material? What organic
––– Some said packaging should go organic
you convey “terra” through the material? –––
materials did you use in the packaging? How
in shape and form, and more importantly, in
do they help to present an organic look? –––
concept. How do you achieve that in terms of
The spirit of “terra” is conveyed through the
material? –––
colour of the label and the tactile sensation of sackcloth, newsprint and cardboard, as well as their colour. However, the main role in the packaging is played by the honey itself. unobtrusive, it puts the organic honey in the primary focus, as one of nature’s most valued nectars. The full name, Mediterra, also refers to the origin of the product, Mediterranean, and the word “med” stands for honey in Croatian.
In Cipmann, we believe that concept for the
manufactured from natural elements in the way
design should be based on the product/service
that has least harm to the environment, or are
that needs to be communicated and presented
recycled. The organic materials we used in this
in its true light. In this case, we had a homemade
packaging are sackcloth bags, cardboard and
and home-grown product and made it in a way
brown newsprint paper. They add to the organic
dictated the materials that were used for its
look with their colour, texture and origin. But,
packaging. We were also inspired by the old ways
as we have already mentioned, the most organic
of food storage which were practically clear jars
material of this packaging is the honey itself.
and a sticker with a handwritten name on it.
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Since the design of the packaging is extremely
The way we see it, organic mater ials are
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MAORI EXOTIC DELI Designed by CEDRIK FERRER
Based on the native culture of the Maori people from New Zealand, this exotic deli is owned by a modern Maori family who imports local delicacies globally, where the profit helps preserve the marine environment in New Zealand. As part of their life and values, the preservation of the environment is very
ORGANIC
significant to the Maori culture. This deli not only offers a variety of products produced
MUSHROOM
naturally and earth-friendly, but also uses packaging and branding materials that pertain
Designed by Ruby Lim OrganicISM
to their values and standards. The de sign object ive is to create a new brand identity and packaging design that communicates a unique story, character and inspiration from the Maori culture, and to
The “Organic Mushroom” is uniquely designed
successfully incorporate a modern and good
with the type of material used. Bringing the
design with the tribe concept and natural
vision of organically born, it is suitable for the
materials. The designer wanted to go into a
eco-friendly environment with some usage
different direction from the tribal tattoo and
from the packaging itself. The concept is to
face sculpture design solutions. So, inspiration
bring the essence of nature. Ruby Lim came
was taken mainly from the very own design
out with three shapes of packaging, which also
techniques of patterns, handicraft materials,
differentiate three types of mushrooms. It is all
organic texture, and the colours of the Maori
finely hand-made packaging using a material
sculptures.
called “luffa”, tied with raffia strings while using recycled wood box as its display box. Besides, to suit up it’s wholly organic born mushroom, the packaging itself is reusable as a bath or kitchen sponge. Moreover, Ruby Lim has also created a fabric tag to support the organic foods while keeping the environmental friendly awareness.
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LoKal contacted Camilo Rojas to create their brand identity and collateral material for their first restaurant. LOKAL (n.) is a German word for meeting place, restaurant, and public house. Located in bohemian Coconut Grove, LoKal Burgers and Beers redefine the neighbourhood burger joint. Utilizing only the freshest of local ingredients and employing purveyors of humanly raised and natural meats, LoKal Burger and Beer Bar wants people to think about their food. The corporate identity was created to mirror their green, fresh, conscious and sustainable philosophy with a strong typographic logo and symbol, using few print colours and recycled paper stock. Their simple website is easy to navigate, with bold tittles, subtle textures, moody warm tones that create atmosphere, vibrant oranges, and earthy colours communicating a relaxed, friendly attitude.
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LOKAL
In addition, a photo installation was created and installed in the LoKal’s bathrooms walls. The selected photos are part of the series “The street of Life”, which were created to put a smile on our faces with a daily dose of positivity and reality. They are meant to inspire, motivate, and question our internal
––– Which kind of brand tends to take an organic look? –––
concepts by handwriting sentiments and thoughts in found pieces of wood and carton.
Basically, any small or large brand wants to rethink and meet the
These photos are currently installed in the
demands of the modern savvy consumers who are looking for a
bathroom; the typographic message is written
cleaner, greener alternative to conventional products. The world
backwards on the piece of board, so people
has changed, all consumers are much more aware of what goes on
would be surprised when they look in the
behind the scenes of a brand.
mirror and decipher the message. Finally, the love for words, texture and branding led Camilo Rojas to explore a
––– What’s your consideration upon the materials in organic
creation of a branding-typographic installation.
branding/packaging? –––
Recycled wine corks were chosen to accentuate Lately, I’ve seen bold and stylish branding/packaging made out
blend branding and sustainability through art.
of organic materials that have really caught my eye. I believe the
The piece was created by collecting, selecting,
usage of recycling in graphic design makes the product stand out
separating and putting together approximately
from the rest of conventional and traditional creations, generates
6,950 recycled wine corks by colour and tone.
consciousness of the need to experiment, analyze and most importantly, really makes you want to purchase the product.
––– What’s your purpose of engraving the name of the restaurant on the wood? Was it any concern of the material? –––
INTERVIEW WITH CAMILO ROJAS Designer of “LoKal”
Instead of using the hot-iron brand as a form of identification
––– What’s organic material? What are the materials that are suitable for
for cattle, I decided to use this technique on wood and burgers
organic branding/packaging? –––
buns. The result, burned wood stained texture, catches your eye immediately. The typographic logo and symbol was created
Any material that make a positive environmental impact and unnecessary
basically inspired on the iconic recycled logo; however, I gave it a
harm. Raw materials that lack toxic chemicals, use all-natural ingredients,
twist and created my own interpretation mirroring the Lokal’ s
and need less energy usage.
characteristics: green, fresh, local, simple, conscious, sustainable and gave back to the community philosophy.
––– What are the messages that organic materials convey? Why did you choose recycled wine corks for the branding? How does it correspondent with the brand values? ––– Organic materials are used to convey a positive message to community because it allows them think outside the box by seeing recycling as a new way to create and support the environment. At LoKal, they are continually “rethinking” the food and branding to lessen impacts on our community and our environment. Supporting this idea, I created the brand identity with a natural colour scheme that evoked organic, sustainability. As an example, the stationery and other paper assortments were made from recycled paper, domestically produced and printed with soy-based inks, as well as the selection of recycled wine corks. -154-
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the importance of recycling, being able to
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quality in modern commercial society. Furthermore, in recent years, people begin to realize that imperfection is part of human being, part of nature. The flaw or imperfection of craftsmanship now is, in some sense, a unique beauty, which reflects the nature of human being. Therefore, people’s preference of aesthetic in design changes, from “perfection” to “imperfection”. Moreover, craftsmanship takes the spirit and aesthetics of being simple, plain and pure, differentiating itself from industrial production, with which people can buy the same products with the same pragmatic functions and appearance. Products created by craftsmanship are different from one another, tailored to the modern aspiration towards novelty and individuality. Compared with mechanical products, which are regarded cold, without human emotion or feelings, handcrafted subjects with the quality of pure, fresh, original, peaceful and local are what people really need and like. The change of preference from the machine-made to handmade has an effect on the graphic design industry. After decades of creative processing with computer and other machines, there are designers exploring new ways to visually communicate creative ideas simply with hands, like our ancestors. Handcrafted elements associate much more with the nature and raw materials, uniting functionality with form at the same time. Therefore, the design solution becomes more direct and visual. Graphic designers go back to the basic and traditional craftsmanship, using a pen or pencil, knife, paints, glue, scissors and etc. in the design process, with handcrafted handled method like handmade typography, illustration, printing, collage and binding, and OrganicISM
combing with natural materials to communicate the spirit of hand-craftsmanship.
