You better be different

The Different differences were embedded in two flavours: the Experience Design service and a unique visual brand system.

Different was launching during the ‘dotcom bomb’, consequently I believed the brand strategy was to reflect a transition from the defunct web industry. I advised on the name selection of ‘Different‘ because it declared the brand promise upfront; a different skill set compared to the existing consultancies.

The name was augmented by a distinctive, stylistic brand identity. Instead of relying on abstract icons and meaningless word marks, the Different pattern is inimitable.

Ante up

When the business card hits the table the client’s curiosity is sparked and they become engaged in the Different story.

The objective of the Different identity design was to reinforce the company’s attitude through highly distinctive collateral. The smarts embedded in the tileable pattern allowed the identity to inconspicuously appear on anything without the word mark, plus the identity is scaleable to any size.

Selling experience

The objective of the website was to promote user experience, so it was important to get the notion of people upfront.

Design as a strategic tool

After discussing some of the implications and strategies regarding brand names, the client was open to new possibilities. My proposal was to create a brand to enable the company to sell its own brand of toys.

The objective was to create a character-based identity to give the business a personality. I began the naming process with ‘Benny’, and an imaginary animal I called a ‘Koalaroo’. Finally, Chooby was selected, an identity capable of bringing the company’s brand to life.

Creating mischief

A key objective of the brand was to personify ‘fun’. This was translated into the Chooby character mischievously appearing on the letterhead, business cards, and throughout the web site.

The making of a film…web site

Baz wanted to create an experience that allowed the audience to discover the film’s theme, its characters and the historical background of the Moulin Rouge.

Early concept design…

I worked with Baz to evolve the original concepts through a ‘grunge filter’ to produce a Monty Python’esque view of the Moulin Rouge world.

What if…

The objective of ClubMR was to get the audience to create a parallel between the Moulin Rouge and today’s nightclubs as a way to understanding how the real Moulin Rouge fit into the lives of Parisians. The preferred direction was to create the possibility that the Moulin Rouge of the 1700’s existed in the heart of contemporary New York.

The visuals of the site show the Parisian club in a grungy New York setting, the central attraction for a queue of clubbers waiting behind the velvet rope. Nicole Kidman’s character Satine provides a provocative glimpse of what ‘might’ be in the Club. The visual design was also inspired by the Beatle’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band album cover, which places famous people surrounding the Beatles.

My objective was to create a distinctive board and merchandise range for sale in Japan. The project involved market and design research, ideas generation, identity development, visual conception and the creation of distinctive graphics.

Made for stonking

The Stonker logo is based on the Japanese Hanko – an official family stamp that is used as a signature for approving documents. I wanted an iconic emblem that would be immediately distinguishable to the Japanese consumer while retaining a Western attitude.

The elements

Japanese artistic elements in paintings to represent natural elements such as wind and water were utilised to create a graphic library that could then be combined in different ways allowing for a rapid concept prototyping. Although I drew on these traditional Japanese graphic concepts, the final graphics were produced using my own illustration style to create an East-meets-West aesthetic.

For example, the waves in the above sketches are based on archetypical Japanese Ukiyo-e art prints depicting wild seas. The most famous is attributed to Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa from his 36 Views of Mount Fuji series.

The board meeting

The board printing process restricted the palette to two colours. Instead of this restriction limiting the creative process, it became the basis for the series.

In ancient Japan, colours played a significant role in defining the class of a citizen. The samurai clans were noted for their omnipotent colours. Subsequently, I chose three samurai clan colours to design the board series: Kokihi (Red); Tokusairo (Green); and Ruriiro (Blue).

Wearable style

The illustrated and extensive graphic library provided the flexibility to create numerous t-shirt designs, and the range reinforces the board series.