Summer is upon us once more – with the 2018 Aspen Music Festival and School Season launching in just a few days. We were pleased to design our third annual summer season look for the renowned eight-week festival of classical music.
Taking inspiration from the season's theme 'Paris, City of Light' we created a colourful and dynamic look where artist interacts with art.
We were really chuffed that our rebrand for Aspen Music Festival and School was Brand Identity Category Winner at the 2017 Drum Creative Awards. The ceremony took place at the Emirates Stadium in November, and the star-shaped gong now looks rather fetching in the studio.
Over the summer I worked with Nice and Serious on a logo and identity for the Living Well Index – a study created by Sainsbury’s, in partnership with some clever research boffins, to help define, measure, and track what it means to live well in Britain.
I was pretty pleased to get a Living Well score of 73.7%, and even more pleased to see this lovely project looking all smiley out in the real world :)
See the site and get your score here.
Babushka recently had the pleasure of working with the clever writing/thinking/training people at Quietroom to redesign the IPS Pension News publication.
We commissioned Brett Ryder to create the cover and interior illustrations. Brett's charming style, and his ability to make the ordinary extraordinary, made him the right man for for the tough job of making the world of pension facts and figures engaging.
Following the roll-out of the new Aspen Music Festival and School brand identity over the summer season we have created a suitably snowy and sparkly look for their Winter Music series, featuring AMFS alumna Simone Porter as the cover star.
I recently worked with the nice (and sometimes serious) folks at Nice and Serious to create a new brand identity for global non-profit sugarcane certification body Bonsucro.
The project involved creating both a new organisational logo and a certification mark to be used on Bonsucro approved sustainable sugar products. The aim was to communicate a simple message – see the mark and be confident you're buying sugar grown the right way. Sweet.
Last year Babushka was appointed, in partnership with NY brand strategy agency Arts Branding, to create a new brand for the Aspen Music Festival and School.
Founded in 1949 in beautifully scenic Aspen, Colorado, the AMFS is regarded as one of the top classical music festivals in the United States, and a premier destination for young musicians to study over the summer.
The festival's rich heritage and association with modernist design legend Herbert Bayer proved a fertile territory to create a clean, modern identity system that represents the AMFS as the progressive and forward-thinking organisation it is. The colours are inspired by the concerts' spectacular indoor/outdoor setting and the feel of summer in Aspen.
Print and digital materials, website re-skin and signage have all been part of the preparations for the new look's season début. See the full project here.
New year - new work (from last year). A bright and bold identity for new digital display media company 8 Outdoor. Designed for Baxter and Bailey the visual identity includes a bespoke alphabet and was rolled out in print, digital and moving image - keep your eyes peeled for 8 Outdoor mega-screens next time you're stuck in traffic! Full details in the work section.
Album artwork for G A P S, the new release by Lewis James.
Design by Babushka. Photography by Greg Shield. Listen and download the album here.
Babushka have recently had the pleasure of working with Bloomsbury based natural health clinic Breath of Life. As part of a brand refresh we updated their long-standing logo, and also created sub-brand logos and marketing items for their UK and European yoga Retreats and for Breath of Life Sanctuary, their new eco-luxury destination in Sri Lanka. As a yoga lover and general wannabe hippy this one was a treat!
Earlier this year I worked with Baxter and Bailey on a range of illustrations for a new Lend Lease office space in Kuala Lumpar. The client wanted a range of motivational messages to encourage teamwork and collaboration for staff who were new to the world of the open plan office. The illustrations were installed as super-size vinyls, and 3D constructions including a life-size 22 seat 'tandem'. See further details in the work section - real photos of the final space to come soon!
I've been doing lots this year with Baxter and Bailey, including working on two campaigns for UAL (University of the Arts London). The first was for their short courses aimed at Londoners in search of adding a bit of creativity to their daily grind. The second is a development of last years 2014 postgraduate scholarship campaign. Both were to be seen across the tube network earlier in the year.
Not sure where to buy your tram tickets in Amsterdam? Just look down.
I love French bistro awnings with their shouldn't-look-good-but-does typography, set off by a layer of Parisian grime. I snapped the ones below on a recent visit. Other highlights of the trip included an afternoon at the brilliantly curated Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature and a smashing meal at Buvette, a Brooklyn style French restaurant in, ahem, France.
New work! A brand identity I designed with Baxter & Bailey for a new (and different) estate agency in north London. The faceted logo type was inspired by the traditional London brick and is an adaptation based on Museo, chosen for it's nice round characters and interesting K. You can read the write up in Design Week here and perhaps find your ideal London pad here.
I've been spending some time in New York over the summer. These are a few favourite pieces of signage seen on a trip upstate to the Catskill Mountains - in and around wonderful Woodstock - where they are still feeling the peace and love in full tie-dye attire.
I recently worked with the lovely Baxter & Bailey on a campaign for UAL (University of the Arts London) to promote their MA courses. I've been enjoying seeing the posters on my daily commute. You can see the rest of the campaign here.
Earlier in the year I was invited by Computer Arts Magazine to write about my experience of being a designer that happens to be a woman. Many thanks to fellow designers (and women) Sophie Hayes, Miranda Bolter and Rachel Smith for sharing their views and anecdotes. Click here to read the article.