More and more brands become aware of the advantages of craftsmanship in expressing their brand values and brand identity. New handcrafted brand designs arouse the feelings of homemade, warmth, exquisiteness and nostalgia among potential consumers through distinctive visual identity. In a highly commercialized
Nowadays, as the concept of Organic prevails, which puts an emphasis on the original state of
society, handcrafted brands pay attention to
natural objects, craftsmanship becomes increasingly popular around the world. It has been a
customers’ real needs, emphasizing people-
long history since people take advantage of craftsmanship to fulfil different needs. Handcrafted
oriented value and individuality, making people
items preserve the originality of raw materials without excessive human processing, which is in
realize the true self to accept the imperfection
consonance with the Organic concept of returning to one’s original nature. Craftsmanship is not
of self.
only a traditional skill, but also an artistic expression method. People explore the function of natural resources based on the physical and basic functionality of materials and/or the aesthetic effect
A f t e r l on g - t i me fa s c i n a t ion w i t h p u re
created or extracted by designers.
computer and new technology, brand designers are looking for new approaches for good
Illustration by Sasha Prood
Craftsmanship meets our new aesthetic: perfect imperfection. The industrial production mode caters
design. Integrating the advanced function of
to the requirements of mass consumption. Large scales of products which are perfectly standardized
high technology with distinctive handcrafted
with the same size, form, etc., are manufactured and launched on the market. Advanced technique
elements is a great way to break out the
is regarded as the representation of perfection, which is pursued by all human beings for a very
limitation of design.
long time. However, to maximize profit, mass-produced products become vulgar and of poor
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BIRDS OBSESSED
These illustrations were created in 2010 at the request of Migrate Magazine as a contribution to their 12th issue, themed “Obsess”. This magazine is published annually in conjunction with South Africa’s design awards, the Loerie Awards. The first illustration shows two birds building nests. The “normal” bird has completed its typical twig nest and is looking up in surprise at a bird obsessed with building the largest and most extravagant nest it can, using f lowers. The second illustration shows two birds collecting worms. The “normal” bird has created a small and somewhat messy pile of
About the designer
wiggling worms. This bird is looking
Sasha Prood is a freelance designer, illustrator
in awe at the obsessed bird that has
and artist from USA. She creates hand lettering,
organized its large collection of worms
illustrations, patterns and graphics using pencil,
into rows.
pen and water colour with the computer. Thematically, her works lean toward the organic, natural and scientific with vintage, utilitarian and childhood influences. Animals, vegetables and minerals of all kinds are commonly found in her illustrations.
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––– What’s the inspiration of your hand painting projects? What visual elements do you usually apply in the projects? ––– The sources of my inspirations vary greatly. I love the organization and sense of simplicity found in geometry. I find science to be inspirational, particularly INTERVIEW WITH SASHA PROOD Illustrator of “Birds Obsessed”
biology, cells, molecules, etc. I have included animals, vegetables and minerals, anything natural and organic into much of my work. Items from childhood are also inspirational to me, particularly those with a sense of play and humour. I’m attracted to vintage items, especially ones that are typographic
––– In your opinion, how does craftsmanship correlate with the concept of Organic? –––
in nature. I’m inspired by everyday “mundane” things that are basic and utilitarian as well as anything that is hand-made. This includes cultural items such as textiles, ceramics and basket weaving. I’m also interested in aspects of black magic and ritual. And on and on!
––– Craftsmanship is quite popular nowadays. People prefer handmade
Handmade items often feel organic because they
things to mechanical products. What result in the aesthetic change of people’s
have that “perfectly imperfect” quality; each one
preference in design? –––
is unique, just like in nature. Hand-making has been around since the beginning of man. It has been popular far longer than digital design. I don’t consider hand-making a trend, but instead something more along the lines of a design staple. To me, digital design’s popularity over handmade design felt like a trend due to its newness. Now that digital designs’ novelty has faded, people are going back to handmaking. For me, the most exiting are the current discoveries of artists mixing handmade items and computer technology.
––– How do your projects assist communicating the concept of Organic? ––– Some of my projects are more obviously inspired by the concept of Organic because they use natural imagery such as animals, vegetables and minerals. Other projects are more subtly inspired by the organic concept because they allow the medium to flow naturally. An example of this is my watercolour paintings, which play with flowing colours and textures.
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The first three products are: Wool felt vases: where the seed (provided in the package) is planted and the plant grows. When the roots of the plant start penetrating the sides of the vase, it’s time to replant it, in a garden or in a bigger vase, with the wool vase still attached, since it’s biodegradable and releases nitrogen and amino acids that feed the plant while it grows.
Wool felt trivets: that explore the fact that wool is flameretardant and isolates heat, that come in two shapes: circles that take up less space in the user’s cabinet or “pizza slice” shaped trivets that allow the user to display them on the table as needed.
Wool Picnic blanket: that is water proof, so you can put it over wet grass; and it is made from “Cobertor de Papa”, a
DE LÃ
traditional Portuguese blanket that is unique in the world.
By Daniela Cruz, Filipa Alves, Maria Mota, Sara Melo, Raphaella Rocha & Tânia Arêde
The designers found that there was not enough investment in Portuguese wool and that most of small farmers would actually throw it in the trash because selling it would not even cover the costs of shearing the sheep. So, why bother? With that in mind, the design team created the brand “DE LÔ that is applied to a series of products which explore the wool properties.
All of these products are made from 100% Portuguese wool which is bought from local farmers that would otherwise dispose of it. The production method is manual, everything from the shearing, to the making of the felt and the final product, therefore using the skills of Portuguese artisans that have worked with wool in their entire lives and whose jobs are at risk since working wool manually is a dying art.
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The logo was designed without a grid, so it could be unique and at the same time organic, showing the Liana natural tress and the handmade spirit. That’s the same reason of why the logo is not printed in the envelope, but embossed. It can be more natural and clean than printing in ordinary ways, and also increases the interaction between the user and the paper, only provided by using a seal.
ESTÚDIO CIPÓ Estúdio Cipó is a studio based in São Paulo. The strong Brazilian culture and the appreciation about the country’s mix of native and immigrant populations, makes Estúdio Cipó increase the relationship among Design, Arts and Crafts, which makes it search for the perfect union of those contemporary productions. As Estúdio Cipó aims the Brazilian essence in all of its products, projects and jobs, the best way to represent this concept was keeping the handmade identity. To design the Estúdio Cipó logo, 4 characteristics were considered: Brazilian Essence, Minimal, Pattern (Handmade) and INTERVIEW WITH LUCAS BLAT
Playfulness.
Designer and co-founder of “Estúdio Cipó”
OrganicISM
––– What do you want to express by applying handmade spirit in project “Estúdio Cipó”? ––– This project was designed for Estúdio Cipó, a Brazilian design studio focused on the Brazilian handmade spirit. Since the studio keeps the Brazilian and natural essence on its creations (furniture and graphic projects), the handmade spirit applied on its identity would be very important. Using a seal, I could mechanically emboss the paper, avoiding the common ways of printing.
––– How did you find your passion in handmade skills? ––– De signing in Estúdio Cipó, I lear ne d to appreciate what’s simpler in the Brazilian art. As the studio focuses on this natural essence, we always try to avoid the industrial, but using the handmade way of work. I think that currently, the industrial products can be seen anywhere, which makes the handmade get unusual, and that’s what made me fall in love with this way of designing. The Brazilian culture proposes something very different, precisely the difference I really appreciate.
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––– How did craftsmanship in your project assist the realization of the brand values? ––– We, in Estúdio Cipó, design and craft our own products and creations. By designing this brand, the craftsmanship was very important, so I could represent exactly our way of working.
––– In your opinion, how does craftsmanship correlates with the concept of Organic? ––– As the handmade is the opposite of the digital production, it becomes something more tactile, differently of everything that was designed in the computer. When the user realizes that the project was made by someone’s hand or in a mechanical way (such as a seal), the relation with the paper becomes different. The texture of the paper can be valued, and that’s when the identity’s organicity can be realized, becoming something more than a simple name or logo, which refers to the nature.
––– How is the concept of craftsmanship illustrated by people in design? (like the selection of materials, shapes and textures etc.) ––– I believe that the best way of representing the craftsmanship in the design is thinking about the most remarkable detail in the handmade product: the imperfection. While designing organic forms, ignoring the straight lines and any grid, it is possible to represent the handmade value. Also, choosing a traditional printing method is very important, for example, xylography. In this old method, the interaction between the designer and the material is much bigger, giving more expression to the result. After all, the craftsmanship is different than sending a file to the print shop and wait for the result at home. What I really appreciate is that the result, of what was handmade, can represent the brand in a stronger and more original way.
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( Spotlight )
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DESIGNOLOGY
It is a usual way to dissect the design into pieces through our own processes and approaches formed after a few years of practice, however, resulting in clunkiness of the design. Let’s assume that design consists of three pieces: design elements, creative ideas and moderate resources.
Can we fill “=” in the blank to show the relationship between the two parts? Certainly not. Design is far more than merely the combination of design elements, creative ideas and moderate resources. Rather than the amount of design elements, creative ideas or moderate resources employed in a design, organic design lies in its rhythm, balance and flow.
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ORGANIC
D E S I G N ELEMENTS + CREATIVE IDEAS + M O D E R A T E RESOURCES ? DESIGN _____
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Together with some friends, spending one afternoon in an art gallery or turning on the computer, having some
Make it
music, you are in the nature. When you put aside the work at hand and relax yourself in the nature, you will
Rhythmic
Feel it with your mind and you may find that, in fact, the plan is rhythmic itself. Your plan is in order; those orders are the rhythm. To keep your inspiration flow in design is not that simple. Designer get stuck from time to time. If that happens, you can go to the nature where you can extend your vision. Like what Robert Bowen(Co-founder and imaginative co-contributor of the creative design and blogging duo at the Arbenting and Dead Wings Designs) said, “Unplugging from these routines and venturing off-topic might be the best way to allow our minds to organically find their way to the design we were looking for in the first place”. But, I don’t mean that only the wilderness is the nature. It is rhythm that means to us. Nature is everywhere. -170-
Let your pen dance rhythmically on the paper. With the highly development and evolution of graphic design application now, many designers, instead of starting with a pen, rush to the computer and take designs piece by piece. Those designers know deeply sketch’s advantage in allowing an overview to see the design wholly however; not many of them seek its help to keep the flow in the works. Let your ideas flow freely between your pen and paper. The significance of sketch is not to do some job related to the project, but rather to blow up a brainstorm and find a way to zero in.
Make it
Balanced Balance is the rule from nature. Everything in the universe is in a state of balance, including human beings. Only those objects in the state of balance exist in the universe. Therefore, balance is the focus of organic design. We should keep ourselves in balance. Every year, thousands of designers come into the graphic design area, but the threshold is never low as we have seen superficially. In the heat wave of commercial design, graphic designers have taken a stride in creative skills. But, design is -171-
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The sun rises; the sun sets; all the existence in nature is in rhythm. In some way, we can say organic design is a design with rhythm. For the purpose of rhythm in the design process, we need to make a well-scheduled plan. With no plan, we might get out of the track, far away from the rhythm.
surprisingly find that inspiration comes to you, naturally.
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not merely a mechanical activity; it involves our body as well as our soul. From those designers who take a position in the field, they have a common characteristic that they all pay attention to self-culture and accomplishment in art, philosophy, literature, etc, which, are the nutrition of our soul and help make our body and soul well-balanced. The biggest challenge that a designer faces while they are achieving organic designs is the time piece. The time piece, if not well-balanced, adds a large amount of stress and it is the enemy of organic design in that under that stress, we might force our design to a rush end. The time piece is just like a tumour in our soul and right there to invade. The solution to the problem is easy: to make the deadline the clients give you balanced with that you take for organic design. Being the time lord or the slave of time, it is up to you. Who would like to be a slave any way? We all want an enjoyment from our work. Then, why not squeeze more time from your client. In fact, clients allow longer a timetable for a project, but like, we can make it longer most of the time. Just tell your feelings if the deadline is too constrictive and, most of the times, you can extend the deadline as long as you can to design organically. Francis Bacon, the famous essayist, said in “Of Studies” that “to spend too much time in studies is sloth”. It is true in organic design as well. If we use too much time on each design process, it is a real waste. Take the process of grabbing an inspiration as an example, we should balance the time used on this process. If we spend more than we should, we might smother ourselves in a swim pool of inspirations and just let the time slip through our fingers for no good.
“Less is more” Make the design simple. Clean, simple design is better for the flow of communication. Design is not to show our talent, but to deliver your information to the audience. Nothing in the universe is over-decorated, except that falls into the hands of human. Leave all the unnecessary elements, making it balanced and proportionate between different elements.
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Flow Unity is the feeling of harmony between all parts of the artwork creating a sense of completeness. No matter how, we should unite all design elements together to make it a coherent complete design. But sometimes the elements are merely fixed together, not united. Unity is not just putting the elements together, but also making them flow together. After a few years of practice, every designer forms his design methodology. Though it is crucial for most of us to hold a position in the creative area and helps us cover all of our bases, in some way, the design methodology is more of a routine, which confines our creation and brings a negative impact on the works we done. The -173-
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sometimes, they might give shorter time. Though we can’t set the deadline as we
Make it
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dissection into pieces made by the routines, though not makes the designs lack of unity, it just fixes the pieces together, rather than make them flow together harmoniously.
Without we human beings, nothing is aesthetic. That is not arrogance or species discrimination. It is just because of that “aesthetic” is our creation. From that, we could recognize the importance of the subject of aesthetic, our audience. There is one difference between art and design; art is a one-side information transmission, while design is bi-side, which defines its significance. Respecting our audience, caring more about their feelings and involving them into mutual communication, that’s what design’s nature is and what it does. Only if our audience get the point, can we grab their attention and make the design flow of communication. If the inspiration doesn’t find you after some time, you’ll have to get your work flow. Who never got stuck? But, that doesn’t mean we can force it, which is the least we can do in organic design. What you can do is to do the -174-
Not to deny yourself easily. The biggest harm to the flow is self-denial during the design process. It is not the time to deny it until you have finished it. Just believe your initial feelings or ideas and make them real. To keep the original information and feeling, that is organic design. As is known to all, the design process is long and harsh. It is the most ideal for a raindrop to fall into a sea. A competent designer never stirs up any billows in the design process. Return back. Evolution rather than revolution. Though revolution sometimes changes the world to the better, in most of the times, it is better to work based on an existing design, which might save us a lot of time. You might surprisingly find that your work evolves as time goes and there is no consistency among the dissected elements. Fix your eyes onto your work. Time is the enemy of organic design that it often distracts us from the work, effectively psyching us out, especially when we got no inspiration to keep the design flow. In order to create more organic of a design, the best way is to keep our eyes off the clock, not until to the step where we get crazy and go punch a clock. Sometimes, particularly when we are nervous, it is true that we might not focus on the task. Just make full use of your phone. Having made your schedule, it might as well set an alarm: one or two days before each of your design process. In that way, you do not have to worry if the time goes quicker than you expected and constantly cast your eyes on the evil hands of your clock. What’s more, it still can give you a few days for your final work for a process. With the help of the alarm, you don’t have to keep one eye on the clock; that is unacceptable to organic design.
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How to connect the design elements together naturally and make it flow like the running water? “Ideally, our work should maintain a constant flow of communication and interaction with the users much like the uninterrupted movement of a stream always rushing towards its goal,” according to Robert Bowen.
work that can be done first and most importantly, to give the client some signs of progress. Design is an activity involving not just the designers, but also the clients. It is very important to establish a pleasant cooperation with the clients. Moreover, the small solution sometimes will give you a great help that bigger solutions would begin to blossom. While you were doing the small things, you might luckily find the flow you need and rush to the end.
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intents and purposes, mission statements, etc..., most of the ‘heavy lifting’ is carried by the logo. A single graphic intended to carry and communicate so much. This is why I think it is often seen as being less than organic, or having any kind of flow. Because it is such a limited amount of flow, but it is still there. That’s what we need to focus on.
According to Robert Bowen:
“I wouldn’t say branding is necessarily less organic than other design areas, it just often has
While we may only have three elements (graphics, text, colours) to bring together for the logo, we can still ensure that they maintain an organic feel by following those principles and ideas. In fact, one can argue it is even more important to choose those three elements with greater care.”
less working within it to communicate all that it has to tell. While with a website you can have so many different elements and areas all united them. When you are working on branding, you tend to start very specifically, with the logo. So you begin trying to find ways to say everything that this company stands for with a single graphic. And while we have a near endless combination of graphic elements, fonts, and colours that we can use to tell this ‘story’, but we tend to still be very limited in what we can use. So branding, while it does spread through every facet of the companies designed interfaces, and in turn can be combined with vast amounts of text explanations of -176-
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to communicate the product or service behind
Therefore, organic design is like the rhythm of poems, the balance of the universe and the flow of water. It is easy to make your design organic, while it is also very difficult to realize it. It is just a matter of time. Organic designology is everywhere in the nature waiting to be discovered; be in it, touch it, more importantly, feel it, sense it and define it for yourself.
Nature is the most talented designer in the game who is too busy and unavailable for hire. Fortunately, we can all learn something from her design style, the Organic Design. Something about the natural and easily flowing visuals resonates subconsciously with audiences. “Organic” is an intuitively perceived style, as readily identifiable to us as a full bloomed flower. In terms of holism, it comes the closest, yet the seemingly simple aesthetic can often be difficult to achieve. That the style is elusive to some designers raises a question: how best can we achieve an organic aesthetic? The solution to that problem can be found in the fundamentals. Organic design as a discipline first came to being when Frank Lloyd Wright coined the term during the early 20th century, and famously called it the “the modern ideal”. Unfortunately, many contend that he had a handle on it himself as much of his work was abstracted, and forced. “Organic” has an inherently simple aesthetic often created by using perfect natural shapes. Not unlike the ones we see in nature, squares, circles, rectangles, spheres and the rest are effectively utilized and blended to form an organically streamlined whole. In design culture, fundamental shapes can subconsciously penetrate the viewers by transmitting an easily identifiable and digested visual. A notable example of this can be seen in viral sensation, Genis
popularity of the series, a personal project, is a refreshing reminder for brand designers, that natural shapes are a great way to communicate complicated messages which audiences seem to love. The so-called basic shapes are so versatile; some designers have even built homes from them. Literally. Designer and inventor Buckminster Fuller utilized natural shapes to form his most famous work, the Geodesic Dome. Compromised entirely from triangulated circles or smartly arranged triangles, the ingenious design of these 20th century marvels allows for equal dispersion of weight throughout the structure. At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss a giant, cybernetic and metal dome as the evil lair of a James Bond villain rather than an example of organic design. But, techie does not necessarily mean inorganic. That is a misconception. Although it looks like something out of a James Bond film, Fuller’s dome design is as organic as any forest. The process by which the end product is produced, the working concept or perhaps even the function of a design can be organic, even if the finished product does not necessarily scream nature. By using a cleverly intuitive alignment of natural shapes, and a naturally simplistic concept, Fuller has demonstrated the visual appeal and high By Samo Ayoub, CEO of Cultivate ad agency and Co-Founder of Zenarchy Studios
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functionality of organic aesthetics.
OrganicISM
Carreras’ Philographics series. He cleverly utilized basic shapes to express very complex philosophical concepts, and the results are organically and simplistically brilliant. The online
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or incorporates the product onto the label, such as one might see in egg packaging, or snack type products. This usually helps the product stand out on a crowded shelf, and increases the chances a consumer will pick it up. You’re more likely to find the moulded packaging phenomenon on products that sit in big box retailers or any store shelf where competition is stiffest. Food products are especially prevalent, but there are a host of examples across almost every product sector from stationary to lawn care. By acknowledging the need for a product package and building a solution moulded to its contours or otherwise incorporating it onto the container, a designer is effectively entering into an organic design process, a solution that unfolds naturally from within, just like the seed for a plant. This is a fundamental aspect of “Organic”, and an effective way to increase product exposure. Despite the seemingly simple concept of Organic Design, an aesthetic with natural flow and harmony between subject and concept can be a challenge. Creatively yet functionally arranging perfect natural shapes into effective design solutions is easier said. So is utilizing complex mathematical equations such as the golden ratio to develop communications or products. Here are some key components for the daring designer to keep in mind when stepping onto Organic shape designs.
Natural shapes also form an important part of the Golden Ratio, an important if not peripheral element of organic design. The mathematical equation has forced academics to study its aesthetically effective and proportionate qualities for over millennia. It can be found in nature in the arrangements of branches in certain plants, vein lines on leaves, animal skeletons, nerve structures, not to mention
Inspiration:
the chemical compounds of crystals. As for design, it can be seen in everyday products such as posters, postcards, flat-screen TVs, photos, even playing cards. Many of the great works of art have used the visually pleasing proportions both for the painting and the size of the canvas it rests on. DaVinci’s Flower of Life utilizes the Golden Ratio and is a perfect example of Organic Design. Not just
Use nature as a foundation for your designs. Think self-sustainable, vibrant, diverse yet conservational. Like nature itself. Seeds:
unfolds from within like the seed of a plant. This process is rather... well organic, and is another fundamental of the aesthetic.
Let the design unfold from inside out. A concept or idea should be unpacked or otherwise
When starting out on a project, sometimes there is nothing worse than a blank
unfurled into an actionable end product or
page. One effective strategy for combating beginner’s blues is to build a template
design.
using one of a number of golden ratio sub-forms, like the golden spiral or rectangle. Designers, branders and advertisers in general have secretly used these
Be Like Water:
concepts for decades. The advantages are of course obvious, you can guarantee some modicum of aesthetic balance without having to reinvent the wheel. Just
Organic designs should always have an
simply fill in the gaps. Try to find an outline of a golden rectangle and apply it to
inherent flexibility. Both the conception
a design-centric or populist website and you might be surprised what you find. And this isn’t only restricted to the web. Magazine ads, book covers, product
phase and the development process should be
packaging, video game start menus, TV commercial money shots (industry
adaptable and dynamic in order to maintain a
term for the branded final shot in an ad). If an audience or potential consumer is
harmonious flow.
staring at it, there’s a large chance the ratio was factored into its design on some
Snowflake:
level. They don’t call it golden for nothing.
Like the proverbial snowflake, organic designs
“Organic” isn’t limited to geometric ratios and shapes. As mentioned earlier,
should always retain a level of originality.
organic design unfolds from a basic element or idea. In branding, product packaging occasionally takes this to new extremes. Market-savvy designers will mould a package to fit the product it contains, or create packaging that resembles
All things in nature are unique unto themselves, and no design can be labelled organic without expressing an inherent singularity. By creating original designs, your work will really come to life. When used in the brand market, “Organic” is a powerful and moving aesthetic. Utilizing perfect natural shapes and its principles does more than building effective brands. Developing effective communications tools in advertising, viral campaigns, product packaging or any branded interaction is a stone’s throw away. A perfectly rounded stone like the dynamic blue planet we call the Nature.
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because of the proportions. The 500 year-old sketch starts with a single idea, and
––– How does the use of natural shapes or structures relate to the brand value of the brand? ––– Not every good brand must be built from the perfect forms. I think the feeling of the designer is more important in building brands than the “mathematical” features from which it was built. That exact spacing, or that perfect curve, not always fits the way in which we are working. It is necessary to let the good sense to speak louder. But I think brands built on perfect shapes reveal a more accurate refinement. It becomes evident that there is a thorough job spent here, and demonstrates a greater degree of professionalism. This ends up with producing a final set of graphics of the greatest value and consequently the brand can be positioned at a different level.
KENNZUR URBAN SPA
design? ––– I am a great admirer of Alexandre Wollner’s work, which is one of the leading names in the formation of modern design in Brazil. Wollner has an extremely rational work and is a master in the use of geometry in brand design. He built great brands throughout his career.
OrganicISM
The Kennzur is an urban spa in São Paulo, Brazil. It is a place for people to relax, an oasis in the metropolis. This project aims to bring one into contact with this place of well-being and quality of life capable, and to communicate with every customer like an encapsulated time by the spirit of living well.
––– Please give us some other examples of the use of perfect natural shapes or structures in brand
––– How did you employ the natural shapes or structures in the branding? ––– ––– Where did your inspiration of the logo shape for project “Kennzur Urban Spa” come from? –––
The word “Kennzur” has no concrete meaning. It is an expression that refers to a kind of mantra, a
When the project came to Commgroup, it was pretty clear that the
want a symbol representing only this or that.
Kennzur Urban Spa would be more than one place to offer massages and treatments. Every little detail of its structure was being thought to be part of a large green refuge in the middle of the metropolis (São Paulo). INTERVIEW WITH VINICIUS COSTA, COMMGROUP
The Kennzur offers a completely opposite to the reality of the city. It’s
Design Sutdio of “Kennzur Urban Spa”
an immersion in feelings and positive experiences in direct contact with nature.
––– What is your opinion on the perfect shapes or structures from nature? ––– There was a clear idea of putting natural elements and mild forms of the This is fascinating. The relations of proportion and how these forms are
brand, so that the essence of Kennzur can be strengthened through the
manifested in virtually everything, happens in a logical and even poetic
design of its brand.
state of mind. It would be very risky for the brand to be based on one figurative element. I did not
I wanted to create a form that is fluid, open… without beginning, without end, in a way that effectively integrates the essence of Kennzur and its proposal. So I did an exercise in creating backwards. In this case, I thought that using the perfect forms would help me, because I wanted something abstract, but it would need an efficient and true justification of its relationship with nature. I started drawing elements from the golden geometry and intersect them and repeat until I start to see sketches of pleasant shapes that brought me those characteristics of fluidity and continuity that I wanted. From there, it was a work of refinement and adaptation of the symbol with the set of typography.
way. It’s like if we were able to visually decode all things through perfect forms. And then we found structural relationships in virtually everything,
From there, we surround ourselves with hundreds of images of all kinds:
which is a paradox, because everything is so different in nature, but at the
flowers, plants, seedlings, soil, water, wood and stones. Each of these
same time, it carries the same essence and is composed by the same shapes
elements has aesthetic features incredible in detail and we realized that
somehow.
they offer a good basis in ways that could work.
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––– How do you think the use of natural shapes or structures help express the concept of Organic? ––– Everything that is alive or relates to what is alive, intrinsically carries these forms in their composition. Perhaps the more pure and consistent way to express the concept of Organic is from natural shapes. -183-
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––– Please give us some other examples of the use of perfect natural shapes or structures in brand design? ––– Apple computer is a good example. The natural
INTERVIEW WITH SCANDINAVIAN DESIGNLAB
shape of the apple is strong, iconic and universal,
Design agency of “M-IDEA FOREVER”
understood by the whole world.
––– What’s your opinion on the perfect shapes or structures from nature? –––
OrganicISM
There are so many shapes and structures in nature that can be perfect, such as the Carbon molecular structure. When using natural shapes as part of an identity, it is important that they are fed through a strong concept, which expresses the DNA of the brand, like the Hexagon in the
M-IDEA FOREVER
––– Why did you use Carbon molecular
Carbon Concept.
structure as the identity symbol concept in branding “M-IDEA FOREVER” project? How
M-IDEA FOREVER is a new Chinese high-end men’s fashion brand. The brand identity is based on Carbon Concept. The brand identity symbol is inspired by Carbon’s molecular structure, which is shaped as a hexagon. Through different combinations of the hexagon structure, Carbon can take various physical forms, which represents the characteristics (Avant Garde and Technology) and diversity of the brand.
did you use the element of Carbon molecular structure in the whole design? ––– Carbon as an abstraction of the brand M-IDEA F OR E V E R e x pre s s e s t h e t wo d i f fe re n t characteristics Avant Garde/Graphite and Technology/Diamond. What unites them is the hexagon, the molecular structure of Carbon. ––– What’s your inspiration of applying the
The Hexagon is a very strong graphic and clear
Carbon Concept to this fashion brand? –––
symbol; therefore, it works in many contexts when working with the identity from the graphic to being able to incorporate it into various products.
The brand characteristics for the fashion brand, M-IDEA FOREVER, are Avant Garde and
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Technology and these characteristics contain the
The molecular structure expressed through the
same diversity as Carbon. Carbon can change
Hexagon symbol has been integrated in all parts
character from graphite to diamond; and these
of the design; as the shape of a neck-label or VIP
two opposites contain values that in many ways
card, embossed in buttons, as belt buckle, folded
express the contrast and characteristics of the
in hang-tags, as background in photos, sewn
M-IDEA FOREVER brand.
into clothing design, etc.
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AKI NAGAO
Aki Nagao is a French restaurant in Sapporo Japan. Mr, Nagao is the head chef and owner of this restaurant. COMMUNE designed its brand identity. The concept of the design is “Every day’s French”, communicating that the restaurant offers very high quality French dishes not like a prestigious restaurant, but in a casual There were three important points when producing the design. style and easy-to-come-in way.
––– What’s your inspiration of applying the DNA structure in project “French Restaurant Aki Nagao”? What draws your preference on this DNA structure? –––
The French restaurant Aki Nagao, just like its name suggesting, has the DNA of the chef Aki Nagao himself pulsing through the restaurant. The question is how to express this DNA. When I had the idea of overlapping the italics of the initials, A and N, to form a striped helix, I thought then that this was it.
1. Head Chef Mr. Nagao’s DNA.
––– How did you employ the DNA structure in this branding? –––
How he cooks now is from all his background, the designers express it as his DNA.
From putting the upper case of the letters A and N side by the side, I could see the common
What kind of experience he has, where he comes from, what kind of
form present. Working from there, a stripe was formed and then it progressed to a double
ingredients he chooses.
helix of a DNA strand after putting them over each other. Taking the slanted rod shape
The design team wanted to impress customers by VI, including the naming,
from the shop’s card and bending the logo, it became a piece of the helix formation. It then
shop logo using DNA motif and his sign logo type.
developed to piece all these together to form a helix.
OrganicISM
––– How does the use of the DNA structure relate to the brand value of the brand? –––
2. Correlation and fusion of new and old thing. Restaurant itself is brand new and mainly using white colour, but the design team uses antique objects and old woods as key in the restaurant.
The important thing to a design is its simplicity. The simplicity of the idea and having a core concept gives the work its quality. This quality may then translate into the quality of the
3. Everyday’s French cuisine
brand. Having come up with the concept of the DNA and being able to design it simply adds
Be relax to come to the restaurant, put catch phrase in the graphic tool which makes
to the value of our brand.
closer between customers and staff. Moreover, from the website customer can see message from the staff and the concept of the restaurant.
––– Please give us some other examples of the use of perfect natural shapes or structures in brand design? ––– INTERVIEW WITH YUJI TERADA, COMMUNE Recently I took on a project designing the package for Japanese tea. I found inspiration from
Design agency of “Aki Nagao”
––– What is your opinion on the perfect shapes or structures from nature? ––– When we take a natural object and examine it up close, from that simple object we see that is made up of many complex and coordinated fractals and from there, a visual with an abundance of information can be created. This is aesthetically intriguing to humans. -186-
considering each individual drop of tea that is extracted from the tea leaves and each drop of ink in a work of Japanese calligraphy, and I employed a design using dots. The collection of dots forms a pattern with each dot drawn by hand and therefore each one being different. This is a different concept from that of Aki Nagao. Rather than just a simplistic pattern of dots, I drew each dot differently by hand resulting in a design with a strong organic quality and imbued with a large quantity of information, which I believe brings alive the beauty of nature. -187-
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Branding is communicating, so it’s more logical to do that according to the market you want to be in. If you want to reach your target audience according to their culture, it’s clear that you have to speak the same language, both verbally and visually. Brands are communicating with us in a lot of ways, through different media, whether we are aware of it or not. Open your fridge and imagine that you have to take the orange juice carton next to the milk one, without having any label, visual reference or language on it you can read; the consumer should be able to read and understand the message you want to tell him. But, reaching your target audience on a global scale is not as easy as that. A brand exists in people’s hearts and minds. A consumer needs to have a should trigger the same feeling as drinking one in China. So limiting your marketing strategy to your own culture is not ideal if you want to be recognized internationally with the same brand image. Although we all are living in a different culture, consumers need to identify your brand in the same way, wherever they go. This is why brand management is so difficult. How far do you want to go, to change and adapt your brand positioning to the local culture without losing your identity and credibility? When globalizing, the image of the brand and the way the consumer perceives it should stay the same. Some visual elements and language can be adapted to the market however, as long as you remain true to the look and feel, convey the same messages and, more importantly, evoke emotional reactions. So the overall identity should not change towards the consumer, but the way you position yourself or communicate needs to be tailored to the market. We all feel the world is getting smaller and smaller everyday through new media,
The influence of different local cultures, religions, environment and geography to brand design
new travel experiences, social networks… but there is no doubt that different cultures have different needs and perceptions. When we focus on brand design itself, your brand can be influenced on different levels. We need to take into account a lot of factors when adapting the visual language to the foreign market. First of all, geography is a very crucial factor, because wherever you are on the globe, we all live in a different culture, and have
By Davy Dooms, Head of Design, Saatchi & Saatchi Brussels
different habits and perceptions. For instance, the way you sell Vodka in Nordic countries will be different to the stories you tell about your brand in Asian markets. Absolut Vodka is well known for their special bottle design and trendy communication, often related to social problems or celebrities while also really focusing on local culture. In the USA, Marilyn Monroe would be used in selling the bottle, while in China, different Chinese legends are usually illustrated on the bottle. In this way, you will
Act local to become global
make your brand relevant locally and still maintain the trendy
A lot has been said and written about the globalization of international brands these days. Do brands have to act and appear differently to fit the local
Another important and very sensitive factor we may not
tastes of a new market? It’s not a question of globalizing or localizing; actually, we have to localize to be seen as a global brand.
exclude is religion. This is probably one of the most crucial
brand image.
ones when communicating message, given that your target We all live in the same world and we are actually all the same. But, not exactly. We all grew up in different environments, living in different countries
audience may easily get insulted and your brand may become
and continents belonging to a different culture and we have our own religions and beliefs. So, Europeans, for instance, of course, have different
very controversial. For instance, the Red Cross is known
mindsets from those of Asians or Americans. Brands have to be aware of the fact that there is no “one size fits all” theory, especially when they want
worldwide as a movement of 97 million volunteers, which was
to globalize themselves and enter new exotic markets and cultures.
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OrganicISM
THE INDIGENOUS BRANDING
consistent brand experience all the time. Drinking a Coca Cola in America
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founded to protect human life and health. But symbolized by, as the name suggests, a cross, it is probably one of the most religious signs in the world. How will the Islamic countries react on an organization that has no discrimination based on race, nationality and religious beliefs? Indeed, an adapted logo was mandatory in this case. The Red Crescent was born. The colour scheme of red and white was kept the same, but the emblem changed. However, by keeping the same proportions between colour and emblem, the visual style of the brand did not change. Although a lot has been said about “don’t change your logo
Open Happiness
when you want to globalize”, in some cases there is just no way around it. A third factor we need to be aware of is the different languages
Coca-Cola is probably one of the most recognized brands worldwide. Their mission is to refresh the
we speak. As a brand, if you stick to communicate, for example,
world, bring happiness, creativity and optimism to people. All of this is in one bottle. An American
with just English, you may run the risk of not being understood
icon spreads the American pop culture. Only limiting their marketing on American culture was not
by your potential audience. Translating is not that easy. Take
a good option if they want to be seen and recognized in the multicultural world. It was a way of
the Arabic script for example, it is not only just a different type,
adapting western cultures to the eastern market which was not easy and took some time.
but also written from right to left. Is the message going to be translated literally, conceptually or phonetically and does it work
When Coca-Cola first entered the Chinese market, shopkeepers translated their store signage to
for different dialects？ For this complex task, it’s very important
the equivalent that sounded the same as Coca-Cola in Chinese characters. Without thinking of
to work with native speaking translators who know the target
the meaning of those characters, Coca-Cola was translated as “Bite the wax tadpole”. It was clear
market and will get your brand message across the globe with the
that Coca-Cola needed to come up with another brand name for the Chinese market. After a lot of
same meaning.
research, they found the closest alternative. K’o K’ou K’o Lê was the new Chinese brand name and actually fitted perfectly with their strategy: “To permit mouth to be able to rejoice”, which means the joy you have when drinking a Coke.
The last visual element that can be misunderstood through different cultures is colour. We either know it, or just don’t care about it, but the colour can put you in a certain mood, or has a
Now this is the moment the job of the designer comes in, making it look like the traditional way of
meaning you never thought of before. I’m not saying you have to
branding Coca-Cola. The first thing that needs to be adapted is the core item regarding branding,
change the colour of your logo for each continent, but be aware
which is the logo. Coca-Cola is worldly known as a typographic logotype, using red and white colour
of the fact that some colour combinations may cause political or
scheme and a very recognizable typeface. This unique typeface applies, as we all know, a curly script
cultural issues that you could have avoided from the beginning.
font using wavy ribbons and it has become one of the most recognized graphical languages. Writing a text in that font would remind you immediately of Coca-Cola. This shows the power of graphic design.
Keeping all these things in mind you will build a strong connection with your local consumers and they will understand
When adapting the American logo into the Chinese version, the main visual identity system was kept
the brand message.
the same. They created a new version of the logo that is communicating the same values of the brand in the same look, feel and colour scheme. This time, they called it Chinese red, which also symbolizes prosperity and luck. Having the branding and visual identity of the brand defined, there are more factors that must be adapted to the new market and are very important on a strategic level. Advertising is a medium that communicates and gets your message to your audience immediately. During Christmas in America, Coca-Cola advertises their well-known character “Santa Claus”. For the Chinese market, they change it into characters with visual elements referring to Chinese New Year, bringing joy to the people there.
The application of local visual elements
With those examples, the brand shows their understanding toward their audience, and that different religions can change their imagery while maintaining the same brand values.
The person who can make brands fit in the new market visually is the designer. Designers are responsible for reinforcing the impact of those elements and, together with localization experts in branding your brand will be understood worldwide. The following design cases will illustrate this for both Chinese and European markets.
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(SPOTLIGHT) / BranD / 2012E
Ex-Smokers Are Unstoppable This next campaign I designed at Saatchi & Saatchi, is a 360° European Anti-tobacco campaign. Unlike other “anti-campaigns” that focus on the dangers of smoking, this campaign highlights the positive sides of becoming an ex-smoker. Quitting smoking is one of the hardest battles to fight, but there are those who succeed finding a renewed energy in life. They feel better, look better and have more money. In short: ex-smokers are unstoppable. Keeping this strategy in mind, I was told to create a campaign logo and complete visual identity that should become iconic
The directions to make a foreign brand localize
and very recognizable throughout the whole of Europe in 23 languages.
Before adapting and customizing your brand, it’s necessary to do your research and explore the new market. Through demographics and other statistics, you can gain a lot of relevant
I chose to design a typographic logo that could
information for your brand and it will give you a clear view on how the market reacts on different
work in all the different languages and that
levels. Lifestyle and media trends can provide you with new methods on how people are behaving
contained one visual element which can be
these days. Who are your competitors, how are they communicating and what can you make to
remembered by everyone, the cigarette. While
stand out? By doing surveys, you will see, for instance, if it’s necessary to translate your logo, etc.
playing around with some type, I found out
In a word, get informed before you start.
that the message could be visually translated in the logo itself. Using the X of Ex-smokers,
Once you made the decision to go on, it’s time to define your strategy, media choice and how you
referring to the well-known prohibited signs
will fill this in on a creative level. To keep the tone of your brand coherent, it’s advisable to have brand managers for your different markets. In that way, people will perceive you as one global
the visual element was born, symbolizing
brand, let alone you are in eastern or western market. And last but not least, get results on how
the end of an old era and the beginning of a
your campaign is doing and optimize your strategy where necessary.
new one. The logo emphasizes a strong and determined commitment to quit smoking. Exsmokers can use it as a statement; it helps them
Local success globally
turn the page on their smoking period. The cigarette is literally stubbed out. Using a blackyellow-white colour scheme made it even more
People are attracted to international brands. Why? Because these brands can help meet their high
recognizable, without favouring one nation over
expectations on the product or service. That is why brands want to be identified as global brands,
another.
to give the consumer a consistent brand experience worldwide and build high brand equity. But a brand needs to know that the needs of their target audience and people from different regions
Working at a network agency like Saatchi &
have different preferences and backgrounds. True global brands develop global icons and imagery,
Saatchi made it possible to work together
but are prepared to adapt the usage of these icons, colours and visual elements to the market they
with native speaking experts to spread the
find themselves in.
same message across all of Europe. I briefed the copywriters to translate “Ex-Smokers are
Nowadays spreading your message is going more and more digital. We all show what we like and
Unstoppable” in a consistent way, and stay
who we like online. Brands are now doing the same; they get their own personalized brand pages
true to the core idea. The “X” and the cigarette
on social network sites and are even able to have different pages per country. The way to get
needed to be recognizable in every translation
messages to their consumers is changing from one-way communication to an instant dialogue on
and keeping the amount of characters as
local and international levels. Everybody is able to communicate back to a brand, and therefore,
compact as possible. And they did a wonderful
building a good relationship with your local consumers is more than important these days.
job. They even specified the meaning of the different words, so I knew which characters I
The whole Ex-Smokers campaign was rolled out exactly like what we presented
had to put in yellow and white. The big task I
it during the pitch phase. Given that as we all know, designers don’t want to make
then had was to implement all the translations
compromises. We are getting amazing results regarding effectiveness, where design
in different logo versions keeping the same
also plays a very important role.
graphical approach and identity. I transposed this positive message into a straight-forward
Your task, as a designer, is to always stay true to your initial idea and fight for
visual style. It empowers inspiration and
it. Never be happy with the first design, there is a difference between good and
supports all Europeans over 27 countries.
excellent and it shows. Creativity contains 20% idea and 80% of sweat. -192-
People are powerful, because they can make or break your brand. What the future will bring, whether it’s getting even more digital or not, I can’t tell. But, what I’m sure is that good and clever branding will always find its way to the consumer and will go hand in hand with the latest trends. As a base that grounds everything, design is where it all starts, so it better be good.
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OrganicISM
and designing this together with the cigarette,
INTERVIEW WITH LUIS OTHÓN Designer of “Adela”
––– What visual elements can reflect the influence from diverse customs and cultures? ––– México is very rich in visual language and symbolic representations. We tried to translate each culture and tradition we were inspired by and expressed them through keen iconic groups of elements, such as the icon system and brand details applied into the product line.
ADELA The intention of this design was to create a Mexican furniture brand starting from the branding process, followed by the ––– What do you think of the influence from local visual elements, like
business plan, development, product design, etc.
totem, symbol, script, etc. on brand design? ––– The brand is inspired by some of the Mexican indigenous communities from the north of the country. Most of the imagery used is directly related to them. A symbol system, logo, and colour palette, along with its stationary and other selected items was developed, and at the end of the brand development, a simple item collection that involved a table, lamp and a floor
––– How do you make your brand merge with local culture? –––
we tried to approach them from a more contemporary point of view, because at the end, the products are contemporary.
The brand is merged by nature. All those symbols and imagery are very natural for locals in México. Although northern México has grown as
––– What other local materials can be used to reflect the style of organic
an industrial and more globalized market, there are people always being
design, except wood, stone, leaf, grass, etc.? –––
interested in our roots and indigenous cultures. What’s also interesting for us is how this brand will merge with other cultures, like North American, European and Asian. We’re hoping to create very harmonic contrasts through them.
Anything you can use again, or transform into something else: leather, textiles, etc. I won’t worry about processed materials such as metal if its form comes after its function.
––– Do you think organic design will be a mainstream style? Why? ––– I’m not sure. Organic design has been there for a long time and I think that being outside the mainstream has helped it grow in a good way. Not being in the mainstream helps avoiding becoming a trend, which will only generate interest for a short period of time. We are not worried about our brand being in the mainstream, as long as we do things true and our brand and products share a specific interest with its user.
––– What is the essence of local culture that attracts brand designers to localise their designs? ––– I guess it is a local pride. If you have a very rich culture why not being proud of it and showing it everywhere. And also, trying to maintain tradition alive and constantly evolving. That’s what makes cultures interesting; they’re all so different.
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OrganicISM
cushion was designed.
They are great influences. We got a load of references such as these and
(SPOTLIGHT) / BranD / 2012E
Dasti as a concept is an ethnic stationery store that presents quality stationery products which are crafted using traditional techniques, skills and hand-based processes. This brand would reflect India’s true culture, origin, morals and practices that have sustained with the people for over 100s of years, something that the people all associate with. With the store specializing in traditional stationery articles, the brand logo has been made meticulously to reflect its true essence. The logo is a combination of slender curves and clean solid lines inspired from Devnagri script which is the basis of writing their national language Hindi, something that will never look out of place even as time goes by. The construction of the logo also establishes ethnic, fun and vibrant vibe. The letter “I” in the word “Dasti” has been stylized in such a way that it looks like Goddess Durga so that consumer immediately associates with the traditionalism and ethnicity of the brand.
OrganicISM
This brand would truly be recognition of
DASTI
India’s heritage which has taken a back seat in current times of industrialization.
Designed by Ananya Aiyyer
“DASTI” as a word means outdated hand manuals, books or note-books of very few pages, something that is either sold or given so that it can be reused, a common Indian practice that led to ideation of the entire project. The vision of the brand is to showcase the skills of thousands of talented craftsmen in this country in an organic way as possible.
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BranD
BULLETIN VISCOM-SIGN ESPANA
DESIGNTIDE IN TOK YO
October 17th – 19th
October 31st -November 4th
Pavalion, IFEMA, Madrid, Spain
Tokyo Midtown Hall, Tokyo, Japan
www.viscomspain.com
designtide.jp
Viscom Sign is a great annual event of visual
DESIGNTIDE TOKYO is a field to trade design,
communication in the Iberian Peninsula, and the
and to trade ideas. Everything in our everyday life
image that has been developed for its 2012 edition
PAP-FOR RUSSIA
seeks to convey various concepts. The slogan chosen
October 30th –November 2nd
designers’ aims are focused on our society, “design”
for this year, “Access the unique world of visual
International Exhibition centre Lenexpo, Saint
cannot be converged into a simple format. By
communication”, marks the beginning of a new era,
Petersburg, Russia
presenting the ideas that generate designs, the show
in which there is a possibility of personalizing all
www.papfor.com
presents a stream of new thoughts and forms.
is something that has been designed. As long as the
imaginable media. PAP-FOR Russia is the largest pulp and paper event in Eastern Europe that represents all cutting edge products, innovative ideas and ultramodern industry
MASALA CHAI
PACK EXPO INTERNATIONAL
Designed by Asha Mody
Masala Chai is a traditional tea lounge that serves a variety of authentic Chai beverages. This popular drink hails from the Indian
October 28th - 31st
subcontinent and is made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic spices and herbs. The relaxed cool setting is ideal for middle-
McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois USA
income tea drinkers and students from 20 to 35 looking for positive energy and a place to study. Using a collection of kitsch imagery
www.packexpo.com
technologies on one site. It is an ideal B2B event for
IENA
establishing new partnerships and developing one’s
November 1st - 4th
business. During four days exhibition, PAP-FOR gives
Exhibition Centre Nuremberg Hall 12, Germany
the full market overview and gathers all industry
www.iena.de
professionals in one meeting place. . iENA distinguishes and holds one’s ground with
from India, the designer branded the lounge using images of peaceful Indian goddesses. The vintage shape crest of an Indian teakettle was offset with a layer of grungy raw texture. Indian traditional Pop art was combined with the serif font Rockwell to enhance the vintage feel. Earthy organic colours including brown yellow, green and peach differentiate flavours and unify the brand. The tea is packaged in a reusable aluminium canister and natural jute bags are used to preserve the spices and tea.
innovative problem solutions and new products from the other market players. The iENA Nuremberg is
PACK EXPO International 2012 is the one and only event with the most innovative technologies and
a professional marketplace for ideas and inventions
solutions that drive your business. The largest, most
TOK YO DESIGNERS WEEK
comprehensive processing and packaging event in
October 30th – November 5th
opportunities for inventors and representatives of
the world delivers solutions from more than 1,800
Meiji-Jingu Gaien(Central Venue) and metropolitan
trade and industry.
suppliers, industry leaders with the latest education
SHOPs (other locations)
to stay up-to-date in trends and for professional
www.tdwa.com
and the leading trade fair of contacts and excellent
development. Tokyo Designers Week 2012 is held for 10 days
L ABELEXPO INDIA October 29th –November 1st Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre, New Delhi, India www.labelexpo-india.com
based on Creativity & Technology, offering a place
100% DESIGN SHANGHAI
to showcase artists’ sensibility. This year’s themes
November 8th – 10th
are “HOUSE” and “PLAY”. Companies, designers,
Shanghai Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China
students, and organizations exhibit works using
www.100percentdesign.com.cn
creativity and technology according to the themes. In addition, the contents are expanded to include Professional Exhibition by industry leading artists of each discipline.
of furniture, lighting, bathroom/kitchen and floor/ wall coverings and it seeks to create a dynamic
Labelexpo India is the largest event for the label,
atmosphere for the proliferation of innovative and
product decoration, web printing and converting
trendsetting ideas. 100% Design Shanghai is the
industry in South Asia. With more products, more
premiere venue for exhibitors to interact and meet
launches and more live demonstrations than any
the buying needs of key specifiers and buyers.
other industry event in the region this year, there is no better place to see the latest technology in action.
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100% Design Shanghai showcases original designs
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BranD
BULLETIN BRUSSELS INNOVA
ART|BASEL MIAMI BEACH
November 15th - 17th
December 6th -9th
Brussels Exhibition Centre, Brussels, Belgium
Miami Beach, Florida, USA
www.brussels-innova.com
miamibeach.artbasel.com
Brussels Innova boasts 4,000 m² of exhibition space,
Art Basel Miami Beach is the most known art show
with 20 countries represented, 4,000 professional
in the Americas. More than 260 leading galleries
visitors, 500 innovations entering the fray and
from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia
press coverage. Brussels Innova accommodates
PRINT WORLD
all potential regional contacts in terms of: venture
November 17th -19th
than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
capital & business angels, technological partnership,
Direct Energy Centre, Toronto, Canada
The exhibiting galleries are among the world’s most
access to subsidies and other public aid, legal aid
www.printworldshow.com
respected art dealers, offering exceptional pieces by
and protection for intellectual property, coaching, distribution, sub-contractor production.
and Africa will take part, showcasing works by more
both renowned artists and cutting-edge newcomers. The World of Shorter-Run Printing, dedicated to shorter-run and small-format printers, is the largest trade show and conference in North America. Thousands of qualified buyers of shorter-
WASHINGTON CRAFT SHOW November 16th - 18th Walter E. Washington Convention Centre, USA www.craftsamericashows.com
run printing equipment come to Print World to comparison shop, network, take home new ideas and product literature, attend seminars and live demonstrations, and make crucial investment
SIGN ISTANBUL December 6th - 9th Tüyap Fair and Congress Center, Istanbul, Turkey www.signistanbul.com
decisions. Sign Istanbul offers you the chance to showcase
Washington Craft Show, nationally recognized for
your technology and products in large scale
presenting masterful work, designed and made
from digital printing machinery to routers, from
in artists’ studios across America, is the premier
advertising equipments to pants, from textile and
is a good chance for those who come to view
HK TDC INNO DESIGN TECH EXPO
and purchase the latest works by nearly 200 of
December 6th –8th
This international Show makes exhibitors have new
the nation’s top contemporary craft artists or for
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
cooperation and sign new partnerships with the
inspiration communicating with the artist.
innodesigntechexpo.hktdc.com
each year increasing number of visitors.
showcase of contemporary craft in America. It
screen printing to LED technologies, from visual communication products to promotional materials.
The HKTDC Inno Design Tech Expo (IDT Expo), located in international business hub and gateway
DESIGN CIT Y November 17th -19th Direct Energy Centre, Toronto, Canada www.designcityshow.com Design City, a “show within a show”, will bring
for global enterprises to tap the Asian markets and the Chinese mainland, is a unique one-stop platform for creative and technology professionals to meet with enterprises looking to enhance their competitiveness and find business partners for the new opportunities emerging in Asia.
PACKPLUS December 7th – 10th India Expo Centre Greater Noida, New Delhi (NCR), India www.packplus.in The show aims to bring together the worldwide
together graphic designers with vendors who sell
manufacturers and providers of machinery,
to the graphic design market. It connects buyers
materials and services for food, pharma and
with sellers in a modern, interactive, results-driven
packaging industry from India and neighbouring
environment. Design City aims to further strengthen
countries. India Expo Centre & Mart, covering an
the graphic design community and bring together
area of 58 acres of land, has a unique combination
buyers and sellers in the industry as one of the first
of exhibition & convention facilities, lawn, business
trade shows of its kind in Canada. Design City 2012,
centre, restaurants, transportation facilities and
in its seventh year, continues to be supported by
sufficient parking area.
the success and experience of proven exhibition producers.
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